My Writings. My Thoughts.
>Occam’s Razor
- September 1st, 2010 // No Comments » // Uncategorized
Stereotyping, everyone does it, few own up to it. How about a different angle?
A man walks toward you. He has his pants hanging down around his knees, gold necklaces around his neck, a baggy coat on with the logo of some sports team, and two gold teeth. When he passes you, he measures you with his eyes (scans up/down, ending with brief contact).
My first thought, gangbanger. Or at least, concealed weapon potential. I’ll admit, I might be wrong, but this is going to be my knee jerk reaction based on years of just “living”. I’ve lived in dangerous neighborhoods, safe neighborhoods, slummy neighborhoods, upper class neighborhoods. Television plays a part in the image we build in our heads as well. Where do THEY get their idea for what to dress an actor in to portrait a certain type of person?
In actuality, the process is scientific. I view elements of the subject and based on what I think I know about that element, I come to a theory that best fits the situation at hand. My theory may be ultimately wrong, but it’s a loose interpretation of Occam’s Razor and for my survival at the time, I’m not going to override instinct. That can be deadly.
So, I’m no stereotyping. I’m using science!
Postpartum
- August 5th, 2010 // No Comments » // Thoughts
August 5th already? It’s been 5 months since I last posted. I’ll take a moment and say that fatherhood is fantastic, a blessing. My son is three months old now and has started smiling, cooing at mom & dad. I get my first two days at home with him this coming Monday and Tuesday, all day alone. I’m not worried… really… I think.
Day care. Really? $800 a month? I harp about how inflation affects daily life, gas prices especially, but this is downright painful. My rent for my 3 bedroom house isn’t even $800 a month. Granted, many people’s rent IS but still, perspective!
Still, it is an accredited organization we’ll be giving my son to for 40+ hours a week. I can be thankful for that at least. The people are friendly and I understand that they take good care of the children.
I wonder if I’ll miss things. His first word, his first step, his first front snap kick? Guess I can’t concern myself with those things.
I see you.
- March 29th, 2010 // No Comments » // Self Defense, Thoughts
Have that tingling on the back of your neck? Is someone watching you?
I spent this past weekend keeping an eye on people. It is interesting the different habits individuals portrait when going through their daily routines. Those who aren’t, you can usually pretty readily identify.
My wife and i ate at On the Border on Sunday (who by the way, have a killer chimichanga menu). Our waitress was brand new. She didn’t tell us this but it was noticeable. She was sporadic at best with her service consistency, and didn’t keep the drinks refilled at first. When she finally figured out she had forgotten us, she brought us two full glasses each of our respective drinks and apologized profusely. In fact, she apologized during the course of the entire meal. At one point I had to tell her “You’re doing fine, it’s all good.”
Low confidence, rare eye contact, half smiles and a rush to and from the table (there weren’t many people there yet either). She was either a severely scatterbrained person or brand new. When she did engage in conversation, she seemed intelligent, so this ruled out the first possibility and decided she was new. When asked, she confirmed this suspicion at the end of the meal.
When we were in Kansas City, we were approached by a man with a tin can asking for money on the street. He was dressed in dirty rags, gloves with holes in them and a beanie hat with a big smear of something questionable on it. However, he was completely confident in his endeavor. He knew his target clientele and approached them with directness. Measured eye contact, not enough to make me feel threatened. It seemed to me that he had been doing this for a long time. He knew how to sell.
I imagine criminals fall much into the same frameworks (of course there are exceptions to every rule). A first time robber may lack confidence, be aloof, unsure, inconsistent. Whereas a long time thief will case a joint or approach you on the street without hesitation and be in/out/done before the dog sneezes.
Take this concept and extend it to violent criminals. Those cold, calculating men who have this dangerous level of comfort with their actions are to be feared but, strangely enough, probably have a measurably larger amount of psychological “training” in how to affect victims. They know what the presence of a weapon can do to people. They have experienced the freeze numerous times and are skilled at inciting it in others. Then you have the shaky fingered first time gunpoint robber who really isn’t sure what his goals in life are. Who is more dangerous? On what levels? Is there even a comparison?
Drunk Uncle Bob
- March 26th, 2010 // No Comments » // Self Defense, Thoughts
Many of us have encountered someone, possibly a family member, who had an altered state of mind for a period of time. Of course, this can cause differences in the individual’s behavior, confusion, and a slurry of other attributes.
The inability to reason can be a deadly affliction (for the person in question as well as anyone around them, especially if they are allowed behind the wheel of a vehicle). If drunk uncle Bob says something innapropriate or does something stupid to himself, that’s one thing. However, what if drunk uncle Bob destroys property? Takes a swing at someone? Forces himself upon a woman? Or worse?
Someone might need to stop drunk uncle Bob. However, What is the appropriate level of force given the different circumstances? What if Bob pulls a knife out of the kitchen and goes after someone? He is threatening that person’s life, is it appropriate for one to not take that threat seriously? Of course, if at all possible I’d like to stop him with as little harm to *anyone* as possible but hell, he’s drunk out of his mind and probably wouldn’t feel a joint lock in the same way your or I would while sober.
Again it is entirely circumstantial. If Bob takes a swing at me, my first reaction (assuming he missed) would be to try and talk him down. If he persists (again, unarmed) then he might get laid out.
Once he picks up a knife though… hrm…
I wonder if he’d even remember, the next day.
An odd story and a few perhaps not so surprising ones…
- March 25th, 2010 // No Comments » // Thoughts, Violence
Can a piece of a toothpick kill you?
Enter the late Mr. Sherwood Anderson who died of Peritonitis (inflammation/irritation of the tissue that lines the wall of the abdomen and covers the abdominal organs) in the 1940s due to ingestion of a piece of toothpick apparently hidden in an olive or piece of food.
http://sherwoodandersonfoundation.org/2006/07/an_early_encounter_with_sherwo.php
Tasers have killed 300+ people since 2001. It doesn’t take much…
http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/us-teenager-killed-police-taser-attack-20090323
… but you also get those who are a bit over eager,
http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/07/22/taser.death/index.html
The Ethics of Violence Part 1 – Thoughts
- March 24th, 2010 // No Comments » // Self Defense, Thoughts
I had a chance yesterday to run the scenario past a few friends and family members. The answers were interesting, here are a few synopses:
1) Yell at Bill to get away from my (son). Afterward, I’d take the opportunity to flee after him
2) Approach Bill slowly with disarming words, ultimately attempting to distract him from the family member so I can attack.
3) Yell for the family member to flee at the same time attempting to take control of Bill.
The individuals who stated #s 2 and 3 also added that they’d be willing to go as far as taking Bill’s life if necessary. Given the circumstances, especially the notion that Bill is threatening bodily harm to your kin/friend and you have NO idea the extent at which he is capable of acting, perhaps that is not an imprudent thought.
A dramatic response? Isn’t it a dramatic scenario? I am beginning to understand these ideas. I can’t begin to claim that I’d be able to react accordingly but I can indeed agree that action is absolutely necessary and that inaction would end with an unpredictable result. An unpredictable result is unacceptable. If you are able to accurately, exactly predict a severely angry person’s next action please email me with your secret.
A similar scenario could happen anywhere at any time to any one… In Philadelphia back in 2008, a sleeping man on a subway was attacked with a hammer. 10 passengers were in the car with the assaulter and the victim. No one acted.
…or for any reason. 2 dollars and a bag of chips?
…with any level of force, sometimes even foolishly… Assault with … um.
The Ethics of Violence Part 1
- March 23rd, 2010 // 2 Comments » // Self Defense, Thoughts
Do this with me… Take a breath, clear your mind. Shake off thoughts of the day, of work.
Visualize this scenario:
An individual, whom you do not know, is threatening your family in a violent manner. Be it your daughter, sister, mother, whoever. We’ll call the threatening character Bill. Bill has a weapon and Bill is gesturing very aggressively toward the family member referenced. You’re not sure what Bill’s intentions are and all he is saying is “Don’t move! Don’t move! Don’t move or else!”
Bill has the means to hurt your family (the weapon) and he has the opportunity for now (he is between you and them). Does he have the intent? Is he mentally capable of deciding what is the morally correct action?
Lets say that you have an opportunity, whatever it may be, to disarm this situation. Considering the use of force continuum, he has not responded to verbal or presence means, and you’re not sure that a soft attack will stop Bill if he decides to act on his seeming intent.
It is an adrenaline fused anger laden difficult scenario which only emulates one of millions of possibilities regarding a violent act.
Things to consider :
1) Bill is bigger than you
2) Bill already has a time advantage (he is closer to your loved one(s) than you are)
3) Consider your surroundings, think blanket thoughts I.E. “If there were a X I would do Y.”
What would your next action be? How far would you go to stop Bill? Could you think clearly enough given the stress of the situation and the likely adrenaline dump? Are you prepared for something like this happening?
Rory Miller, Ambushes and Thugs
- March 22nd, 2010 // No Comments » // Self Defense
I’ve been a martial artist for years. Tae Kwon Do, Shaolin Kung Fu, Aikido, Karate, Aikijutsu… What does it all mean? Why do I do it? I know this… I was told this past weekend that I do it for the following;
Manufacturing cripples and corpses.
Yep, the crisp clear reality of it. Even after working with Nick Guinn for years now I didn’t really truly get that part of it. Nick has gotten me close, but it was all a matter of semantics. The words strike a note. I’m not training to pull my punches. I’m not training to avoid seriously injuring an attacker. I’m training to defend myself, my friends, my family, maybe even my neighbor.
I attended a seminar on Saturday, March 20th in Independence Kansas. The title of the seminar was “Ambushes and Thugs”. Little did I know that I’d enter that building with one view of the world and leave with a completely altered view.
The day started as most others, with breakfast and a chat with the buddies. When we got to the college, I met Rory (link to his website). He was a little shorter than I expected but had a seasoned, almost weathered look in his eyes which overshadowed any physical perception of the man. He carried himself with confidence and even an attitude which coolly demonstrated his general outlook. The man had a great sense of humor to boot.
I won’t go into too much detail about the seminar but I will touch on a few points…
We started with a safety lecture and were advised to remove any weaponry on our person. People laughed (even he grinned) but I’m pretty sure Rory was dead serious. We proceeded to start in on a few drills. Rory presented an idea pertaining to “sparring” exchange that better emulated real life. This idea takes into account that there are three primary attributes of an attack/defense. Speed, power and accuracy. Take away one of these things and the attack is far less effective. The only one of the three that he was fairly sure wouldn’t be a problem responding with in a high intensity situation, even if you train without it, was speed. So, train with slower speed but keep your accuracy and your level of power commitment high. This will help you not train in a bad habit.
Interesting concept. One of many that we covered. We went on to add a few elements to the training regime, like using a punching mitt as a placeholder for a 2 month old baby. Boy, that changed things. Suddenly you go from “crush him” to “escape him” at all costs when faced with an assailant.
He lectured about the criminal mind, the “Monkey Dance” (a typically social exchange of words and light force), social and a-social behavior.
Then the videos came. Things I haven’t ever seen before. Real things. Real violence. If an image says a thousand words, these videos spoke volumes about the mind of the truly callous way people can act. These images drew the day’s lessons together and cemented them in my head.
It is amazing yet humbling to me what a human without a moral code is capable of. The reality is, too, that if faced with one of these individuals ever in my life, I must already have my ethical issues resolved. Just like Sgt. Miller said, I can’t have a moral crisis when facing a man lunging at my wife. I won’t.
All in all, a great day. A great man. A whole lot to digest. I plan to add more as the thoughts come to me. This may even be a new theme to the blog. It is without a doubt an important topic that directly affects EVERYONE.
I want to comment on the thing in my head. I’m going to make it fairly regular. My plan is, over the next few weeks, pick one topic of discussion from the seminar and from my interactions with my peers/training over the time to come and try to externalize my thoughts.
God bless,
Jeremy
Kieran Robert
- March 18th, 2010 // No Comments » // Thoughts
He is on his way! We hit month 8 as of yesterday. I haven’t had time to post much since January because of the pregnancy and super busy projects at work. I’ll get back in the swing of things soon!
What do I spend my Christmas Money on? Installment 4
- December 28th, 2009 // No Comments » // Thoughts
You read, right? You’re reading this now. Do you still indulge in the occasional fiction novel, hoping to lose yourself in a fantastic world full of strange creature, swashbuckling adventure, sorcery?
I love George R R Martin’s series, A Song of Ice and Fire. The depth of character development and his intricately detailed world really bring the story to life.
So, maybe it is time to bring a little bit of the written word back into your world. This is a simple request, buy a book. Go browse through the aisles of your local book store and read the story summaries. You might find something that strikes your fancy.
I for one want to eventually get my hands on one of Amazon’s Kindle devices. That’s a little ways and a few hundred dollars down the road, though. For the time being, I’ll enjoy my shelves full of those aforementioned other worlds, following armies into the fray and flying through the sky on the back of dragons!
