We all were raised to follow the law and we do. But when we’re being attacked, the law isn’t there to protect you, it is going to get involved though, but only after all the f’d up things have already happened to you and the irreparable damage has been done.
There is no time to do anything except fighting back.
I’ll tell you what? If you’ve read this and remembered this, you just might be able to fight back without worrying about what the law is gonna do to you after the attack and instead worry what the attacker is gonna do to you during the attack if you don’t fight back, and what you’re gonna do to him so that you can survive, and when you do think and act like that, you’d have a chance of survival in violence.
Look i’m not saying that you should just go around breaking the law and killing everyone who messes with you or looks and walks towards you the wrong way. NO! That’s what the attackers i’m talking about here do to you and to others, because they don’t have the same respect for others lives and the law as you do.
Another thing is, there are many courses that do teach you about appropriate force and there’s no doubt they’re very valuable, they’ll help keep you out of jail if something does go wrong. I won’t say that i don’t teach appropriate force to my students/clients, because i do, but here’s the thing, that’s only for the common fights that happen, by common i mean non-life threatening and no weapons involved, but just some verbal or light hand use types of things, in those scenarios you won’t be removing a cleaver and start hacking everyone around you, no, you’ll deescalate and if necessary subdue the attacker, if necessary, that’s for a mildly violent situation, everyday common violence, etc.
But you never know who you’re messing with and even the mildest verbal argument might turn into a full fledged, weaponized, violent assault with multiple attackers coming out of nowhere on you, and you should be prepared for that.
So when it comes to that kind of violence, for me at least, the “use of appropriate force” means, appropriate “time & place” to use force and not the lethality of it. (Although i know that’s not what the law means by that).
You should know, that it’s our natural God given right to do absolutely anything and everything to ensure our survival along with our loved one’s and anyone or anything that wants or means to take that right away from us, is far from being our friend.
So unless you or i get a 24/7 P.S.D or a Protective Service Detail on us, i think i’m gonna keep this definition in mind when it comes to my life or my attackers death, what about you?
Now that all the violent parts of this post have been said and done, I’ll get to the logical part.
Even though, i hate “Appropriate force”, it still exists as far as law is concerned, to put it simply, an example of appropriate force would be something like this;
Let’s say a mugger gets you, puts a knife or a blade to your throat or just stands at a distance with a weapon, let it be a gun or a knife or a blade or an acid bottle, or anything that he could use to hurt you, he asks you to give him all your valuables, now what do you do?
A- Do you violently beat the living daylights out of him until he dies from it?
B- Do you give him everything and run away?
C- Do you give him everything only to distract him and then beat the living daylights out of him then run away?
D- Do you not give him anything and let him kill you?
If you chose A, C, or D, you’re in trouble with the law. If you chose B, you’re safe. All he wanted was your valuables, in return you got your life back.
Now add one more thing to that situation, let’s say you gave him your things, if he runs away, you’re free, but let’s say for the sake of this example, he still won’t leave, now ofcourse this means; Red flag, he doesn’t want a witness describing him to the cops, now what do you do?
A- Run and let him chase after you, maybe he’ll give up.
B- Attack him enough to put him down to create an opening and run.
C- Attack him and beat him up, so he doesn’t get up and dies.
D- Stay there and be killed.
If you chose B, it means you know what appropriate force means.
Appropriate Force is not just sitting there and taking a beating or Staying on the scene and killing your attacker. This isn’t a soldier’s war you’re fighting, this is civilian life. Appropriate force means, when you know and are sure of the present danger, you will use only enough force on the attacker so you can create an opening for yourself and escape the situation alive, it is not to severely injure or kill your attacker, but to ensure your own safety and survival.
So, now i’ve posted both sides of the spectrum;
-One where you turn into the violent attacker you were supposed to be fighting and face the consequences of your actions.
-The other where you not only survive but also not be labeled the criminal yourself.
Something to think about, yeah?
Thank you for reading.