Creaky_Old_Cop
member
Many things in life are the product of a decision we make, fail to make, or hesitate to make.
This is Frisco's First Law Of Thermodynamics: Most situations in which an adult finds themselves are the direct result of their own decisions, good, bad, or indifferent.
"It's not my fault" is a mantra of those who live without taking personal responsibility for their actions or their bad decisions. We have all heard them. "I was drunk! It's not my fault, it was the booze!" Really? Who made the decision to drink ALL the booze in the place?
"It's not his fault, I did something to make him beat me" - Oh really? Who made the decision to throw that first blow? How many officers here have heard the abused woman say that? It is NOT your fault, it is his and his alone. You are a victim until you decide not to be.
"Please don't take him to jail! He won't hit me no more! I love him!" - Oh really? Then why have we been here five times before when he beat you? He WILL decide to do it again, and until you can make the decision not to be a victim any longer, he will keep doing it. Your decision to stay is not the same as his decision to beat you, but one plays into the other. Decide to get help. Decide not to be his victim any longer. After that, the decision is his and his alone, you are merely implementing action in order not to be his punching bag.
If we accept the former as being true, then the decision to employ force in defense of yourself or your family is not yours to make. You are being forced to take defensive action by the bad decision of those who would seek to cause you harm. You are merely reacting to a decision made by a potential predator.
The only decision you had to make, was the decision not to be a victim. That decision should have been made the moment you chose to arm yourself with the knowledge, training, and implements of your own defense regardless of what it might be. In a defensive situation, all you are doing is hitting the GO button.
After many years as an LEO, and trainer the one thing I heard from many people, especially women, was "I don't know if I could kill anyone" when they first came to grips with the reality that the world is not made of cotton candy, lollipops, and bubble wrap.
I would counter that with "And that merely means you are a human being with a conscience. No one who lives with a belief in general decency wants to kill anyone. But remember, your decision not to be a victim is not a decision to kill, it is just a decision to act in your own defense and stop an attack upon yourself or your family".
If you are left alone to live your life, you will not "decide" to hurt anyone. You will go about your life as peacefully as you are allowed to, doing as little harm as you can along the way. If attacked, you will react and stop a threat that someone else decided to pose to you or your family.
The catalyst to your action will be the decision made by a predator. You won't decide in the moment to kill anyone. You have long since made the decision not to be a victim. The byproduct of the decision made by the predator may result in their death, but you didn't choose it...they chose it. They made the decision to accept whatever consequences that may accompany their action.
If someone decides to attack you or your family, and they end up on a slab with holes in their meat sack...they made the decision.
This may seem like semantics, but it is not. The responsibility for anything that happens to them as a result of their bad decision is theirs and theirs alone.
This is Frisco's First Law Of Thermodynamics: Most situations in which an adult finds themselves are the direct result of their own decisions, good, bad, or indifferent.
"It's not my fault" is a mantra of those who live without taking personal responsibility for their actions or their bad decisions. We have all heard them. "I was drunk! It's not my fault, it was the booze!" Really? Who made the decision to drink ALL the booze in the place?
"It's not his fault, I did something to make him beat me" - Oh really? Who made the decision to throw that first blow? How many officers here have heard the abused woman say that? It is NOT your fault, it is his and his alone. You are a victim until you decide not to be.
"Please don't take him to jail! He won't hit me no more! I love him!" - Oh really? Then why have we been here five times before when he beat you? He WILL decide to do it again, and until you can make the decision not to be a victim any longer, he will keep doing it. Your decision to stay is not the same as his decision to beat you, but one plays into the other. Decide to get help. Decide not to be his victim any longer. After that, the decision is his and his alone, you are merely implementing action in order not to be his punching bag.
If we accept the former as being true, then the decision to employ force in defense of yourself or your family is not yours to make. You are being forced to take defensive action by the bad decision of those who would seek to cause you harm. You are merely reacting to a decision made by a potential predator.
The only decision you had to make, was the decision not to be a victim. That decision should have been made the moment you chose to arm yourself with the knowledge, training, and implements of your own defense regardless of what it might be. In a defensive situation, all you are doing is hitting the GO button.
After many years as an LEO, and trainer the one thing I heard from many people, especially women, was "I don't know if I could kill anyone" when they first came to grips with the reality that the world is not made of cotton candy, lollipops, and bubble wrap.
I would counter that with "And that merely means you are a human being with a conscience. No one who lives with a belief in general decency wants to kill anyone. But remember, your decision not to be a victim is not a decision to kill, it is just a decision to act in your own defense and stop an attack upon yourself or your family".
If you are left alone to live your life, you will not "decide" to hurt anyone. You will go about your life as peacefully as you are allowed to, doing as little harm as you can along the way. If attacked, you will react and stop a threat that someone else decided to pose to you or your family.
The catalyst to your action will be the decision made by a predator. You won't decide in the moment to kill anyone. You have long since made the decision not to be a victim. The byproduct of the decision made by the predator may result in their death, but you didn't choose it...they chose it. They made the decision to accept whatever consequences that may accompany their action.
If someone decides to attack you or your family, and they end up on a slab with holes in their meat sack...they made the decision.
This may seem like semantics, but it is not. The responsibility for anything that happens to them as a result of their bad decision is theirs and theirs alone.