if you go to guns you failed

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Hangingrock

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"if you go to guns you failed" "means that you failed multiple opportunities to take preventative measures to insure you personal security and that of those who you are responsible to protect"

The above excerpt taken from: Your Most Powerful Weapon How To Use Your Mind To Stay Safe by Steve Tarani. (Chapter 5:Threat Avoidance)

A interesting 202 page book read divided into 10 chapters
 
That's way to general a statement. Obviously, you should be aware and we can document failures of such but in every case? I don't think so. You should never go to a concert because a rampage killer with a bump stock decided to open fire from a hotel window? Never go a mall and use your gun because a killer decided to open fire? Why did you fail then if you engaged the person, who was right there?

It has to be more nuanced and the book probably is.
 
GEM said:
That's way to general a statement. Obviously, you should be aware and we can document failures of such but in every case? I don't think so. You should never go to a concert because a rampage killer with a bump stock decided to open fire from a hotel window? Never go a mall and use your gun because a killer decided to open fire? Why did you fail then if you engaged the person, who was right there?

It has to be more nuanced and the book probably is.
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It is and was not my intent to author a ten page book report other than the observation quoted. If you have a problem with the quotation than either read the book, the chapter the quotation was taken from and contact the author of the book.
 
I have a problem with some stating a single statement and expecting that it has some usefulness to us. On the surface it does not. If you want to post it as useful, it behooves you to have a more nuanced presentation.

If you don't want us to discuss the statement for what it seems to say, why post it?
 
The criminal actor chooses not only the time and circumstances, but also the level of force needed to immediately stop the continuation of the event.

How has anyone failed, for example, if a robber backs me into the space between my car and the gas pump with a knife?
If criminal violence isn't met with sufficient force to stop that violence, you become a victim. My 2 cents...
 
I know Steve Tarani. I spent 3 days shooting with him in a Pat Rogers carbine operators class. We talked extensively at lunch those three days. While I haven't read the book I'm sure that he is aware that sometimes all the situational awareness in the world can't prevent every attack.
 
Jeff White said:
I know Steve Tarani. I spent 3 days shooting with him in a Pat Rogers carbine operators class. We talked extensively at lunch those three days. While I haven't read the book I'm sure that he is aware that sometimes all the situational awareness in the world can't prevent every attack.
Click to expand...
Yep. Like when someone kicks in your door at 3AM.
 
Hangingrock said:
"if you go to guns you failed" "means that you failed multiple opportunities to take preventative measures to insure you personal security and that of those who you are responsible to protect"

The above excerpt taken from: Your Most Powerful Weapon How To Use Your Mind To Stay Safe by Steve Tarani. (Chapter 5:Threat Avoidance)

A interesting 202 page book read divided into 10 chapters
Click to expand...


How exactly can he state so emphatically that I've failed if I "go to guns" if I've properly secured my property (to the best of my abilities) yet there is some yahoo criminal out their with a bigger bolt cutter or decides to really think outside the box and just demolish my property to gain entry?

Some of us can't afford the best physical security deterrents or barriers. Hence the need to be armed.
 
Crack heads, drunks, mentality deficient folks, and many others are a good argument against that. They aren’t thinking reasonably and sometimes cannot be reasoned with or made to stop without “going to guns”.

I understand the meaning of the quoted excerpt, and for many instances it is correct. Without reading the book and getting the whole picture, I’d have to say just that excerpt is way too general.
 
There are 10 chapters in the book, I referred to a segment quotation in chapter 5 narrowly defined. Another quote to ponder "Just because you carry a gun doesn't mean its your first and only line of defense regardless of the situation. In fact, it should be your very last." Apparently none of you have read the book by the commentary so far but your replies are opinionated based on one sentence from one chapter.
 
Hangingrock said:
Another quote to ponder "Just because you carry a gun doesn't mean its your first and only line of defense regardless of the situation. In fact, it should be your very last."
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That's very good advice.

Hangingrock said:
Apparently none of you have read the book by the commentary so far but your replies are opinionated based on one sentence from one chapter.
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That is the sentence that you chose to provide.
 
I haven't read the book. I feel The title to the chapter is used to provoke conversation or thought. Ideally one will never put himself in a situation requiring the use of deadly force. Spidey sense and hairs on the back of your neck stuff that is telling your subconscious that something is wrong should be listened too. Sometimes real life gets in the way of tactical life.
 
Additional Quotes from Your Most Powerful Weapon How To Use Your Mind To Stay Safe

"(How To Use Your Mind To Stay Safe) In A world where terrorist, attacks, active shootings, and physical violence are the new normal, how can you keep you and your family safe without a firearm or knowing martial arts.

What if you have an effective weapon with you, everyday, and only needed to learn how to use it?

Your most powerful weapon - your mind - is at your disposal 24/7. It doesn't need a permit or batteries, and never runs out of bullets. Carried with you every where, it can be deployed quick as thought - if you know how.

Your Most Powerful Weapon teaches you how to: build mental toughness, control your environment, avoid a threat, defeat an attack, and control fear."
 
In the sense that "The mind is the weapon, all else is just tools", the quote makes sense. It reminds us to mindful of our surroundings, and any potential tools within it. It does not excuse us from preparing for a (however unlikely) sudden, violent, attack that can only be met (successfully, that is) with swift counterattack and violence of action. Guns are very handy for such situations. And I'm sure Steve Tarani would agree with that.
 
entropy said:
In the sense that "The mind is the weapon, all else is just tools", the quote makes sense. It reminds us to mindful of our surroundings, and any potential tools within it. It does not excuse us from preparing for a (however unlikely) sudden, violent, attack that can only be met (successfully, that is) with swift counterattack and violence of action. Guns are very handy for such situations. And I'm sure Steve Tarani would agree with that.
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Yes. Another reading resource Left OF Bang (How the Marine Corps' Combat Hunter Program Can Save Your Life) Patrick Van Horne & Jason A Riley

If your only tool is a hammer you view every problem as a nail applies.
 
BSA1 said:
So you are promoting sales of the book by posting a one line teaser.
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No. I'm not promoting sales of the book but rather the concepts contained with in the book but then you would have to acquire the book in order to read the material with in.
 
hangingrock wrote:
"...if you go to guns you failed" "means that you failed multiple opportunities...
Click to expand...

I won't continue the quote except to note that tactically, morally, criminally, and civilly, if going to the gun was not the last resort - and you can convince a court of that - then, Yeah, you failed. Even if you're otherwise immune to that realization, your wallet will - in time - let you know about it.

Jeff White wrote:
While I haven't read the book I'm sure that he [Steve Tarani] is aware that sometimes all the situational awareness in the world can't prevent every attack.
Click to expand...

Agreed.

The two times I have had to "go for my gun" have been situations in which I didn't have a chance to start talking to the "bad guy". If I got the chance to start talking, the "bad guy" either walked away or left with, at most, $10.
 
hdwhit said:
I won't continue the quote except to note that tactically, morally, criminally, and civilly, if going to the gun was not the last resort - and you can convince a court of that - then, Yeah, you failed.
Click to expand...
That does expand very significantly the thought originally posted here.
 
I think some of you guys are reading into that quote in a little too much of an "absolute" sense. The quote makes sense as an idea, just not as the dogmatic and unwavering law of the universe that it seems like some of you read it.

Avoidance is better than getting in a gun fight 99% of the time. Obviously there are cases where your hands may be tied, but avoiding an armed confrontation is typically the best course of action. And, if you're practicing good situational awareness, and applying good judgment to the things you observe, many fights can be avoided. Are there exceptions? Certainly. The bad guys choose the time, place, and manner of bringing a fight to our doorstep, and in some cases fight is the only option. If it wasn't, we wouldn't have any justification for wanting firearms as a means of self defense!

But, when taken as a concept rather than a hard and fast rule, there is some value in absorbing that quote.
 
coloradokevin said:
I think some of you guys are reading into that quote in a little too much of an "absolute" sense. The quote makes sense as an idea, just not as the dogmatic and unwavering law of the universe that it seems like some of you read it.

Avoidance is better than getting in a gun fight 99% of the time. Obviously there are cases where your hands may be tied, but avoiding an armed confrontation is typically the best course of action. And, if you're practicing good situational awareness, and applying good judgment to the things you observe, many fights can be avoided. Are there exceptions? Certainly. The bad guys choose the time, place, and manner of bringing a fight to our doorstep, and in some cases fight is the only option. If it wasn't, we wouldn't have any justification for wanting firearms as a means of self defense!

But, when taken as a concept rather than a hard and fast rule, there is some value in absorbing that quote.
Click to expand...

Finally a thoughtful reply as opposed to a reactionary criticism of the following quotation "if you go to guns you failed" "means that you failed multiple opportunities to take preventative measures to insure you personal security and that of those who you are responsible to protect"
 
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