Situational Awareness (What Would You Do)

I know a couple guys who say they are in condition red every time they are out in public. Maybe it’s just me but I can’t do it. I guess I find it takes away from the joy of life. Luckily it hasn’t bit me in the ass yet.

this does remind me of an event that cUght me completely flat footed and I froze for a second. I was in a crowded parking lot heading to my car with a cart full of groceries. I was looking to the left when a guy came out between two SUVs and yelled Hey!!!! I came to a stop and froze for a second. The guy was actually yelling to a friend who was behind me, but I didn’t know that at the time. I was flat footed and if it was an attack I would have been damaged pretty quick. Tough to be alert all the time.

Rockrivr1 said:

I know a couple guys who say they are in condition red every time they are out in public. Maybe it’s just me but I can’t do it.

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Nobody can stay in condition red (at least as Cooper defined it) all the time. My guess is that your acquaintances probably don't understand what the color code means.

@Night Rider summarized Cooper's definitions nicely:

Night Rider said:

White: Unaware. Not even a thought that you may have to defend yourself.

Yellow: General awareness that the world is not necessarily a safe place and you may have cause to defend yourself today.

Cooper then went on to state very specifically that you can live in "Condition Yellow" for the rest of your life.

Orange: Specific cause for concern. As Cooper put it "I may have cause to defend myself against that specific person today.

Red: Definite threat. The threat is engaging you specifically and you're making If/Then decisions. " If the threat crosses this line Then I'm going to draw". Right up to " If the threat crosses this line Then I'm going to shoot.

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"Don't walk up on me bro!"

Say it loud and firm.

If he keeps coming, we're in condition red.

If he stops and makes his "sales pitch," standard answer - in same tone of voice - "Can't help you with that!"

That's all the conversation we're having. Definitely not pulling my wallet out to distribute charity-bucks to aggressive panhandlers, while having my hands and focus occupied where it shouldn't be when strangers are walking up on me.

And keep your head on a swivel. They work sometimes in teams. Don't let tunnel vision take over.

Don't stand there still pumping gas either. Pull the nozzle and go if the situation doesn't seem right.

luzyfuerza said:

Most of us have routines that we generally slip into. We buy gas at just a handful of stations. We buy food at just a handful of stores. Visit a few restaurants. Generally drive on just a few highways.

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These routines can get us in trouble if the perp has been observing we always walk down a certain way about the same time every day, etc.

There are some interesting perspectives here.

Watch them cerefully as they approach .

Stand your ground and make sure they can see you put your hand into your pocket .

If they suspect you are armed and are aware of them ... they will usually not start a fight .

Too easy to get wounded in a close range gunfight with someone willing to fight and who might be armed ... they will find an easier victims .
Gary

Beggars love gas stations. Gas stations are busy places, cars coming, going, people walking around. More than once I have been pumping gas and been blindsided by a beggar wanting money. These guys duck, dodge, hide behind pumps and you never see them till they pop up behind you. Unless you have a buddy watching for them, while you are busy working your way through those damn gas pump menus with blaring ads, beggars will always be able to sneak up on your blind spot.

Lets see, do you want a receipt? Press yes/no. Do you want a car wash? Press yes/no. Do you want their credit card?,Press yes/no. Somewhere in that sequence the beggar will get you.

Slamfire said:

Beggars love gas stations. Gas stations are busy places, cars coming, going, people walking around. More than once I have been pumping gas and been blindsided by a beggar wanting money. These guys duck, dodge, hide behind pumps and you never see them till they pop up behind you. Unless you have a buddy watching for them, while you are busy working your way through those damn gas pump menus with blaring ads, beggars will always be able to sneak up on your blind spot.

Lets see, do you want a receipt? Press yes/no. Do you want a car wash? Press yes/no. Do you want their credit card?,Press yes/no. Somewhere in that sequence the beggar will get you.

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How come it hasn't happened to me yet?

Night Rider said:

How come it hasn't happened to me yet?

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You must be going to those high class gas stations. For some reason, when I pull into low life gas stations, in my low life vehicle, wearing my low life clothing, I get approached by low lifes. Maybe they recognize a kindred spirit.

Slamfire said:

You must be going to those high class gas stations. For some reason, when I pull into low life gas stations, in my low life vehicle, wearing my low life clothing, I get approached by low lifes. Maybe they recognize a kindred spirit.

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Why are you going to lowlife gas stations?

It's been awhile since I've been approached at the gas station. Normally when I'm gassing up I stand a little bit behind the car and I look around. I mean I change position and I look around the area to see what's going on and I don't care who knows what that's what I'm doing.

A lot of times if they see that you're paying attention to what's going on around you like that they'll pick somebody else.

I'm not a jerk to people but as soon as it's clear that they're trying to reproach me specifically I stop them and I tell them "I have nothing for you". That's almost always enough for them to turn around and go someplace else.

The last guy I dealt with kept trying to come closer and he was asking me "What did I ever do to you for you to talk to me like that?" He took maybe three more steps closer to me (he was probably still 15 to 20 ft away) and I squared up on him and I told him "Do not come any closer to me." At that point he clearly decided that it wasn't worth whatever he was trying to get from me.

I seem to remember him hanging out on the edge of the parking lot waiting for somebody else to put the mooch on. I'm not saying that he had anything more in mind than trying to beg a couple bucks.

Good Ol' Boy said:

And what if the guy in the wheelchair has his hands beneath the blanket covering his mid section, as I mentioned in the OP?

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I just noticed this. You have to learn to overcome your social conditioning. If you're approaching me like that and I can't see your hands I have no problem asking you to show me your hands. I'm not at work and I'm not a cop so I can't order you to show me your hands but I can certainly tell somebody I'm not comfortable with him approaching me with their hands hidden.

Coincidentally, I just watched a video by Colion Noir. The topic of the video was open carry.

The reason that's relevant here is because one of the situations that he posited in which he would open carry was if circumstances forced him to fuel up late at night in a seedy part of town.

My first thought when I heard it was "Why are you putting yourself in that position?"

There is a Shell gas station less than half a mile from my home. It's in my neighborhood so it's familiar territory for me I know what's the norm there and I know what's out of place. That's where I get gas.

My point is that I don't wait until I'm forced to get gas. We get gas at between a half and a quarter of a tank so that we have time and options to go where we want to get gas.

Fives and twenty-fives, always. Condition 1, red status, all the time.

Wife and friends never understood why I walked certain ways down hallways and paths with eyes facing the opposite side of a possible danger area. I also have her walk away from the curb with me closer to the street pavement. She one time was on that side closer to the street and then let me trade places and couldn't help but notice the dude I was making eye contact with suddenly figured out that this wasn't his easy target day or whatever, possibly even just a coincidence that he didn't want to play stare games either and was actually harmless, heh. But standing in the shade of a blocked doorway away from the town center on a 100+ degree day with nothing else better to do than to watch all the parked cars and passerby's? Okay.

Anyway, something else to ponder, your carry position. Ask yourself, is it the most optimal should the rubber meet the road if it's go time?

Somebody mentioned the OODA loop above.
The thing that people don't talk about when they talk about the OODA loop is that it is a continuous loop and every change in variable resets it and then you have to go through the process again.

I remember a trainer that said once that there's a little Rolodex inside your brain and when something comes up your Consciousness starts flipping through that Rolodex looking for an appropriate response. If it doesn't find an appropriate response it will continue to cycle through the loop looking for a response and that when that happens you will go all "Deer in the Headlights."
That's why we train scenarios. That's also why we do thought exercises here.

The reason I mention this is because Covid changed the game. Right before I retired I was calling the police for petty infractions at work and I was being told "We're not coming."

Criminals might be dumb but they're not stupid. It didn't take them very long at all to learn that they could get away with crimes because the police were overwhelmed or that if they got caught they'd be RoR before you got out of the hospital.

It's being reported in Pueblo I'm sure it's happening in Colorado Springs and Denver too but the police are arresting people who are out on bail for multiple offenses.

The point I'm trying to make is based on the discussion that we're having here, we've all (including me) got this idea in our minds that our street smarts and our situational awareness will scare the bad guys away. You'd better have a plan for when they don't.

This article has been posted here before, but I think it warrants wider circulation.

It describes the body language often associated with imminent violent actions.

If the guy approaching you doesn't display any of these behaviors then maybe his intent is just to bum a couple of bucks. However, if he does display them, then its reasonable to expect that a violent attack is imminent.

Being familiar with these actions helps you decide when you might need to quickly leave the scene, or helps to create a reasonable basis for a defensive response.

https://www.backwoodshome.com/body-language-and-threat-recognition/