Yes!
Kudos to lee n. field for digging up this great essay by Chip Elliot. I've lost my cherished copy of it. It's a classic.
I remember this article very well. It really hit home because I also lived in the L.A./Venice/Santa Monica beach area and experienced similar "radicalizing experiences" (i.e., Close Encounters With Dirtbags) in the exact same time frame.
One of my own memorable California case studies:
My wife and I frequently went for evening walks in the beautiful Palisades Park overlooking the ocean by Santa Monica's famous Pier. This was a "nice" area, with pricey condos/apts./restaurants nearby, but it also attracted occasional sub-lifes (including Jane Fonda and her merry band of urban liberal pacifist artistes and assorted hygenically-challenged street-cretins).
One night, we were approached by two **self-esteem-challenged/culturally-disadvantaged** hyper-muscular youths brandishing knives... and demanding an involuntary contribution to their chemical welfare fund.
I told 'em to Get Lost.
They hesitated, and drew closer -- and I douched 'em with CS teargas (the strongest available circa 1980), square in the face. One guy ran away, howling in pain. The other guy blinked. Laughed. Then moved in for blood, slashing the air with his Buck 5-inch folder.
At which point I shoved a .38 snubbie in his face.
He backed off fast, screaming "not fair," and proceded to rip off his shirt and dare me to shoot him as he circled us... shouting, taunting, lunging. A couple of nearby strollers just ducked behind some palm trees, apparently praying for Divine Intervention by the Tooth Fairy. No one came to our aid. Jane Fonda never showed up, either. After a few minutes, the CS finally began to shut the big punk's eyes down. And we got the hell outta there.
He -- like 70% of criminals -- was "on something" at the time of his attack. Probably why the CS had marginal effect. My .38's Glasers might have done the job, but maybe not. We were lucky.
Like author Chip Elliot, I'd just decided -- after prior "learning experiences" -- NOT to be a victim. With or without a permit-to-carry. Period.
My lawyer told me I would have been justified in shooting him, but, given the town's politics, it would have cost me 25 K + in legal fees, plus another chunk of political payola to get off... maybe with just a justifiable homicide rap...or maybe a lesser-felony on my record.
I've upgraded my armament and training a bit since then. And I've also had a few more "Radicalizing Encounters" along the way -- even after moving to another state to get away from the urban sewer. I once saved a new neighbor and his family one cold winter night when -- long before the cops could respond to his desperate calls -- some escaped-felons in a stolen Porsche broke into his big house.
Felons apprehended. No shots fired. Armed citizen saves the day. And -- no newspaper story. I guess it just wasn't "newsworthy."
And my neighbor never thanked me.
After all, he had "Ban Handguns" and "Mondale For President" bumper stickers on his little 50 MPG granola-mobile. Had never concealed his hatred for guys like me, either. And that's the honest-to-god truth.
There's a huge fraternity of Chip Elliots out there. I'm one of them. We saw the light -- and rejected the bull$h!t cultural conditioning to play nice-nice. And, we survived.
It does not "Take A Village" to stop evil in its tracks. It takes Street Sense. And THAT is for the **Common Good**.