Situational Awareness

[Whitewolf 508]

As a new member, I am hesitant to start a new thread but reading many of the posts I have become concerned. If you are carrying a firearm on a regular basis, you have to realize how important it is to be fully aware of your surroundings and not walk around in a fog.
I will give you an example- one of the movie theaters here is in a large mall that is frequented by some questionable people. I will not go to the movies there if it is getting out after dark on a weekend. I also will not park in the isolated underground lot. Instead I will drive an extra ten miles to a theater that is in a safer area.
I will not frequent a walkup ATM unless it is one in a lobby that locks. I also avoid convenient stores/gas stations after dark. I make my purchases on the way home from work when the traffic is heavier and the stores are busier. In other words I plan as best I can not to be in a situation wher I might be forced to draw or use my weapon.
There are times, when such planning does not work but then I am fully on alert and pay attention to who is around me..So far it has worked for me.

 

[Brrlgrrl]

Well White, welcome!
I believe what you are describing is just common sense, and would have to say that I also make those actions a common practice.

 

[Gocart]

Well said, Whitewolf. One of the best ways to win the fight is to avoid the fight.

 

[1911 guy]

Avoidance is best.

To have avoided the fight is to have won the fight.

 

[ball3006]

You have the right idea..........

welcome................chris3

 

[Whitewolf 508]

Stupidity

I can quite honestly tell you that not being aware of where you are can have some nasty consequences. Getting lost in a strange city or being in an area where you should not be is not a good thing.

Several years ago, we were at a party at a friends house in a neighboring city and one of the girls there asked us for a ride home. I was only happy to oblige. We kept driving and the neighborhood got worse and worse. It appeared desolated and bombed out. She very calmy told me not to stop at the intersection but to slow down in the middle of the block and she would jump. I did not listen and stopped. She jumped out and I noticed a large dark spot on the snow bank next to us. The next time I saw her I asked about the spot on the snow. She said that was why she did not want me to stop..someone had been shotgunned there that afternoon and the shooter had not been caught. She had been concerned about us because we did not "belong"in that neighborhood and soma people could have taken exception to it. The next time, I gave her a ride, I only slowed down.

 

[ThreadKiller]

The best gunfight is the one you're not in.

 

[ShootingEnthusiatist]

+1

Being armed doesn't mean you shouldn't use common sense and avoid possibly dangerous environments. I've read some posts on this forum where guys what to know if they were justified. I usually reply with this simple question, "Would you have been in the situation if you were unarmed?"

 

[Boom-stick]

I wish my wife would read some of these threads, the phrase " Ohh, I didn't think" comes out of her mouth far to often.

 

[Karla (Threadbndr)]

Boomstick, my late husband was a state trooper for 19 of the 21 years we were married. He co-taught a lot of women's self defense classes over the years and said that the hardest part of teaching self defense was getting people, especially women, to develop that 'situational awareness' and to keep it in the front of your mind so that it becomes second nature.

It irritates the heck out of me to know that there are places in my hometown that I just shouldn't go to. It isn't right that gender proscribes my activities in any way. It also bothers me that (as an older woman) my mere appearance makes me a potential victim to a certain percentage of our population. But the reality of today's society is that I AM a target in certain areas and to certain individuals and as much as I wish that it were different, it is my responsibility to keep myself out of "situations" as much as possible.

But for YOUR peace of mind, and her safety, you have to keep working on your wife. Is it possible that there are any women's self defense classes in your area? Would she be willing to go if you paid the fees? Maybe hearing the same information from the instructor would encourage her to think a little more seriously about her actions.