Dismantler
Member
I have read many threads with scenarios such as "What would you do if..."? They usually assume that a BG has entered the picture, and that you need to react. I have given these situations some thought, and have come to the following conclusion. You have three strategic choices:
1 - Engage the BG.
2 - Make yourself invisible. (This includes avoidance.)
3 - Get away.
Whether it is a bully in a schoolyard or a mall shooter, these are your three choices. The tactics that you use to to execute the strategy that you choose can vary, but the three strategic choices remain.
Let us use a fast food shooter as an example. You're enjoying your Super Duper Cholesterol Burger and a maniac starts shooting the place up. You can engage him by returning fire. You can hide under the table or in the rest room, thus (hopefully) becoming invisible. You can head for the exit. I cannot think of any other strategic choices.
Your strategy can change. Suppose that you are under the table, (invisibility) and the shooter is approaching. You may have to change your strategy to engage him. You have gone from invisibility to engagement. Perhaps your strategy is to engage the BG, but a panicked throng of fast food customers is rushing toward you on their way to the exit. You may be forced to flee with them, or be trampled. Here your strategy has changed from engagement to flight.
Sometimes you may not have all three strategic choices available to you. Perhaps you are in a rest room and a group of BG's comes in to take up a collection. You cannot hide or flee, so you need to engage the BG's one way or another. Your tactical choices are to reason with the BG's (does not usually work) or fight, or contribute to the collection. All three of these are examples of tactics. The strategy is to engage the BG's. The tactics are how you do it.
Note that there is a difference between strategy and tactics. Strategy is what you wish to do. Tactics are how you accomplish it. Take the fast food shooter again. You decide to engage him. That is your strategy. Your tactics may vary according to the situation. You may have to shoot it out with him head on. Or maybe you see that you can slip out an exit, come around and get behind him. Both are examples of tactics.
Having given this considerable thought, I cannot come up with any other strategic choices. Tactics will have to be improvised by the physical environment that you are in, and they can vary greatly. But these seem to be the three strategic choices. They are fight, flight, or invisibility. Keep those options in mind when surveying your environment. More than likely, you will make a snap decision on one of them if things go bad. The tactics that you use to implement the strategy will be determined in a large part by your physical environment and other factors such as other people in the area.
A healthy dose of Strategic Awareness is necessary, as the BG always starts with an advantage. You may say, "I am going to go get lunch." He is thinking, "I am going to go shoot up a fast food restaurant." He acts, and you must react. Keep your three strategic choices in mind as you survey your surroundings. Ask yourself, "Can I fight here? Can I hide here? Can I escape from here?" Having the three choices in mind can help you if it comes to an encounter wih a BG.
1 - Engage the BG.
2 - Make yourself invisible. (This includes avoidance.)
3 - Get away.
Whether it is a bully in a schoolyard or a mall shooter, these are your three choices. The tactics that you use to to execute the strategy that you choose can vary, but the three strategic choices remain.
Let us use a fast food shooter as an example. You're enjoying your Super Duper Cholesterol Burger and a maniac starts shooting the place up. You can engage him by returning fire. You can hide under the table or in the rest room, thus (hopefully) becoming invisible. You can head for the exit. I cannot think of any other strategic choices.
Your strategy can change. Suppose that you are under the table, (invisibility) and the shooter is approaching. You may have to change your strategy to engage him. You have gone from invisibility to engagement. Perhaps your strategy is to engage the BG, but a panicked throng of fast food customers is rushing toward you on their way to the exit. You may be forced to flee with them, or be trampled. Here your strategy has changed from engagement to flight.
Sometimes you may not have all three strategic choices available to you. Perhaps you are in a rest room and a group of BG's comes in to take up a collection. You cannot hide or flee, so you need to engage the BG's one way or another. Your tactical choices are to reason with the BG's (does not usually work) or fight, or contribute to the collection. All three of these are examples of tactics. The strategy is to engage the BG's. The tactics are how you do it.
Note that there is a difference between strategy and tactics. Strategy is what you wish to do. Tactics are how you accomplish it. Take the fast food shooter again. You decide to engage him. That is your strategy. Your tactics may vary according to the situation. You may have to shoot it out with him head on. Or maybe you see that you can slip out an exit, come around and get behind him. Both are examples of tactics.
Having given this considerable thought, I cannot come up with any other strategic choices. Tactics will have to be improvised by the physical environment that you are in, and they can vary greatly. But these seem to be the three strategic choices. They are fight, flight, or invisibility. Keep those options in mind when surveying your environment. More than likely, you will make a snap decision on one of them if things go bad. The tactics that you use to implement the strategy will be determined in a large part by your physical environment and other factors such as other people in the area.
A healthy dose of Strategic Awareness is necessary, as the BG always starts with an advantage. You may say, "I am going to go get lunch." He is thinking, "I am going to go shoot up a fast food restaurant." He acts, and you must react. Keep your three strategic choices in mind as you survey your surroundings. Ask yourself, "Can I fight here? Can I hide here? Can I escape from here?" Having the three choices in mind can help you if it comes to an encounter wih a BG.