Should Concerns About Violent Crime Be A Justification To Not Help People?
As many of you know, I am passionately consumed with the act of sharing information about how people can increase their personal safety from violent crime during these truly perilous times. My interest in this subject - Personal Protection - was created as a direct result of being robbed at gun-point by a couple of thugs one evening in my own driveway several years ago.As a result of that experience, I have over the years expended a considerable amount time, money, and effort to learn everything that I could to ensure that it never happened again.
As testament of that commitment, I created a photo album entitled "Personal Protection Tips" on Facebook which has a total of 150 FREE different tips that people can read and adopt into their lifestyles to decrease their odds of being selected for victimization by predators.
You see, not only do I want to be safe but I want you to be safe too. Please note that I assembled this info and gave it away FREE of charge to anyone who would be so bold as to look at it and possibly learn from it.
Well, yesterday I published a safety tip that generated a lot of feedback. The safety tip cautioned people to "Beware of Good Samaritans Stings." The published tip was a psychological "downer" to many people because the apparent moral of the tip to many people was that violent crime is so prevalent now, that it can be dangerous to offer help and assistance to someone who appears to be in dire need of a helping hand.
In the tip, I made reference to an unfortunate incident that occurred in Detroit this past Sunday morning at 3:00am. In the story, a would-be good Samaritan allowed himself to be flagged down by an apparent damsel in distress. I can imagine what he was thinking: it is late, dark, crime is bad, the weather is bad, and this woman needs help.
As he exited his vehicle and approached the woman, another man suddenly appeared from the shadows and proceeded to beat him with a long gun. The woman was bait for a trap. Both predators took the victim for a ride in which the lady he thought he was helping was actually burning him with a cigarette lighter as a form of torture. By the end of the ordeal, the victim was severely beaten, burned, robbed, carjacked, knocked unconscious, and had his body discarded in the street as if he was discarded trash.
Although I am a highly credentialed NRA Firearms Instructor, only a literal handful of my personal protection tips I suggest involve legally owning, operating, and using a firearm. Avoiding violent crime is not just owning and carrying a firearm. It is so much more than just that.
Good decision making and awareness, for example, are tools that can prevent you from being in a situation in which you can victimized. Thusly, in some situations a firearm is not even needed because you have not given a criminal an opportunity to strike. Avoidance is the best defense. A firearm is a tool of last resort.
If you notice someone in need of assistance, it is important to realize at least two things. For one, getting involved in a situation does incur an element of risk. One should not just blindly running to the aid and assistance of strangers. Everything may not be as it appears.
The other point to keep in mind is that giving aid and assistance can done in many ways. It is not always necessary to help by direct contact. If you think about it, there is probably another way to help: calling for a tow truck, calling 9-1-1, being a good witness, and etc.
Like many other people who have been attacked, I know that danger can appear at almost any time without any advance notice. Despite knowing that, I am not above rendering help and assistance to others. However, I will always make a conscious decision to evaluate the situation and associated risks, think about different ways to help, and have a plan of action just in case I have made an error in judgement.
In conclusion, crime is a persistent problem in the region. Moreover, it also appears that there is no limit to the extremes that violent predators will use to find unsuspecting victims to attack. However, I have not completely sworn off the option of helping people in need but I will go into the situation with my eyes wide open and being fully aware of the risks to my personal safety while doing so.
About The Author
Rick Ector is a National Rifle Association credentialed Firearms Trainer, who provides Michigan CCW Class training in Detroit for students at his firearms school - Rick's Firearm Academy of Detroit. Ector is a recognized expert in firearm safety and has been featured extensively in the national and local media: Associated Press, UPI, NRAnews, Guns Digest, Tactical-Life, The Truth About Guns, The Politics Daily, Fox News Detroit, The Detroit News, The Detroit Examiner, WJLB, WGPR, and the UrbanShooterPodcast.
For more info about free shooting lessons for women and Michigan CCW Classes, please contact:
Rick's Firearm Academy of Detroit
Web: http://www.detroitccw.com.
Email: info@detroitccw.com
Phone: 313.733.74
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I do most of my blogging and article writing in coffee shops because there are too many distractions at home.
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