Tag: Common sense

I have been sitting on this one for a couple of weeks. There is a lot of todo in the tacticool world about gear. Mostly, it is a lot of flash and no bang if you will. People imagine that an ultra tricked our AR will annihilate any disturbance in the force – to mix metaphors. Today I wanted to talk about the practical situations and just being smart.

I start work most days a little after 5 AM. If my schedule permits it, I run up the stairs and make sure my kids are getting ready for school. Sometimes, I am in the kitchen when they leave for school. I noticed some behavior that is really the opposite of common sense.

Before I go there, early in my podcast listening career I listened to the Practical Defense Podcast by Alex Haddox. I enjoyed it while it was active because it was usually 5-15 minutes a day of mindset of safety and security. I remember a story one time where a burglar poisoned his German Shepard and then used the extension ladder left outside to access the open window on the second story. The morals of that story were 1) your defenses are probably not impenetrable 2) don’t help criminals out by leaving tools to assist in the crime.

There were so many tips that I just never gave much thought about. For instance, boxes in your recycling (or trash) are indicators of inventory to steal. Or, anytime a fight goes to the ground increases your chances of losing. First, don’t fight but if it happens, do whatever you can not to go down if you want to survive. I highly recommend it as worthwhile on many topics like digital security to staying safe at a rest stop.

So what happened? I have observed both of my kids actually unlock the door before they leave the house as a matter of habit. Conventional advice says to keep your doors locked, particularly when you are still at home. The reason being is that stuff is replaceable but you are not. I still remember in November 1997, a very nearby murder that occurred when a husband left the house at 6AM and left the door unlocked. I thought about that every day I left the house for work and everyone was still in bed, which was most days when I worked outside of the house.

I was already freaked out to live in the city, that was burned into my mind. Whether it is the recommendation to continue to carry a firearm at home or it is to lock your door when you are home, the tendency to get complacent is strong when you get comfortable.

I don’t have to do any investigation to know what is going on in my home. My town is very safe. Looking at the crime statistics, we are much lower than other college towns in this state. We are lower than towns in this region per capita. Once, in 2006, someone stole half of my birdbath from the front yard. That was before both of my kids were born. They know no fear, they have experianced no loss. And you know what? This is why we stay where we are. This is the way it should be.

Technically, I live on a state highway with no legal parking in front of my house (on a corner lot). To the east, there is an adjoining street with a church as a neighbor. It was also the first Pokemon Go gym in the town that I knew of. That means that weirdos frequently pull off of Main Street and park across the street to battle at the gym (at strange hours of the day). Just the fact that the property is not a residence invites many more people to feel comfortable to spend more time than typical doing who knows what.

People have broke down, ran out of gas or looking for lost pets among the many things I have encountered across from my house. I do feel safe, I do think most encounters are legitimate but it still doesn’t mean that I should let down my guard. My wife’s cousin was a local police officer and he kept trying to convince me that bad stuff happens. I guess that what I am saying is that it is not that evil can’t happen. It is the frequency and the per capita that is the difference.

End Your Programming Routine: Don’t get complacent. As safe as I believe that I am, I don’t believe that it is not possible. That is why you lock the door when you are in the house. My boys have been given a key, it is easier for them to leave the door unlocked than it is to have the key handy. That doesn’t mean it is safer or the right decision.