Don't Color Code Your Underpants

Don't color code your pants, yellow in the front... brown in the back!  Pay attention and listen up!

Most people have heard of the color codes of mental awareness.  What most people don't know is that there is a military version and a civilian version.  Because I like to teach from the "everyday person" perspective here is a review these color codes as they apply to the private citizen. 

• WHITE- unprepared, not alert to the symptoms of violence
• YELLOW- relaxed alertness and preparedness

• ORANGE- unspecified alert, something wrong but we don’t know what it is yet.  Perceived threat.
• RED- armed encounter, you are facing one or more people that you believe have the potential to take your life
• BLACK- lethal assault in progress

Cheat sheet version is this:

• Orange- attacker might be there
• Red-  attacker is there
• Black- attacker is carrying out unlawful action

There is a direct connection between your level awareness, how prepared you are to handle the threat, and if it was appropriate compared to the "Standard of Proof".  These standards of actions compare directly to the color codes of mental awareness

• WHITE- mere suspicion- belief that is not founded in authentically fact
• YELLOW-  articulated suspicion- can you explain why you did what you did, what you saw OR experienced
• ORANGE- probable cause- higher suspicion, not proof.  Less than 50% certainty
• RED- preponderance of evidence, 51% certainty
• BLACK- Beyond a reasonable doubt

Self presentation is one of the keys to avoiding criminal confrontation.  Bad guys can sense the difference between an easy prey target and one that will fight back or is prepared.  There is something in the way we walk, talk, look, etc.  Pay attention to what is going on around you and present yourself in a confident manner, and you reduce your risk substantially. 

Be safe my friends, and take control of your own personal safety.

What Do You Think?

I wrote this blog May 2012 after I attend an intensive training course from The Massad Ayoob Group , published it but didn't promote it.  In the current climate of gun control debates, this blog takes on a new point of view and discussion pathway: 

What do you think public opinion would be or what would you think if you were on a jury hearing a case on use of force/deadly force and this statement was entered in to evidence against a young woman:

I had 2 more miles to walk to get home, I knew that by how fast I could walk it would be about the same time he made bail and he would be looking for me.

When I got home I decided to load my shotgun and just wait for him.  I was nervous, and mad as hell that I allowed this to happen to myself.  He slapped me, he shook me, but not anymore.  He thinks he is a man, and thinks picking fights with me makes him a bigger man.  Well I am ready to give him a fight.  So I waited and smoked a cigarette.

He didn’t get there as fast as I thought he would, it got late so I started drinking bear.  One maybe two six-packs of beer.  All of a sudden I heard his truck.  I could tell how fast he was driving by the sound of the tires skidding to a stop on the gravel driveway.  He slammed his car door and was ready to let me have it, but he didn’t know I was waiting for him on the other side of the door with my shotgun.  His thought his fist was big, but my shotgun was bigger and it was over. 

I am guessing that public opinion would be somewhat harsh.  I would expect her to get an easier consideration by some because it is a woman, but none the less I would expect some outrage and distress. 

Whenever I hear the song by Miranda Lambert “Gunpowder and Lead” (lyrics below) I think about how this would play out in court… thinking that most likely the abused woman would be sitting in jail.  I also cringe just a little hoping that someone in that situation doesn't hear this song and think it is a good plan.  Now I love Miranda Lambert, and agree that the song has a beat you tap your toe to… but can’t help but feel that it is a poor example of someone using force/deadly force to protect themselves.  There are several musicians that are singing about shooting and killing unfaithful lovers, abusers, or rival gangs.  No matter how you package it (country, rap or pop) this is allowing people at some level to be desensitized on the seriousness of using deadly force.  That is until they hear about a case on the news and then criticize the victim for doing it. 

If you have not done so in the last 3 months, look up the chapters of Self Defense, Use of Force and Deadly Force of the penal code in your state.  I encourage people to read and reread this content every few months so it is always front and center in your brain on when you can and cannot act.  You also need to be able to explain what you did based on your understanding of the law and the circumstances in that moment.  In all fairness, I have never been a victim of domestic violence, and feel very strongly on empowering women, but waiting for your abuser at home with a loaded shotgun and drinking beer will mostly not end well for you.  If you need help please reach out to your local and national resources before it is too late. 

On the web:

Miranda Lamber and Chris Brown Grammy fued http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/entertainment/2012/02/chris-brown-and-miranda-lambert-twitter-feud-continues/

Also read comments from Miranda Lambert at  http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=11635

" GUNPOWDER AND LEAD"

County Road 233 under my feet
Nothin' on this white rock but little ol' me
I got two miles till he makes bail
And if I'm right we're headed straight for hell

I'm goin' home, gonna load my shotgun
Wait by the door and light a cigarette
He wants a fight well now he's got one
He ain't seen me crazy yet
Slapped my face and he shook me like a rag doll
Don't that sound like a real man
I'm gonna show him what a little girl's made of
Gun powder and lead

Well it's half past ten
Another six pack in
I can feel the rumble like the cold black wind
He pulls in the drive
Gravel flies
He don't know what's waitin' here this time

Hey I'm goin' home, gonna load my shotgun
Wait by the door and light a cigarette
He wants a fight well now he's got one
And he ain't seen me crazy yet
Slapped my face and he shook me like a rag doll
Don't that sound like a real man
I'm gonna show him what a little girl's made of
Gun powder and lead

His fist is big but my gun's bigger
He'll find out when I pull the trigger

I'm goin' home, gonna load my shotgun
Wait by the door and light a cigarette
He wants a fight well now he's got one
And he ain't seen me crazy yet
Slapped my face and he shook me like a rag doll
Don't that sound like a real man
I'm gonna show him what a little girl's made of
Gun powder and gun powder and lead
Gun powder and lead

The Massad Ayoob Experience

This whole firearms thing doesn't come natural for me.  Everything I have learned the past 10 years about guns, equipment, mindset I have worked hard to gain.  I think of  myself as a professional student, or at least a sponge once a topic peaks my interest!  So the last 18 months I have been on a training binge... and at the top of my list for 2012 was to take a course by Massad Ayoob.  Thanks to Kathy Jackson of The Corned Cat for giving me the heads up on a contest hosted by Vicki Willhite of Gator Farms Tactical,  I was the lucky winner, and the prize was a MAG40 course with Massad Ayoob!!!  PLUS a Whitedog Holster & Mag pouch, AND 500 rounds of ammo...PAYDIRT!

Low Crouch... and check out my Whitedog Holster

 This four day 40 hour course was amazing.  I was comfortable with in the course because I had been exposed to a great deal of the material that was being presented, but it was a gift to have it explained in detail and clarified.  The material that I was after was the how, when and why to use force/deadly force and then how to handle the aftermath.  I ended up taking 36 pages of notes over 10,000 words, which I am in the process of reviewing and organizing.  The experience I shared with 23 other students is one that I would recommend EVERYONE have.  If you are a law abiding gun owner, you need this course. 

Mas demonstrating 1 of 3 shooting stances

The MAG 40 course includes range time learning the basic techniques developed by Mas and other industry leaders.  Again, techniques I was familiar with, but explanations, tweaks and the permission to figure out which techniques worked best for me and time to fine tune the skill sets. 

60 round qualification.  Perfect Score 300, my score 293.  High Lady and Top 5 in the class!  I had a few dropped "crotch shots" when transitioned to the low kneel.  Darn it!

Mas will be teaching several more classes in 2012, and I am working on bringing him to Central Texas in 2013.  He has given me permission to share some of the information with people I care about (that would be you).  I am looking forward to sharing the quotes and tidbits over the next few months, but there is no substitution for taking the course yourself.  If you own a gun (or any other tool to defend you life) and are prepared to use it for self defense... TAKE THIS COURSE! 

How To Get Women Into The Gun Concept

This has been a hot topic of conversation for several months now, making national news of the record breaking number of women purchasing guns and getting concealed carry permits.  There has also been an increase in the number of women seeking training in general self-defense tactics. 

Still there remains an “antigun” biases with a large population of women.  Some refer to it as the Suzy Homemaker Issue.  Women have achieved being equals in our culture, but many still hold on to the thought process that the gun is the symbol of male violence and therefore something they want nothing to do with, even something they allow themselves to fear.  It is a topic discussed by Susan Brown Miller in her book Against our Will.  I acknowledge that there was a time and place in our history that that may have been true.  But in today’s modern progressive society especially where a woman may very well be the head of her own household, the gun is a tool just like any other.  It is not about male or female, it is about empowerment.  As women we take on the role of Mother Bear to protect our cubs.  We don’t have claws or teeth as does a real mother bear, so we need to get them artificially… guns, knives, kubatans, pepper spray, stun guns… these are all forms of claws and teeth we use to protect ourselves and our loved ones. 

What I ask of all women is that you give yourself every opportunity to learn, grow and thrive in all ways possible.  Learning to handle firearms for sport shooting or otherwise is a very empowering adventure and it changes your perception of “self”.  It is very important for women to have positive female role models in the firearms industry.  I strongly encourage you when seeking out a firearms training course, that you look for one that has a female role model on staff rather than an overall male environment.  Especially if you are new and feeling timid.  Knowing that there is someone like you teaching from a similar perspective will ease the experience. 

It might not be for you, it might turn out to be the most exciting experience you have ever had, but it will spark a feeling inside you of YES I CAN.  Take that and use it in your life.  Learn… Grow… Thrive!

Resources for Women in the Firearms Industry

·         Kathy Jackson- The cornered cat

·         Gila Hayes- Effective Defense, The woman the plan and the gun, Personal defense for woman

·         Paxton Quigley- Armed and Female