Headline: Young Mother Kills Home Intruder With a Shotgun to Save Her Son. Many heard this story and watched the extensive media coverage on this young mother that was confronted by an armed intruder inside her home. Moments after the intruder entered, he would meet his demise by a terrified, shotgun-wielding mother who found out quickly that she had what it took in the moment of truth.
I refer to the moment of truth because this for me best describes that moment of time wherein people in adverse conditions react with fight or flight. The best literary metaphor that comes to mind is an article written by Lieutenant Coronel (RET) Dave Grossman titled: On Sheep, Wolves, and Sheepdogs. He classifies human beings in three categories:
Sheep- Kind, gentle, productive creatures who can only hurt one another by accident.
Wolves- Wolves feed on the sheep without mercy.
Sheepdogs-The sheepdog lives for the day that the wolves will come. They are prepared to guard themselves and the sheep under any circumstances.
Grossman goes on to say that he means nothing negative by calling humans sheep. “To me it is like the pretty blue robin’s egg. Inside it is soft and gooey but someday it will grow into something wonderful. But the egg cannot survive without its hard blue shell. Police officers, soldiers, and other warriors are like that shell, and someday the civilization they protect will grow into something wonderful? For now though, they need warriors to protect them from the predators.”
This is something to think about as you go about your daily business. Prepare yourself for scenarios that may unfold at any given time by thinking about how you will react. Denying these thoughts may make you feel safe, but I argue that a prepared mind places you at an advantage. Understanding and accepting that there are evil people in this world is the first step in transforming the sheep mindset into that of a sheepdog; one who is ready to protect themselves and/or the ones they love.
News Story Link reference the above article
Photo by Photos.com
About the Author- Cameron Knauerhaze is the former CSI Board President and current member of the Advisory Board at CSI. He is an Orange County CA Police Sergeant with 16 years experience in patrol, investigations, SWAT, and community policing.
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