If you have followed the news at all recently, I am sure you’ve seen reports of the “Knockout Game” as well as all of the reports of violence on Black Friday. You’ve probably heard of the reports over the last few years about violent flash mobs. These types of incidents seem to be happening much more over the last couple of years, and I expect they’ll continue to increase.
Knockout Game
This type of game isn’t new. I remember seeing reports of it over a year ago. It’s just a little more common now, and the news is reporting about them. The goal of the game is to knock someone out with one punch.
The assaults can be fatal. In New Jersey, Ralph Santiago, 46, a homeless man, was walking alone on September 10 when he was suddenly struck from behind. He had a preexisting brain condition that compounded the damage, leading to his death.
I have watched a few of the attacks that were caught on video and the victims are often sucker punched so they couldn’t defend themselves in any way.
I can’t remember another time in our history with this much widespread violence for no reason other than the entertainment of the perpetrator. Don’t misunderstand, I’m not saying there haven’t been other widespread acts of violence, such as racially based attacks, and hangings, but those were all acts of hate based on race. I’m not saying either is excusable. With the racial violence you could tell what the motive was, but with the knock out game there seems to be no motive but to inflict pain upon another human being.
Black Friday
Over the last few years, there have been a huge number of reports of violence at a variety of stores in many states, all in the name of saving a few bucks. There have been Stabbing’s, trampling’s, shootings, pepper sprayings, and various other types of assaults.
If you’re someone who thinks that when the stuff hits the fan you’re going to run to the store to get a few quick items, keep Black Friday human behavior in mind. People behave like this to save a little money. Imagine what they’ll do when they realize they don’t have enough food at home and you have the last item they want!
Flash Mobs
I’m talking about the type of flash mob that is made up of several young people who stream into a store, stealing as much as they can, as quickly as they can. These flash mobs sometimes lead to violence.
What Can We Do?s
These types of attacks are uncommon, but we should still do what we can to limit our vulnerability.
First and foremost, we need to be vigilant with our Situational Awareness. In some of these attacks, you’d need to look behind you after a group of young people passed by. Because of this, if a group of young people walk by, elevate your alert level of the Cooper Color Code and maintain that level until you are comfortable with their distance.
Even with a high level of awareness, you might still be ambushed by these cowards. Because the attack comes in the form of a punch, the attack is not “telegraphed” until the attacker is two arms lengths away. At these distances a firearm isn’t much good. In order to defend yourself against any close combat attacks, I highly recommend a real world martial art. I have mentioned that I have studied Haganah, which is based off of Krav Maga. Both are excellent. You might have another type in your area. Check into it!
We can utilize the buddy system. In the military, you’re told not to go alone when in port anywhere, to take a buddy or five. I haven’t studied all of the knockout attacks, but the few I have looked into stated that victims were all alone. If you have a friend along, it might lower your chance of being a target of any kind, let alone a knockout target.
Exercise your Second Amendment right to carry a concealed firearm, if you are legally able to do so. It might not protect you from being a victim of the knockout game, but it could and it could also be enough to deter an angry flash mob if you find yourself in the wrong place at the wrong time.
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