Imagine

A number of years ago, I was upset about something, and felt determined to get out of the house so that I could enjoy myself. This inner frustration caused me to ignore a clear warning sign that I was about to walk into a potentially life threatening confrontation. I was in a gas station, had put the fuel in my car, and as I turned around, four men, one of whom was carrying a long barreled pistol, stood side by side facing me. As they stood there, I took the initiative and asked them, What is this? They instructed me to give them my vehicle. My response was "Fuck You". This statement caused them to completely freeze, both physically and psychologically. In their wildest dreams, they couldn't imagine that a person alone, at night, would address them in such a manner when a carjacking had just been announced. Because I had taken the psychological initiative away from them, I was ultimately able to take the gun away from the gunman, strike him forcefully in the groin, and throw him to the ground. Just imagine how surprised they were when they realized that not all of us immediately surrender when confronted by seemingly overwhelming odds. For several weeks afterwards, I returned to this gas station, late at night. At first I wanted, more than anything else, to see these men again so that I could punish them for having the audacity to attempt to rob me. What I discovered, was that each time I returned to the scene of the attempted carjacking, I would experience an anxiety attack due to re-living the stressful encounter, even though I had been successful in defeating them. I treated myself for this post traumatic stress by returning to the gas station several more times, until I was able to go there without experiencing an adverse emotional episode. I hadn't thought about this in many years, but as I write this blog post I just considered what these men would think if they ever saw me again. They were probably terrified for quite some time, that they would see me again, and that I would finish thrashing them all with great gusto and enthusiasm. Please google my book, "Personal Security Techniques". I always prefer to avoid confrontations with criminals, but when I've found myself cornered, I've been able to turn the tables on them every time. Thank you. More to come.