Just 2 Seconds, by Gavin de Becker

This is an excellent, albeit niche, text; unlike de Becker's prior book, which addressed a broad civilian market, this one is meant for the personal protection professional.

Dave Grossman addresses a general audience topic in Appendix 12, where he points out that most Americans are sheep. What does he mean by that?

We're trained to not think about defending ourselves. We're trained to think that those who do worry about such things are a bit off. We're trained to think that nice, liberal thinking folks who drive Prius cars are somehow immune to the violence of the world.

One example of this is the zero-tolerance of violence in schools -- a fine notion, except for how it applies to self-defense situations. If a child is attacked, shouldn't we want her to fight back, without worry about being expelled as part of a politically correct policy? (I've written about this before.) In fact I advocate a response to force which is slightly disproportionate -- make it just a bit more uncomfortable for the attacker, so they never consider you as a target again.

Another example is the reaction I sometimes get about some of the books I read about handguns; in the USA today, folks who (legally) carry handguns are considered fringe, even nut cases, especially by folks who live on the coasts (NY and California). (Sorry about that generalization people, but you know it is true).

But these same people will conscientiously ensure their smoke alarms work in case of a fire, and will only buy vehicles that have plenty of air bags in case of a crash -- as we should. So, why not be prepared in case of a violent attack -- as we should?

Law enforcement is not (per case law) responsible to protect you, only to investigate afterward, unless they accidentally are in the right place at the right time and do the right thing (and they have immunity from liability if they do not).

Firefighters show up when the flames are enveloping the building, and EMTs show up after the car's hit the tree. That's why you want smoke detectors and airbags and such.

That's why some folks carry handguns or mace or stun guns, learn martial arts techniques, and the like. It really isn't so crazy to act counter to popular culture.

Back to Grossman's sheep analogy. He says there are also wolves. (Think bad guys.) Wolves prey upon sheep. And then, there are sheepdogs. They attack wolves who threaten the flock.

Usually we think of sheepdogs as representing our military and law enforcement professionals. But sheepdogs also represent those of us who refuse to be sheep.

Grossman writes, "[Sheep's] only response to the wolf, though, is denial, and all too often their response to the sheepdog is scorn and disdain. But the sheepdog quietly asks himself, 'Do you have any idea how hard it would be ... if your loved ones [were] attacked ... and you had to stand there helplessly because you were unprepared for that day?'" [p626]