Be work, NOT prey!
Be work, not prey when out and about on your daily business. Situational awareness out in public is a must!
There are lots of things you need to learn about when you are a gun owner and want to carry it for self-defense. But, having the correct defensive mindset is a must.
Most instructors use the color codes created by Colonel Jeff Cooper to talk about the correct mindset and decisions that need to be made. The color codes of awareness go from white to red and should be looked at more of a decision tree than a state of mind.
Condition White: someone is completely unaware of what is happening around them and who is near them. You see these people literally everywhere! Heads buried in their phones, ear buds in, gaming, texting, scrolling, etc. Their entire universe is shrunk down to a 6″ circle in front of their face. This is a very dangerous mindset to be in as you literally have no idea who is around and what is happening which means you will never see anything coming! Don’t be this person. White doesn’t give you any decision options.
Condition Yellow: You are aware of your surroundings and paying attention. This is the condition you must be in if you are armed so you can possible see something in time to avoid it, stop it, or plan another option because you have time. Yellow gives you lots of decision options. Condition Yellow is a calm awareness. But, because you’re paying attention you notice when it goes to Orange. But, you’ve already seen that possibility and started planning.
Condition Orange: Now you are alerted to something in your environment. You are paying close attention and formulating a plan in case of. Here is where your decision tree starts to matter. Avoid, escape, defend, give verbal commands, access your firearm, etc. And you have a plan for Condition Red.
Condition Red: Uh Oh! I must act and enact the decisions thought about while in condition orange. This situation is on me right now. But, because you’ve been paying attention this whole time, you’ve had to to plan and formulate and therefore, not panic and be the deer in the headlights trying to come up with a solution in the middle of a very bad situation.
Can you see why condition white is a very bad place to be while out and about in public? You could very likely be missing an extremely important piece of information needed to keep you and your family safe. White gives you no chance to make any decisions except for bad ones because you were caught completely unaware.
Stay aware and survey what is happening around you at all times. You don’t have to be nervous or twitchy about it. It’s a relaxed awareness. Criminals rely on condition white to earn their living. They are looking for prey. Look like you will be work and they will deselect you for another victim. That sucks for the other person. But, you will have avoided something and stay safe and able to provide for your family.
Your Group Guyde is very educated about this issue and if you feel you’d like more help, guidance, or counsel, please talk to them. They offer situational awareness classes on a regular basis. Take one, it will be a class that you get a lot out of. The single most important class I ever took, that really changed how I thought about my everyday life was the NRA Refuse To Be a Victim class. Ask your Group Guyde when their next class is and book it right away. Book the class for the women in your life too! You will be very happy you did.
Stay safe and keep training!
