[quote]Robert A wrote:
[quote]idaho wrote:
Robert,
I am curious: The people that you come in contact with, are they not aware of violent crime? ISIS? Taliban?, Yemen bomb fanatics?, hell even Chicago weekend shootings? Are the majority of people in the states that stupid? Maybe it’s the world I live in, but, it amazes me with the amount of media available , that people would not know how dangerous the world has become, especially, in the last two years. I fully expect a “Mumbai” style attack on some major shopping mall during the Christmas season, and, that prediction is not based on paranoia. With our porous borders, especially with Canada, smuggling in a kill team of 6 to 8 fanatics is child’s play. I would think any rational person would take whatever steps necessary to protect the ones they are responsible for.
I guess , I simply lack the intelligence to understand this attitude of denial. Not surprising really:))
[/quote]
Sorry it has taken so long.
“Aware” sure. Just like we are all “aware” of testicular and skin cancer, when was the last time you did a thorough self exam? Aware like a visceral and constant appreciation, no they aren’t. It just isn’t lack of intellect, it is rather they are drawing different conclusions. Earlier in the thread mapwhap mentioned how some of the officers he has trained have been seriously not “dialed in” with shooting/reloading/immediate action drills. Like it never occurred to them that it would be important.
The thing is, for most cops, it wont be, other than quals being an obstacle that must be navigated to keep their dental. Most cops don’t shoot their side arms “in the line of duty”. In this thread people don’t let that keep them from prioritizing skill at arms, but plenty of folks do and they were all “smart” enough to pass the same tests as the shooters. People are really good at finding something that looks like “efficiency” to suit their interests. Some LEOs are going to find that efficiency point by giving no “unnecessary” effort with their gun handling. Others post here.
With regards to the civilians the odds favor “do nothing” by a large margin. Violent crime is down, and it is also heavily clustered around certain geographic, economic, and racial demographics. So it is real easy for middle-middle class folks to ignore. The odds support it, and 911 is a thing, and the military handles the foreign invaders. The news is also full of narratives about how “wrong” this stuff is. Hell Ferguson is still going off about something that still looks one hundred percent justified. On the other hand being the “gun nut”/“wanna be killer”/“ninja” at a dinner party may not be the pleasant thing for them. The social costs are real, as are the financial and effort costs of training and diligence.
So honest ignorance about firearms, purposeful ignorance about threats foreign and domestic; that ignorance is useful to certain agendas, and even if it wasn’t breaking ignorance isn’t fun for the person coming to knowledge. One of my favorite quotes is from a “new age” “spiritual guru”. He might be furious about the context I am using it here, but whatever, that anger would just be The One expressing itself as a human being angry right?
Make no mistake about it - enlightenment is a destructive process. It has nothing to do with becoming better or being happier. Enlightenment is the crumbing away of untruth. It’s seeing through the faÃ?§ade of pretense. It’s the complete eradication of everything we imagine to be true"-Adyashanti
On this board we tend to intuitively “get” the truth in the quote. Earlier you wrote about how a recent training cycle opened your eyes about being only “competent” with CQB instead of walking on water. Now, I am certain you are God’s Own when compared to most (and before you argue think about how many folks you have trained who had no clue prior to you coming into their lives) but deeper waters let you see who you want to be/could be. A lot of folks wouldn’t enjoy that. You relished it and dove back in to self improvement. Many good, smart people would balk at that process. Especially if it is for an “unlikely” utility when the costs are definite.
I have written before the first thing we cut when we pick up the sword is our own ego, there will be no room for it. At the time I was speaking of “when the balloon goes up”/Condition Black events. In the bigger picture it still happens, but it is even more important to cut the ego well, not cutting one’s morality, or humanity, but severing ignorance or comforting delusions. What is matters. Truth matters. The last chance we had for finding safety in ignorance is said to have went out with a couple bites on an apple a little while ago. We are going to have to take things as they are.
Doing all of that is tough to swallow for people who haven’t internalized the need/benefit. I know plenty of folks smarter than me who are not at all interested in spending the calories with regards to violence. Instead they will settle for letting it be “something I don’t even like to think about”. I empathize with them every time I get hurt in training, or fail at something, or wake up and realize I haven’t died in my sleep like I have always wanted to. Then I get to work.
Your mileage will almost certainly vary.
Train hard.
Stay safe.
Regards,
Robert A
[/quote]
Robert,
Great post. Thank you.
“Make no mistake about it - enlightenment is a destructive process. It has nothing to do with becoming better or being happier. Enlightenment is the crumbing away of untruth. It’s seeing through the faÃ?§ade of pretense. It’s the complete eradication of everything we imagine to be true”-Adyashanti
So much truth in that statement.
“I have written before the first thing we cut when we pick up the sword is our own ego”…so true, and, I am going to steal this quote and use it today…pure theft, I know. It better that what I have been using in the past for ego’s: “You should approach everything as a student with a will to learn, and not a master of everything.”
