Yeah this is where my hand gets ready for the weapon pull and I tell them to fuck off and leave me alone.
I don’t think I could be an engineer. I could do advanced math okay, but I hated it and really had to work hard at it to get passed Calc 2 and analytic geometry.
I excelled at chemistry / bio and logic-based / philosophy courses though with ease.
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This is a sensitive issue, but I feel like much of it is racial. Many left-leaning affluent white people have completely bought into the Ibram Kendi/Robin D’Angelo line of thinking that white folks are inherently privileged and oppressive and that crime committed by black folks, especially against whites, is really a kind of reparations and therefore something that shouldn’t be punished.
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I also think “put the work in” is somewhat genetic. Some people get more mental reward (dopamine) from work, some people have a lot more ability to focus deeply than most…
I think one of the least appreciated genetic advantages for success in physical endeavors is being wired to love training (I think it’s almost an addiction for some including myself). I get euphoric feelings from training.
C++ was the hardest for me. My weak point academically was my ability to focus. Programming required a lot of that. I’d lose patience when code didn’t work. It was the only class in which I threw items in frustration.
The math courses were the next hardest for me. All the engineering classes had a lot of math, but it was more interesting for me. The concepts made sense. I think the math courses were tough because it was hard for me to see the big picture. It was too much time focused on how to work out by hand derivatives or integrations of complex functions, and not enough time on what do these things actually do. I’d rather understand what I need to figure out and the problem solving skills needed. Integration can be estimated by drawing a box under a curve. The guy that understands that he needs to figure out the area under the curve, but can’t do integration by hand is a lot more useful than the guy how can do the integration by hand, but can’t figure out what he actually needs to do to solve the problem. In the former, you get approximately the right answer (although crude because if is estimated with a rectangle’s area), the latter you don’t get an output.
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I’ve been on the wrong side of a gun. I could see it coming too, but unfortunately was unusually not armed, at least not appropriately. I had a knife, but we all know that classic phrase. And there was no running. I’m not 1,300 feet per second fast unfortunately.
Literally had to comply with basically any intent and hope to be alive in the end.
It’s unfortunate but self-defense does require an element of assertive initiative. It’s not like you can just call timeout, beat the crap out of the guy, take his gun and call time in.
Even if armed, once someone has drawn on you, finger on the trigger, you’re fucked. Even if well trained it’s going to take you a minimum 1.5 seconds to draw and get a sloppy center mass shot out. And your play is extremely telegraphed, no hiding it. Compared to tenths of a second to jerk a finger on an aimed pistol.
It’s not like the movies. You can’t backflip off walls and spin between hails of bullets. You have to see or believe the threat is coming and get in front of it to be effective.
Or die, but hey, at least you didn’t kill the guy with a lengthy rap sheet acting aggressively, whose 10 year old church pics are plastered all over the media.
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One cannot possibly foresee any and every dangerous situation. But I will say I’ve gone from a naive kid to reading people well generally, not just violent troublemakers.
And I’ll use any heuristic that has formed in my mind from life experience to possibly avoid harm (not just violent harm) to me, even if in some cases that means reading someone incorrectly. My view: present oneself in a manner that won’t make me think negatively or apprehensive or I won’t have any dealings or be in one’s vicinity.
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This is the traditional conservative view of human nature going back to people like Thomas Hobbes, or you could say even to the Hebrew Bible. It is a tragic view, but it also sets the stage for hope in that we can manage our sinful nature on both an individual and societal level. I think this view is a big part of what divides conservatives and those on the left. Capitalism, for instance, tries to harness our instinct for self-interest to provide the greatest good for society overall. On the other hand, socialism depends on people being inherently selfless. Which system has a better track record for providing the best life for the greatest number of people? (Yes, that’s a rhetorical question)
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This is where I’m coming from.
There is a ton of stuff on YouTube about spotting potential trouble well before it starts. Tim Larkin and Fight Science are two that come to mind, though I’m sure there are others.
On a related note, there are some great videos where convicted muggers are shown video of people walking on the street in a big city and asked to pick out people they would select as good targets. Their answers are very interesting. The biggest factor that these ex-muggers said they would look for is people not paying attention to their surroundings, especially people looking at their phones with ear buds in. By contrast, people looking straight ahead and periodically glancing around were deemed poor targets.
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I’m subscribed to that channel Fight Science.
Anyone remember this “game” discussed in this video above.
I vividly remember the incident at the 0:54 mark. I will never walk about so casually and aloof in an alley while several teenagers walk towards me.
I certainly don’t move about like a paranoid nut, nor do I stare at people, but I surveil nearly all places I go. If I don’t like the way someone looks, and that usually is a man sporting the typical tough-guy starter pack or has no voice-volume control (usually paired together), I will remain aware of him for the time being. That includes the gym.
I only wear one ear bud when jogging or walking and frequently look behind me.
I believe there was a posture component to this as well.
Head up and shoulders back = poor target
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I saw a video a while back of some highschool kids nonchalantly taking all the bottles they wanted and leaving.
All the owner could do is call the police. He said putting his hands on a minor would have him in deep shit, even if it’s just to keep them from taking his shit.
That’s fucked up.
I do not recall if it was in NY, though.
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There was this also. Is this because their daddies didn’t tell them not to destroy restaurants?
I’m not sure what the reporter finds so funny about this.
Remember: allegedly. I mean, there’s no proof, right?!
This was more recent.
Things aren’t that bad.
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Daddies? Seriously? These people had sperm donors, not daddies. If they had daddies they probably wouldn’t be doing this shit.
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They’ll have sugar daddies soon enough.
Allegedly.
Anyways, if reparations weren’t needed before, they are now - in that fast food joint.
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Those pesky Catholic Church liberals at it again.
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Okay…? You won’t see me defending organized religion.
I thought you were jewish?
I won’t ask you to. The funny did not land for ya I suppose.
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