The Inevitability Of Violence And How To Deal With It
Posted: Tue Jan 10, 2023 11:28 pm
The greatest undertaking in the path to survival is to accept and adapt to the perpetual prospect of
violence. It is a hurdle that many people struggle with, and one that some people embrace a little too
easily. The fact of the matter is, the vast majority of people in first world societies rarely if ever
experience physical combat. We are now a culture of words, memes and ridicule that has lost almost
all relation to the reality that at the end of every crisis waits a fist or a gun.
It's not something to be celebrated or romanticized. It just is what it is. And always keep in mind that
the people that tend to pontificate the most about pacifism and non-violence are often the same people
that rabidly demand that the government send enforcers to cripple and kill those who rebel against the
system.
Because so many people in the world are unequipped to deal with directed violence, society has created
numerous safeguards to mitigate their exposure. We have laws, courts and law enforcement to act as a
psychological deterrent to people who might do us harm, but this is nothing more than a stop-gap. If a
person really wants to harm you, they will. All the courts and cops in the world are not going to save
you, only you can save yourself by visiting violence back on your attacker in such a way as to eliminate
the threat.
The cold reality of conflict is that once an attacker engages with you and you defend yourself, the goal
is to destroy the attacker. It's not enough to hit back, he must be shut down completely or he may
continue to come after you even in injury. Now you have to ask yourself – Are you capable of doing
that?
Will you be able to set aside fear and emotion and put an aggressor down flat? Can you defend
yourself without suffering a panic attack or tunnel vision? Be honest with yourself. If the answer is
no, or you're not sure, then there are things you can do to train your brain to deal with violence.
Experience Is The Deciding Factor When Facing Violence
Training for self defense is vital, but going through the motions of an attack is not the same as
experiencing an actual attack or a very good simulated attack. This is why in martial arts full contact
training is essential: Students can practice for years but if they never engage in combat they will be
completely unprepared mentally for the real thing. They will most likely fail when the time comes.
If you can train in a full contact environment in boxing, wrestling, MMA, etc., I highly recommend it.
This is a way to condition your mind to adapt to threats while still in a controlled environment.
I generally seek to avoid conflict whenever possible because in life most things are not worth it.
However, some things are. In one rare altercation, I had to deal with a man who was intent on
threatening me with mortal harm and I made it clear that any action he took would be met with deadly
force. He then proceeded to grab an ax and charge at me with it. My first response was to draw my
pistol and take aim at his chest.
If I had panicked and tried to run I probably would not be alive today. The assailant saw the gun and
realized what was about to happen. He stopped, fell backwards and then scrambled away in terror. I
never had to pull the trigger. But, I continue to question what would have happened if he had come one
step closer, and why I didn't just shoot him immediately. Was I lucky? Did that act of hesitation put
me in a position to be seriously injured or killed? Or, did I just read the man's face correctly and
properly determined he was not as committed as I was? Was my response just scaled to the level of the
threat?
I figure that if he had produced a gun I would have fired instantly. But should that have mattered? I'll
never know. These are the kinds of situations you must consider as our future grows more unstable and
more uncertain. Getting physical experience in combat can make all the difference.
Societal Collapse And The Playground For Psychopaths
While some malicious people might be kept in check by social mores and the looming threat of legal
punishment, you will find that as the system begins to break down due to political clashes and
economic decline the real evil tends to slither out of the woodwork. It happens slowly at first, then all
at once.
In the US, I would say we are in the middle stages of such a collapse with many sociopaths and
psychopaths beginning to feel that they might be able to act out their worst impulses without
consequences. They are beginning to test the waters to see what they can get away with.
It is actually at this crucial time when a deterrent response is most important. Making examples out of
criminals that seek to rob or murder people sets a standard that innocent citizens are not going to
comply passively. This tends to frighten away other perpetrators, at least for a while. If no one acts to
eliminate the first wave of criminal actions during a social breakdown, then thousands of other
criminals will also move to take what they can get. The first wave becomes an avalanche.
At this phase law enforcement generally folds and retreats, leaving the public with no first line of
defense. Gangs form quickly and start to take territory rather than just taking people's possessions.
Organized crime at the local level leads to large scale death and minimal opposition. People are so
isolated and busy trying to scrape together a meager economic lifeline that they have no motivation to
fight back.
The point of no return comes when regular people are afraid to leave their homes. This cannot be
allowed to happen. Organization at the neighborhood level and the reciprocation of violence must be
enacted or the most vicious attacks will be visited on the population. The psychopaths will have to be
removed and the gangs erased.
In an even more dangerous scenario, the psychopaths we have to deal with during a collapse are within
the very government that is supposed to protect our liberties. This is a situation in which the criminals
are given license to use violence against the citizenry through the illusion of law. But laws are
irrelevant if they violate the boundaries of moral compass and conscience. The laws no longer matter
when they are exploited as a means to protect criminality.
Satisfaction vs. Justice: The Moral Quandary Of Violence
There is a fine line between utilizing violence in the name of saving lives and property, and utilizing
violence to gain personal satisfaction or revenge. I would say the moment a person attempts to use
violence against innocent people, even if it's meant to do harm to a criminal, they have passed into the
realm of evil action and left the world of justice behind.
For example, the concept of using people's families as a point of leverage or as a means to harm an
enemy is definitely a moral pitfall. No matter how terrible a criminal might be, their families are not
responsible for their trespasses.
Another scenario would be dealing harm to non-combatants as collateral damage during an attack on
the enemy. This is essentially terrorism, and an unacceptable dynamic for any freedom fighters. In the
case of corrupt governments, accusations of terrorism against freedom fighters will be rampant anyway.
It helps the enemy for a rebellion to hurt innocents, even if their methods do damage to the
authoritarians. The trade-off is not balanced.
For some, such tactics might seem reasonable, but they are fooling themselves with notions of justice
when they are only trying to fulfill a desire for revenge. Beware of anyone that suggests these kinds of
concepts in a serious way – They are likely just as psychopathic as the people you are fighting against.
The rationale for indirect attacks is almost always the same: People argue that the enemy would do it
to us, so we should do it to them first. This is faulty logic. The enemy is willing to cross moral lines
because they are on the wrong side of history. They are villains with no conscience. If the strategy is
to be just like them, then there is no point to the fight. You might as well join them.
Rebellion As A Tool For Regime Change
These days we hear a lot from the media about “democracy” and the righteous notion of free elections.
But, if each “free election” only brings us closer to tyranny, then democracy has failed. There is no
reason to continue pretending as if the system is fair or functional, it's time to move on. But what does
that mean?
Every collapse is a process, and there are stages of rebellion that fit each stage of collapse and decline
into authoritarianism. In some cases, you might launch alternative economies and “black markets” to
escape financial surveillance. In other cases, you might seek to organize and separate from totalitarian
influences. And, of course, in some cases you will have to fight.
What leftists and globalists are trying to convince the masses of right now is that fighting back makes
you the bad guy; that fighting back is “going too far.” No, it is not going too far, and the Founding
Fathers are a perfect example of the process of exhausting all other solutions before turning to the gun
and the sword.
If you are dealing with legitimately sincere people who are perhaps mistaken in their ideals but
otherwise have good intentions, then maybe violence is the wrong answer. But, if you are dealing with
obsessives and power mongers who have ill intent, then the time will come when they will either do
away with you or you will have to do away with them. Violence becomes the ONLY solution to the
confrontation. Whether or not it is “democratic” is irrelevant; the conflict is about freedom vs. tyranny
and political niceties mean nothing.
I am outlining this debate because there is a firestorm of propaganda surrounding it right now. There
are people who will try to convince you to be ultra violent with no regard for honor or morals, and
there are people who will try to convince you to never raise a hand to protect yourself or your
freedoms. Know that the middle path requires vigilance and the voice of reason, and no one is going to
be able to tell you exactly what you should do at any given moment. You will have to discern these
things for yourself based on the circumstances.
The first step is to train your mind to handle the reality of violence. The next step is to train your mind
to react with measure to violence and without fear. Finally, you must understand how to apply violence
without being consumed by it. These things are not easy, but in the chaotic world we are about to enter
into they are essential to keeping us alive.
violence. It is a hurdle that many people struggle with, and one that some people embrace a little too
easily. The fact of the matter is, the vast majority of people in first world societies rarely if ever
experience physical combat. We are now a culture of words, memes and ridicule that has lost almost
all relation to the reality that at the end of every crisis waits a fist or a gun.
It's not something to be celebrated or romanticized. It just is what it is. And always keep in mind that
the people that tend to pontificate the most about pacifism and non-violence are often the same people
that rabidly demand that the government send enforcers to cripple and kill those who rebel against the
system.
Because so many people in the world are unequipped to deal with directed violence, society has created
numerous safeguards to mitigate their exposure. We have laws, courts and law enforcement to act as a
psychological deterrent to people who might do us harm, but this is nothing more than a stop-gap. If a
person really wants to harm you, they will. All the courts and cops in the world are not going to save
you, only you can save yourself by visiting violence back on your attacker in such a way as to eliminate
the threat.
The cold reality of conflict is that once an attacker engages with you and you defend yourself, the goal
is to destroy the attacker. It's not enough to hit back, he must be shut down completely or he may
continue to come after you even in injury. Now you have to ask yourself – Are you capable of doing
that?
Will you be able to set aside fear and emotion and put an aggressor down flat? Can you defend
yourself without suffering a panic attack or tunnel vision? Be honest with yourself. If the answer is
no, or you're not sure, then there are things you can do to train your brain to deal with violence.
Experience Is The Deciding Factor When Facing Violence
Training for self defense is vital, but going through the motions of an attack is not the same as
experiencing an actual attack or a very good simulated attack. This is why in martial arts full contact
training is essential: Students can practice for years but if they never engage in combat they will be
completely unprepared mentally for the real thing. They will most likely fail when the time comes.
If you can train in a full contact environment in boxing, wrestling, MMA, etc., I highly recommend it.
This is a way to condition your mind to adapt to threats while still in a controlled environment.
I generally seek to avoid conflict whenever possible because in life most things are not worth it.
However, some things are. In one rare altercation, I had to deal with a man who was intent on
threatening me with mortal harm and I made it clear that any action he took would be met with deadly
force. He then proceeded to grab an ax and charge at me with it. My first response was to draw my
pistol and take aim at his chest.
If I had panicked and tried to run I probably would not be alive today. The assailant saw the gun and
realized what was about to happen. He stopped, fell backwards and then scrambled away in terror. I
never had to pull the trigger. But, I continue to question what would have happened if he had come one
step closer, and why I didn't just shoot him immediately. Was I lucky? Did that act of hesitation put
me in a position to be seriously injured or killed? Or, did I just read the man's face correctly and
properly determined he was not as committed as I was? Was my response just scaled to the level of the
threat?
I figure that if he had produced a gun I would have fired instantly. But should that have mattered? I'll
never know. These are the kinds of situations you must consider as our future grows more unstable and
more uncertain. Getting physical experience in combat can make all the difference.
Societal Collapse And The Playground For Psychopaths
While some malicious people might be kept in check by social mores and the looming threat of legal
punishment, you will find that as the system begins to break down due to political clashes and
economic decline the real evil tends to slither out of the woodwork. It happens slowly at first, then all
at once.
In the US, I would say we are in the middle stages of such a collapse with many sociopaths and
psychopaths beginning to feel that they might be able to act out their worst impulses without
consequences. They are beginning to test the waters to see what they can get away with.
It is actually at this crucial time when a deterrent response is most important. Making examples out of
criminals that seek to rob or murder people sets a standard that innocent citizens are not going to
comply passively. This tends to frighten away other perpetrators, at least for a while. If no one acts to
eliminate the first wave of criminal actions during a social breakdown, then thousands of other
criminals will also move to take what they can get. The first wave becomes an avalanche.
At this phase law enforcement generally folds and retreats, leaving the public with no first line of
defense. Gangs form quickly and start to take territory rather than just taking people's possessions.
Organized crime at the local level leads to large scale death and minimal opposition. People are so
isolated and busy trying to scrape together a meager economic lifeline that they have no motivation to
fight back.
The point of no return comes when regular people are afraid to leave their homes. This cannot be
allowed to happen. Organization at the neighborhood level and the reciprocation of violence must be
enacted or the most vicious attacks will be visited on the population. The psychopaths will have to be
removed and the gangs erased.
In an even more dangerous scenario, the psychopaths we have to deal with during a collapse are within
the very government that is supposed to protect our liberties. This is a situation in which the criminals
are given license to use violence against the citizenry through the illusion of law. But laws are
irrelevant if they violate the boundaries of moral compass and conscience. The laws no longer matter
when they are exploited as a means to protect criminality.
Satisfaction vs. Justice: The Moral Quandary Of Violence
There is a fine line between utilizing violence in the name of saving lives and property, and utilizing
violence to gain personal satisfaction or revenge. I would say the moment a person attempts to use
violence against innocent people, even if it's meant to do harm to a criminal, they have passed into the
realm of evil action and left the world of justice behind.
For example, the concept of using people's families as a point of leverage or as a means to harm an
enemy is definitely a moral pitfall. No matter how terrible a criminal might be, their families are not
responsible for their trespasses.
Another scenario would be dealing harm to non-combatants as collateral damage during an attack on
the enemy. This is essentially terrorism, and an unacceptable dynamic for any freedom fighters. In the
case of corrupt governments, accusations of terrorism against freedom fighters will be rampant anyway.
It helps the enemy for a rebellion to hurt innocents, even if their methods do damage to the
authoritarians. The trade-off is not balanced.
For some, such tactics might seem reasonable, but they are fooling themselves with notions of justice
when they are only trying to fulfill a desire for revenge. Beware of anyone that suggests these kinds of
concepts in a serious way – They are likely just as psychopathic as the people you are fighting against.
The rationale for indirect attacks is almost always the same: People argue that the enemy would do it
to us, so we should do it to them first. This is faulty logic. The enemy is willing to cross moral lines
because they are on the wrong side of history. They are villains with no conscience. If the strategy is
to be just like them, then there is no point to the fight. You might as well join them.
Rebellion As A Tool For Regime Change
These days we hear a lot from the media about “democracy” and the righteous notion of free elections.
But, if each “free election” only brings us closer to tyranny, then democracy has failed. There is no
reason to continue pretending as if the system is fair or functional, it's time to move on. But what does
that mean?
Every collapse is a process, and there are stages of rebellion that fit each stage of collapse and decline
into authoritarianism. In some cases, you might launch alternative economies and “black markets” to
escape financial surveillance. In other cases, you might seek to organize and separate from totalitarian
influences. And, of course, in some cases you will have to fight.
What leftists and globalists are trying to convince the masses of right now is that fighting back makes
you the bad guy; that fighting back is “going too far.” No, it is not going too far, and the Founding
Fathers are a perfect example of the process of exhausting all other solutions before turning to the gun
and the sword.
If you are dealing with legitimately sincere people who are perhaps mistaken in their ideals but
otherwise have good intentions, then maybe violence is the wrong answer. But, if you are dealing with
obsessives and power mongers who have ill intent, then the time will come when they will either do
away with you or you will have to do away with them. Violence becomes the ONLY solution to the
confrontation. Whether or not it is “democratic” is irrelevant; the conflict is about freedom vs. tyranny
and political niceties mean nothing.
I am outlining this debate because there is a firestorm of propaganda surrounding it right now. There
are people who will try to convince you to be ultra violent with no regard for honor or morals, and
there are people who will try to convince you to never raise a hand to protect yourself or your
freedoms. Know that the middle path requires vigilance and the voice of reason, and no one is going to
be able to tell you exactly what you should do at any given moment. You will have to discern these
things for yourself based on the circumstances.
The first step is to train your mind to handle the reality of violence. The next step is to train your mind
to react with measure to violence and without fear. Finally, you must understand how to apply violence
without being consumed by it. These things are not easy, but in the chaotic world we are about to enter
into they are essential to keeping us alive.
