“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness …” — Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities
What is the difference between Chicago and Detroit? Both are large urban centers; both have crime problems. People get mugged in both cities every day. So what’s the difference?
Here’s a big one: In Detroit when someone is robbed; they have the ability to fight back. In Chicago, they are forced to say “Baaa” as they’re being slaughtered. That’s a huge difference, especially if you’re female or one of our elderly. Check out this recent article from Detroit:
A 70-year-old man, a girl’s basketball coach in Detroit, walks two students out to their car for safety. They are accosted by two male teens brandishing a firearm. The old geezer shoots and kills one and wounds the other. Now that’s my kind of gun control! Sure, no one “wants” to shoot two teens, but let’s face it, they were up to no good; they were preying upon the weakest in society for their own selfish gain. They got what they had coming to them.
LESSON 1 – If you don’t want to die, then don’t rob an old man with a gun. He’s too tired to run, and he’s probably had a tough life, kicked around and abused, been through two divorces, living on a fixed income. Don’t mess with him, because he doesn’t have all that much time left. He’ll just shoot you and be done with it.
Listen folks, I am now 55 years old, and I just don’t have the physical options I used to have. I can’t outrun the teens anymore; I can’t engage them in a fist fight, because I’m likely to come up on the short end of the stick. In my younger years I could hold my own – but nowadays – I’ll just shoot you.
Case in point: When I was 24, I worked at a shoe store in Woodland Mall in Grand Rapids, Michigan. I was closing up late at night and most shoppers had already left the mall. I heard a female blood-curdling scream. Without thinking I ran out of my store toward the trouble. Within seconds I saw a young woman crying. Our conversation went like this:
ME – “What’s wrong?”
HER – “A man just stole $1,000 dollars from me.”
ME – “Which way did he go?”
HER – “Down that corridor.”
Without hesitating I ran after him like a bat out of hell. The corridor led to the parking lot where I saw a tall man in his twenties walking slowly down the sidewalk. He kept glancing over his shoulder. I rushed up behind him and said, “Hey!” He turned around and kicked me in the stomach. I grabbed his foot and lifted it over my head. He went down in a heap onto the concrete. Kissing the pavement seemed to take the spice out of his curry, and he immediately jumped up and ran away. Laying on the sidewalk was a black money bag with over a thousand dollars in it.
I used the money for drugs and loose women.
(Not really.)
I returned the money to the lady who was very relieved and grateful. I then went back to my quiet life as an Al Bundy wannabe, but this time with a little more spring in my step.
Fast-forward 30 years: If that same scenario were to happen today, I wouldn’t run after the perp into a dark parking lot and engage him in physical combat, especially over something as replaceable as money. These days I’d let the fool go. It’s just not worth it. Today I’m a 55-year-old grampa, and playing Rambo just isn’t in my job description.
Now, on the other hand, if he tries to take my life or the life of another innocent person? Well, that’s a different story. In that case I’d double-tap the center of exposed mass until the threat stops. (In that case the threat would be stopped by causing massive tissue damage and blood loss.)
I’ve been teaching concealed carry classes for over 12 years now. When I first started, most of my students were country boys in their twenties and thirties. The bulk of them had been shooting their whole lives and were quite Rambo-esque. The most important thing I taught them was when to shoot and when not to shoot. You might say I just pointed them in the right direction and let them go.
Now, in 2013, most of my students are in one or both of two categories: female and/or old.
Most of them are inexperienced with guns, but they tell me they’re just fed up with being the victim and want to defend themselves.
LESSON 2 – Just because someone is old, doesn’t mean they’re going to roll over and die just so you can buy your next fix. Note to wolves: stay away from old people. They just don’t care anymore and would rather shoot you than give you their social security money.
LESSON 3 – A young woman walking down the street at night isn’t a free booty call for any man with the power to take what isn’t his. Leave the young girls alone. They are no longer weak. They have two very powerful friends named Mr. Smith and Mr. Wesson. She will shoot you. (With a smile on her face.)
Of course, in Chicago you can still feel free to rape, pillage and plunder with impunity. The old folks and young women are fair game. The government has already disarmed them for your convenience.
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness …”
The wise person carries a gun to ward off the wolves. The fool, in his folly, trusts to luck and walks around unarmed, bleating out, “Baaa!” as he’s being slaughtered. Don’t be a fool. Get trained! Get armed! Help us take out the trash. Grampa says it’s okay.
Image: Classics Comics book; date: Oct 1942; author: Chordboard; public domain
