Guns are Worthless

Guns are worthless.  Yep, I said it.  If your jaw just introduced itself to your keyboard and you started shaking your fist in total disgust, I ask that you hear me out for a second.  Since you’ve found this blog, I’d bet my first born that you have your CCW permit or at least begun the process for one.  You may have also purchased the gun you will carry concealed--maybe even a fancy little holster to put it in and attach to your body.  You’ve probably even pictured yourself whipping out your gun at a moment’s notice and taking down a crazed lunatic trying to attack you.  However, first, you have to see that crazed lunatic, don’t you?  If, at red lights and in grocery lines, you’re imagining purple unicorns flying over double rainbows, your gun is worthless.

I understand constant vigilance is difficult. I consider myself rather safety minded yet somehow, those pesky unicorns still find a way inside my brain, too.  What can I say?  I’m only human, after all, and a female human, at that!  We ladies are at a disadvantage from birth, not just physically but mentally.  I don’t mean that to say women are weak or dumb; quite the contrary.  We just have a lot going on upstairs.  For the most part our husbands, boyfriends, kids, pets, wayward grandmothers count on us to make sure they’re fed, clothed, cleaned, transported, retrieved, walked, diapered, etc.  And, oh yeah, we still have to find time to make sure our own socks match, too.  Can you blame us for taking that mental break every now and then to recharge?  Heck, I do it all the time.  It’s my biggest challenge in terms of my safety.

I’m not an eye contact kind of person to begin with; it makes me uncomfortable so it takes a lot of effort for me to pay more attention to my surroundings.  I have to tell myself repeatedly to exit the “White” zone and make note of the yellow tennis shoes wearing the guy across the street or the man leaning against a building 20 feet away.  Because if I allow danger to take me by surprise, my gun is worthless.  My pepper spray is worthless.  And I’m in trouble.

Women are gifted with an incredible intuition, let’s vow to trust it more, shall we?  A fellow WSA student who worked in security quoted a phrase she used at work.  “Just Doesn’t Look Right” or JDLR for short.  I can’t even count high enough to number all the times in my life I’ve experienced the JDLR’s.  The lady in this story had a classic case of JDLR’s and, luckily, managed to avoid a potentially dangerous situation had she and her friend not trusted their intuition. 

The bottom line here, ladies, is WAKE UP!  If you aren’t watching your surroundings, you better believe your surroundings are watching you. Use your peripheral to create a mental map of what’s around you at all times.  All of your planning and training and purchasing of personal protection items doesn’t matter if you don’t pay attention, primarily, to the goings on around you.  So, pick your heads up ladies because ultimately, your gun is worthless without you.

-Cat

AKA: WSA Resident Word-Smith