The Complexities of Self-Defense

I am not going to comment on the Zimmerman case here but want you to know that this case inspired this post. The complexities of self-defense are evident by all the posts I have provided as well as links to those professionals who speak on this subject as well. Not to forget all the literature I used for references, etc.

It occurred to me that there is more to understand when you enter into a self-defense mode. When we speak of the before, during and after we are not considering the possibilities that the establishment might be biased in the handling of the case due to societal pressures. Take a read of an article written by Massad Ayoob here: http://backwoodshome.com/blogs/MassadAyoob/2013/07/16/zimmerman-verdict-part-2-the-unarmed-teen/

We don't consider the ramifications of the public. Yes we consider what the Jury might think and how they come to their conclusions but what about the prosecutor. Do we consider their political and social pressures. Yes, we can speculate that there might be bias for or against either side and we know from the get go that the legal system is hostile. 

What about the public and their influences? What if you are defending against someone who is of another culture and ethnic origin? What if your case is determined outside of the courts as SD but because some group of ill informed and monkey brain driven emotional handicap decides to gather and protest on the Internet and in the news until the pressure pushes the legal system to take actions that may or may not be right and just and legal, etc. 

We know and understand it doesn't take much to pass the line between self-defense and fighting (fighting is illegal) let alone what occurs the minute you have some weapon in the mix like a gun. Do we teach this and do we have a reality based response or answer when this occurs? Yea, make sure you have a good defense attorney with experience in all these areas but what I am leading to is don't be surprised and don't get frustrated and angry when this kind of stuff pops up in your defense of self-defense. If you have the knowledge and understanding along with taking all the training and precautions necessary to remain within the law then you might be alright - might be is the emphasis. 

When you take self-defense you may never have to use it but if you do are you trained enough to not end up in such a mess and even if you do are you prepared to talk to your attorneys with some confidence to go the right direction for you? 

If anything the Zimmerman case, as we can understand according to the limited information we get as well as the possible bias in those news reports, etc." shows us that things are far more complicated than we can imagine and making the decision to use self-defense is complicated and messy. 

Remember that for most of us and in most cases you can avoid such things with your knowledge, understanding and awareness along with a strong emphasis on leaving the monkey brain with its ego and pride at home when out and about in the world. If it is true that most situations can be avoided, say about 98% of the time, then why or why do we tend to do things that end up putting us in harms way? 

Just ranting and saying that this gathering of knowledge toward all those things that come before violence, during violence and after violence are really important. I believe one of the reasons we have so much more available to us from people like Rory Miller, Marc MacYoung, Wim Demeere, Kris Wilder, Loren Christensen and many, many more who know that knowledge is power and are trying to get the entire spectrum of violence and its associates to the public and the professionals, etc.