Terrorism Again

When one of these bad terrorist attacks happen, many people have an interesting response: they sign up for pistol courses to get licensed for concealed carry. The classes fill up quickly and gun shops do a land office business. This was especially true after 9-11, but I’m hearing similar reports following the London attack and Paris attack. I understand the impulse. I live in a small town. I don’t live in one of those huge front line cities that face a high probability of an attack, yet I find myself feeling glad to have the 9mm and some extra mags on me in these times when it seems like the war is everywhere. Places where I can’t take my gun, I just don’t go.
Gun grabbers and opponents of shall issue concealed carry are fond of pointing out that concealed handguns aren’t a lot of help in stopping suicide bombers. (OK, so what’s your point?) Show me something that has been successful with stopping the suicide bombers. However, experience has shown that armed civilians can help stop terrorist actions. Israel police spokesman Gil Kleiman said, “We’ve seen it time and time again. Armed civilians who are well-trained save people’s lives… If there isn’t a policeman on the scene, civilians can deal immediately with a terrorist situation.” In 2004, Abraham Rabinovich reported in The Washington Times, “Armed civilians have played a significant role in bringing down terrorists during the Palestinian uprising, most recently during an attack this week by a Palestinian gunman at a Tel Aviv restaurant where a wedding party was under way. A 46-year-old civilian packing a pistol fatally shot the terrorist at close range after three persons had been killed and he had been wounded. When a radio reporter asked the man whether he was a member of the security forces, he said he was a shoe salesman.” Imagine that, an ordinary citizen who can use a pistol lawfully and competently to save lives. (“That’s not supposed to happen. Only cops can have guns,” wails the Brady Campaign. “Someone might get hurt,” cries the Violence Policy Center.)
An armed civilian probably wouldn’t be able to stop a suicide bomber, unless an unusual combination of circumstances came together. But with gun attacks and kidnappings, an armed civilian on the scene could make a difference. The Twin Towers might be standing today if a few armed civilians had been on those planes. This begins to get at the true sense of what the founders meant when they talked about an unorganized citizen militia. They weren’t talking about small bands of extremists out in the woods plotting the overthrow of the government and they weren’t talking about the National Guard either. The founders were thinking about ordinary people who equipped themselves and weren’t on the government payroll who could respond to sudden threats when the army and law enforcement weren’t there or lacked the strength to respond effectively. Every time a civilian arms himself or herself, gets some training, and begins to think in terms of providing for the security of their home, their own family and themselves, they’re responding to the idea of the militia that the founders had in mind. It’s a good idea and a rational idea, despite the distortions of the concept we have seen in recent years. I think the need for civilians to take responsibility for their own security will only increase in the years to come. Our armed forces and law enforcement are stretched too thin to provide real security for American citizens (and I’m not sure I would want them to do be doing that even if they could).
Getting back to people signing up for pistol courses, I guess it’s better late than never, but the time to get prepared is now, not when things are falling apart. It’s a good thing that people are waking up to the reality that they have to take care of themselves. It’s good that they are abandoning the unrealistic expectation that the great nanny state will solve all of their problems. It can’t and it won’t.
More important than the tactical considerations of what kind of threat a CCW holder might be able to address, is the shift in psychology represented by people being willing to arm themselves in response to terrorist threats. It’s a shift from victim to fighter. It says, “I’m not going to be intimidated. I’m going to fight back.”
It's not just terrorists with radical Islamic beliefs that may be a threat. As America continues to decline morally and pass laws and make policies contrary to God, another group of "terrorists" may come forward, and that is the anarchists or others with deep hatred in their hearts and a desire to cause mayhem and even murder as a way to lash out at what they see as capitalism.
Who am I referring to by the term anarchist? I'm talking about the groups who form to protest at World Trade Organization conferences (a few, not all of course) and even the popular sit-ins around American cities in the last several years (quite a few that came to violence, such as Oakland, CA) are some of the same people I'm referring to now.
Of this group, a small number are capable of severe violence and may have murdered people in the past.
It's probable that "anarchists" isn't the best word to describe young Americans (and young adults from the UK) from counter-culture that band together to attack other people. But they're out there, such as the terrorist attack at Columbine in 1999, where two high school students walked into school and started shooting, or the numerous attacks over the years in different cities by other self-described anarchists.
You don't have to be paranoid. You just simply have to be aware.
As someone who is well versed in security, as well as last days prophecy -- I'd like to advise you to be on the alert (by simply being aware) not just for Islamic radicals -- but young, white Americans (anarchists) from counter culture. If terrorist attacks become more common in America in the months and years ahead, these guys could be responsible for more than one. The Brussels attack was probably due to open borders. I am just guessing. But the fact that it was at the airport and subway systems tells me it was planned and coordinated. Carrying a gun would not have helped anyone in Brussels, but perhaps being alert and aware might have made the difference for someone in the ambush zone.
Practice a heightened situational awareness. Avoid large crowds and keep your head on a swivel.
Stay safe
Semper Paratus
Check 6
Burn