A gun is a tool, just like a bus:
Mabry, a 16-year bus driver, was on his way to pick up students about 6:45 a.m. Friday when he noticed a truck on East Raccoon Valley Road pulling a trailer he’d seen in a neighbor’s yard on Halls Gap Road for at least three months, he said.
He blocked the two-lane road with his bus so the truck could not leave and then called 911, he said.
… Just like a stool:
A male suspect had brandished a knife and demanded cash, but the clerk picked up a stool and threatened the would-be thief, who fled on foot, said KPD Sgt. Brad Cox.
No one was injured.
… And just like a knife:
A 19-year-old man died after he was stabbed by a man he attacked for “no apparent reason” near a midtown convenience store Saturday night, police said.
Not having a firearm handy does not make you even close to defenseless… you just have to learn how to rely on other tools that are around you all the time. Of course, given the choice between a stool and a firearm when it comes to a robber threatening me with a knife, I would go for the slugthrower, but if it works, it works, and that is all that matters. Remember – the only real weapon is between your ears… everything else is just a tool to employ as you dictate.
(Courtesy of Michael Silence and Eyes Never Closed.)
Great post. In all cases the defenders would be better served with a firearm than the tools they chose. But like we always point out, a firearm is not a magical talisman. It won’t protect you from danger, or serve you as a loyal bodyguard. The first key step is to refuse to be a victim and fight back, once your mind and body are ready, tools will only help you.
Exactly! I can use a wrench to pound a nail into a wall, but a hammer would typically work better. The same could be said of firearms in self-defense situations – damned near anything can be used to give you a mechanical advantage over those who would attack you, but a firearm is typically the superior tool, if only because of the additional range it gives you between you and those who are seeking to cause you harm.
The trick, as always, is using those tools around you, and that is dependent on the mind of the intended victim…
Thanks for the linkage!
There are two reasons I carry a knife.
1. Never know when I’m going to need to cut something.
2. That something might be someone else if they attack me and I find myself with out a gun.
I have to leave my gun locked up in my car a lot. It does me no good in there – so I’ll use whatever is available to me at the moment to defend myself. Other folks need to think the same way.
@JP – Pretty much exactly why I carry my knife, and why it is on my “off” side. I just wish Tennessee would allow its residents to carry automatic knives, but most ‘assisted’ types are just about as fast, so it works out ok. In reality, though, anything around you can be a weapon at the drop of a hat, and the more people think that way, the more we will have heart-warming news stories like these.