by K.M., Survival Blog:

The following is my essay that explains the 2nd Amendment, with the issues distilled down to essential truths.

The right to keep and bear arms is a God-given right to self defense against any source who would force their unlawful will on you. Whether that is to violate your person, relieve you of your property, or physically attack you, or as an extension, to protect others in the same dire situation. For such a right to be capable of performing in the real world it would have to be able to meet a threatening force with an equal or greater force. Enough force capable of diffusing or ending the present threat.

I will illustrate how you in essence have two parties: One we will call “Perp” (Perpetrator) and the other we will call “Innocent”. These labels could be substituted with other words: Nazis versus Jews, or Lords versus Peasants, or Bureaucrats versus Patriots. But you get the point.

So, the scenario is that Perp approaches Innocent and demands something that Innocent is not obligated or required to provide. Perp is trying to force their will on Innocent without cause or justification. The demand is usually motivated by greed, lust, hate, a quest for power, or just plain old meanness. But it matters not, the demand is there. What will innocent do?

Basically, Perp wants to control Innocent to perform or provide for them. Perp wants something for nothing and will use force to get it, if needed. The verbal demand from Perp is met with an equal and opposite verbal response, which often is simply “No”. Perp insists, Innocent again says “No”, Perp escalates the situation from a demand into a threat of physical force. Innocent responds with another “No!”, which is often immediately followed by physical, perhaps deadly force.

The Innocent has four responses or choices during this violent escalation. At the beginning of this threat four responses will be discussed in this imaginary scenario:

Response 1- Force – Meet with equal or greater force so that Perp stops, retreats, or ends the violence. AKA “stop the threat”.

Response 2- Defer – Wait for (or expect) others, usually the authorities, to respond to Perp with equal or greater force to stop the threat.

Response 3- Run or Escape – If possible or practical.

Response 4- Compliance – Meet Perps demand with the action requested.

SOME COMPLICATING ISSUES

There are some issues with each response, and they are as follows (although there may be more):

Response 1- Force – Since Innocent is not sure what the response to a little force will be from Perp, how much force should

Innocent use? Innocent needs to use at least an amount of force to stop the threat. Is Innocent strong enough to apply the physical amount of force required to stop Perp? If Innocent is not strong enough, does Innocent have tools that can provide the necessary force? Would there even be a way to show force without actually applying that force to its fullest extent? (By the way, there is.) And will equal or greater force always work?

Response 2- Deferring – Innocent has no guarantee someone else will help. How long will it take for help to come while deferring, will it come in time to prevent loss of life, limb, or property? When and if help responds will it be enough force to stop Perp? Will deferring always work?

Response 3- Run or Escape – Innocent has no guarantee they can outrun Perp. Is there a safe place to run to? If Innocent runs, then will Perp ambush Innocent later and in such a manner that Innocent can’t escape or run? Will Innocent always be able to run? Will running always work?

Response 4- Compliance/Surrender – Innocent has no guarantee that compliance will be the end of the demands from Perp. If Innocent complies, then will Perp respond by demanding the same or more, next time? Is Perp capable of and willing to kill Innocent to silence them and prevent retaliation and a report to the authorities? Compliance may lead to severe hardship, trauma, slavery, or death for Innocent.

Perp might weigh Innocent’s motive, which would be driven by fear or terror of a recurrence of their threat. It might go something like this: When this demand is met, will Innocent report it to others who might become Perps next victims or to those that would stop, confine, or kill Perp? In the final analysis, will compliance always work?

Of all the foregoing potential responses the only one that works almost all the time is #1 – to meet force with equal or greater force. By this I don’t mean showing force and then complying or surrendering.

IT’S ALL ABOUT CONTROL

Why does force work? Because it’s all about control of a situation.

Force is the only response that allows the potential for a transfer of control from Perp to Innocent. And according to statistics just showing deadly force can diffuse or eliminate a deadly threat. We can find many examples of innocent people just displaying the will to use a firearm resulting in the end of a robbery, rape, or other altercation.

Deferring does nothing to transfer control from Perp to Innocent. When seconds count, we know the authorities are many minutes away. And in rural settings they may be hours away. In remote settings you have to go and get the authorities. Forget about them coming or even knowing that your problem exists.

Running does nothing to transfer control from Perp to Innocent. It merely shows or demonstrates who is the hunter and who is the hunted. Or, who is in control.

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