What YOU Can Do To Protect Others

By Kellene Bishop

This week I’ve been impressed with the power of what an individual can accomplish. It only took 2 people to completely annihilate a corrupt organization of ACORN that even high powered politicians wouldn’t/couldn’t do. Thomas Paine was one person who changed the face of our nation forever with nothing more than his desire to share his opinion with whoever would read it. I could go on and on with great examples of individuals who have literally made our world a much better place. 

I was surprised to discover recently that some women simply feel like they can’t defend themselves, by themselves. As a result, they are less inclined to try and learn the skills necessary to defend themselves effectively. The fact of the matter is, lives are saved by individuals every single day. Sure you hear of policemen, firemen, and single soldiers saving a life, but everyday citizens have the same joy of doing so as well. 

There’s a saying “Necessity is the mother of invention.” I find that true in my life frequently. I think some people just figure that they will protect themselves when the time comes without having to do anything now to prepare for it. However, it’s simply not true in that millisecond of panic, chaos and action—that moment which manifests the need for a life-saving or protecting of your own or someone else’s life. The good news is that lives are successfully protected when there is the proper mindset and some skills put into place before the scenario presents itself. And in most instances, a horrific confrontation is eliminated altogether because an easy, vulnerable mark has been transformed into a more difficult target and thus eliminated from the view of the prey. Knowledge and skill is responsible for that transformation. So please! GET SOME!

Are you an easy target? Photo c/o F.O.P. Range Inc.

Having the knowledge to protect yourself is not only realistic, it’s necessary—not so that you can successfully pull a gun and fire in the right moment, but so that you never have to. I may be under-tall, overweight, and out of shape, but in spite of portraying an otherwise “easy mark,” I can guarantee you that the confidence and skills I carry inside of me successfully deter uncommitted criminals on a regular basis. Let’s fact it. Criminals aren’t the sharpest knives in the drawer. They are lazy by nature. Unfortunately there are far too many “easy targets” for them that risking their life or their “freedom” is just not worth it when they can choose between an aware and confident mark and an oblivious, sluggish one.

The other night I had just finished up an errand at a pharmacy that I went to out of convenience. I wouldn’t have necessarily picked this location for its safety, etc. But my GPS said that it was the closest one and I was trying to save some time in a city that was unfamiliar to me. This particular area has experienced a rash of Oxycodone robberies at pharmacies lately. I was sitting in my car checking through my purchases and a man caught my eyes. He was in his late-20s, wearing dark clothes, head shaved, with dark glasses (at 8:30 at night) and was carrying a heavy-laden backpack. He didn’t appear to be “student age” to me and to be perfectly honest, he just plain looked creepy. As he walked in front of my car, I didn’t alter my view in an attempt to not let him know I was looking at him. Instead, I looked him dead on when he noticed me, calmly, my head following his path of travel every step of the way. He looked me right in the eyes and smirked– a creepy sly look. I watched him as he proceeded to the door of the pharmacy, paused, looked over his shoulder at me, and then proceeded to walk past the door. I then decided to pull my car out, and drive around the back of the building to see what he was doing on the other side. To be honest, I drew my firearm as I was coming around the back of the building, just in case, keeping it low and in my lap. The guy hovered around the other side of the pharmacy building for a moment, and then walked in an exaggerated zig-zag fashion away from the pharmacy. I continued to watch him from my vehicle. And yes, he saw me. I watched him until he was a block away. Satisfied that nothing was going to happen at this pharmacy at that moment, I proceeded with my own schedule.

Now, let’s be honest here. I have NO idea what that was all about. It may have been about absolutely nothing. But it did leave a marked impression on me. After all, my gut was telling me something wasn’t right and I rarely have to have my gun “handy” in such a fashion. (On my hip is usually sufficient.) But here’s what I do know. If something HAD happened at that pharmacy, I would have been devastated to know that I just ignored the preliminary signs. Now I can look back and know that “my hands are clean” because I didn’t helplessly ignore something.

Aware and mentally prepared citizens protect others in our society every day. Will you?

Copyright 2009 Kellene Bishop. All rights reserved.  You are welcome to repost this information so long as it is credited to Kellene Bishop.

Sitting Duck or Vital Community Member?

By Kellene Bishop

Coward in War illustration c/o sonofthesouth.net

Surely you’ve seen those movies in which a revolution, war, worthy rebellion, or fight for survival is going on and then the story introduces a cowardly sitting duck who actually puts the lives of everyone else at risk. Unfortunately, that’s a very accurate depiction of the makings of every part of our society. The apathetic cowards always compromise the safety of the strong who are willing to do what’s right. The results of such sitting ducks in our life are so repetitive; I wonder why we aren’t more diligent in watching out for the apathetic as much as we are the proactively evil? They are both threats to our safety.

I have attended the same chiropractor regularly for several years. Recently he and his wife have been open and even proactive in the idea of becoming better prepared to defend themselves and their children in the event of an emergency. Given that I teach physical and firearm self-defense, my chiropractor had encouraged me to post my Women of Caliber flyer and business cards on their Business Directory board which is in view of all of the waiting patients. In fact, the set up is such that, other than a magazine, it’s about the only thing to “entertain” patients during their waiting. Last week when I went into my appointment I discovered that someone had taken exception to my flyer and business cards and had removed them. I spoke to the chiropractor about it wondering if he had had second thoughts in such a marketing piece being present. He assured me that none of his staff would have done such and that it had to have been one of his patients.

So why do I tell you this story? Because I see the individual who removed my materials as one of those apathetic cowards. This is the profile of a person who would rather pray for their enemies in order to avoid conflict with them. While I’m definitely a praying kind of woman, I’ve found that I do better asking for a rope and a pair of hiking boots rather than asking for the mountain to be removed. I can’t change the behavior of others. And I firmly believe it’s a shuddering scaredy cat who refuses to believe that there are plenty of “others” who would do them harm if given the right circumstances. So, since I can’t control the actions of others, I choose to practice and be ready for my actions when harm comes to me.

A protective mother and her pup. animalphotos.info

I find this especially baffling when I speak with mothers, as it’s the mothers of young children who tend to be the most resistant to learning to effectively defend themselves. Women tend to be more peaceful in nature, and less likely to be confrontational—unless you threaten their children. And yet what good is a mother who’s all riled at a home invader when she’s lacking in any actual skills that would effectively protect her children?

I find it ironic that if it weren’t for all of the sitting ducks, there would be no need for vital community members to “save the day.” The sitting ducks present just as much prey for the criminals as food does to wild bears. If there were less sitting ducks in a community, then there would indeed be less crime and less need for firearm defense.

Ironically it’s the people who leave their doors unlocked, their purses on the front seat, their garages wide open, and walk around unaware who are the same people that tend to take offense at messages that Women of Caliber dispense. Yup, the cowards fuel the evil. It’s a good thing there are a few of us vital community members to still come around and save your apathetic fannies.

Copyright 2009 Kellene Bishop. All rights reserved. You are welcome to repost this information so long as it is credited to Kellene Bishop.