Your Best Defense: Smart Strategies for Staying Safe by Manko Wes

Author:Manko, Wes [Manko, Wes]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HenschelHAUS Publishing, Inc.
Published: 2018-01-22T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nine: Staying Safe on the Street

It has been said that criminals are animals. Indeed, when it comes to attacking people, they certainly can behave like animals. If you have ever seen a nature program where several lions are searching for prey, what do the predators typically seek? They look for weakest, most defenseless animal they can find. Usually, the animal is very young or old or sick, which means it cannot defend itself. This is the same behavior that most criminals look for in their victims.

Criminals are lazy. They want to choose someone they feel will be an easy victim-someone who won’t fight back. Consequently, they look for someone who gives the appearance of a victim.

So what do potential victims look like? There are at least four qualities to victimhood:

1☐ Potential victims project low self-esteem or low energy.

2☐ Potential victims usually walk with their head down.

3☐ Potential victims seem unaware of their surroundings.

4☐ Potential victims communicate an attitude of surrender through their body language. When asked a question they may turn their head away or look down to try to avoid eye contact and answer softly. They look like they won’t fight back.

This falls perfectly within one part of the criminal’s formula. Crimes happen when criminal intent meets opportunity. So we can say that

criminal intent + opportunity = crime.

In the Wisconsin county where I live, a woman was assaulted by a number of attackers. The incident happened in the early hours of the morning outside a convenience store in a high-crime neighborhood, which is a setting that provides criminals with the perfect opportunity to exploit the weak. As the woman left the store, they surrounded her, and one of the assailants pulled out a weapon and told her to come with them.

Unfortunately, the woman went with the assailants and was assaulted. While I cannot say whether or not she demonstrated the four qualities of victimhood, I can surmise that she was at least unaware of her surroundings, or she wouldn’t have been there at such a dangerous time.

This brings me to a very important point. If anyone ever pulls out a weapon and tells you to come with them, especially after they’ve robbed you, don’t go. After they’ve taken your money, the only reason they want you to move is so that they can hurt or kill you. Even before they rob you, breathe, relax, and try to get a sense of whether you can run away safely. As mentioned above, I recommend that you always carry a “drop wallet” or “drop purse” that has a lot of $1 bills in it. If your assailant pulls a weapon, throw down the “drop wallet” and try to escape.

Refuse to Look like a Victim

There are at least seven ways to project an “I’m not a victim” look:

1☐ Walk engaged. This means to walk with your head held up, shoulders squared, and with purpose.

2☐ Return eye contact normally. Let your eyes briefly meet to acknowledge the person coming toward you. Don’t stare at the person looking at you, and don’t walk looking down at the sidewalk.

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