Three Responses

Recent surveillance video from The Rowan County, North Carolina Sheriff office shows the beginning of an armed robbery of a convenience store just off Interstate 85. As the clerk turns to face the criminal she finds a gun in her face. She slaps the gun away, taking herself out of the line of fire, but then she crumples as her attacker brings it back to bear. she is ushered off to a back room, or to the cash register, the video does not show subsequent events.

In the interest of learning, I would like to examine these actions. At one time, the attacker had both hands spread apart, with the victim in between them. He was wide open to a blow to the throat. Prior to that, in sweeping the gun to the side, the victim had her hand or arm on her attacker's arm. Gaining control of the firearm was an option. A semi-auto handgun pushed out of battery will not fire. A revolver with a death grip around the cylinder will not fire. A finger caught in the triggerguard will be quickly fractured when an adrenaline pumping victim wrenches it from the attacker's grasp.

This victim, however, quickly assumes her role in the robbery after her initial resistance and follows her assailants directions as he orders her off camera. I hope she lived.

One cannot expect every grandmother to respond like Bruce Lee. Or can you? Often it is not the slick move that overcomes the opponent, it is the will to persevere and prevail. It is the will to take advantage of an attacker's weaknesses and mistakes, and fight for one's life. When a victim willingly submits to an attacker's threats and demands, they try to control an unreasonable person with reason. They take on a dependent role, depending on their attacker's generosity for their very survival. I will not judge how any person decides to lead their lives, and I can not judge how any person manages to survive an attack, but one must acknowledge that submission is placing one's very life in the sanctum of a sociopath's benevolence. That is a personal choice, but the reality surrounding it must be recognized.

Compare the first video with these two.