Beware the “carnival atmosphere”
As we approach New Year’s Eve:
New Year’s Eve is ecumenically celebrated throughout Western Civilization, but like Christmas it is a holiday that is vehemently hated by Islamics, and radical Islamics are plotting violent attacks, worldwide, as they always do!
1) “Intel” is only useful when we pay attention to it!
2) “Personal safety” is only what we can accomplish ourselves, with our own hands and intellect. It does not reside in CCTV cameras, nor in what someone else naively talks about, “declares,” nor “assures us of.”
3) “Carnivals” invariably attract drunks, hustlers, con-men, prostitutes, the unstable, the untrustworthy, and sometimes the genuinely dangerous (VCAs)! Without fail, “carnivals” host crapulence, loud (often violent) arguments, physical fights, “shoddy behavior” in general (shoddy behavior that is “tolerated” far more than it would be under other circumstances).
4) “Celebrate” so long as you’re reasonably comfortable with your surroundings, but remain alert and aware. “Relax” a little bit, but never hesitate to abruptly “disengage, separate, and exit” when exiting is clearly in your best interests.
Of course, “risk” is never eliminated. It is only “managed”
For one, I don’t like large public gatherings (particularly when there is a “carnival atmosphere”), and I don’t go places where I can’t be armed.
Because I go armed, I don’t drink, but I often go places with friends who do (modestly). However, I will never be found in the company of drunks, nor among those who are “behaving poorly.”
Our world is dangerous, at all times and places. There are no guarantees, but the sage do our best to find joy and victory within our lot in life, while ever exercising prudence and temperance.
We strive to be “good people,” ever failing, but ever striving!
Happy New Year!
/John
