21 May 20
“Who are without swords can still die upon them!”

From the Tolkien novel, “Lord of the Rings”
In reporting yesterday’s mall shooting in AZ, local media reiterated this all-to-common epitaph:
“When police arrived at the mall, the scene was no longer active”
Additional details are still emerging, but the above headline is the point of this Quip!
Seldom do police arrive while shots are still being fired! No matter how fast the police response, the “incident” is almost always over by the time police get there, and police are thus not usually in a position to affect the outcome.
Police arriving “in the nick of time” is mostly confined to movies!
Accordingly, when you find yourself in such a dire circumstance, the only person in a position to save your life will likely be you, and only you. Having the heart, ability, and confidence to act unhesitatingly and precisely, at the critical moment, will save your life, and there is nothing else in the universe that can!
At that instant, all else is nonsense!
You’re ready, or you’re not. Either way, the moment passes!
Fools think that being deliberately unarmed and unprepared provides some kind of phantasmal protection, as they can depend upon the “chivalry” of violent criminals.
Countless unarmed victims of criminal violence can tell you how well that works!
“Martyrdom is overrated”
Anon
/John