Originally Posted on November 10, 2011 by Karri
It’s hard to believe, and even harder to accept. Contrary to what Hollywood would have us believe, the odds of a hero coming around the corner to take on the mugger/rapist/burglar/car-jacker/murderer it’s tragically unlikely. You can call the police, but odds are they won’t make it there in time. Your dad is not going to be with you everywhere you go, and no matter how many Facebook friends you have, when it really counts you are going to be alone. That’s how the bad guys plan it.
Bleak outlook, right? Call me a pessimist if you must, but I do have one piece of good news that might help you sleep a little better at night.
The only hero you will ever need is already in the room.
If you look at examples in nature, we have a word for creatures that have eyes facing forward, sharp canine teeth and eat meat—predator.
Now, imagine one of the noble great cats, a grizzly bear or even a viper laying down and letting someone else hurt it. I’ve seen kittens with more spine. Just try it and you will find yourself at the business end of four clawed feet, and a whole lot of animosity.
The other lie that Hollywood perpetuates is that you need to spend a montage of isolated training at the hands of some wizened instructor in some secluded mountain retreat. Even with no training, the simple act of resisting dramatically increases your chances of walking away from an attack. Watch a documentary every once in a while and recall that even pack of hungry wolves attack the slow and weak.
You are every bit as strong and capable as you need to be. Sure, training helps. That’s why I do what I do, but the most important thing is to stop feeling sorry for yourself, defenseless or weak. Let that theme song start rolling in the back of your head show that sonofabitch that they just bought a ticket to the wrong damn film.