I have some very progressive friends on Facebook. Most of them are people I know in meatspace. One of them had a tweet bitching that Trump saying the synagogue attacked this weekend should have an armed guard was “blaming the victim.” I’ve seen similar attacks when women are told to take basic precautions. No, we should be disarming the people or making the bad men not be bad men. I’m calling bullshit on this.
People who do heinous acts are the human equivalent of rabid dogs. Why? You can’t reason with them. Their worldview precludes reason by the time they’re acting. You will never take away enough dangerous items to prevent them from harming others. Just like you can’t take away a rabid dog’s teeth and claws, you can’t take away a human’s mind – and that’s the dangerous part. Take away guns, they’ll use knives, gasoline, acid, cars, or the myriad of other dangerous things we have in a modern world. The brutal truth is that the only way to deal with a rabid dog is to stop it with force.
It is not “blaming the victim” to tell people who live in dangerous areas or who belong to groups known to be the target of dangerous people to take precautions and to have the means to deal forcefully if/when the bad guys attack. It is dealing with realities of living in a modern society.
If you are a member of an often targeted group (i.e., minorities), and you want to learn how to protect yourself, I recommend getting in touch with Operation Blazing Sword. If you go to a place of worship, talk to your leadership about a security plan. It should not only be call 911. Ben Branam of the Modern Self Protection podcast offers a free church security outline.
Beware of the rabid dogs, and be prepared if they darken your door – wherever you are.