Alas, Charlotte is a deep blue city filled with layabouts who eagerly vote for those who promise more freebies. If you need to empty your stomach for any reason (toxins, etc) you can always read the Charlotte mayor's response to the murder.
I think it's going to take some executive branch overreach to get something done. It's time to end protections for government officials. They need to held be criminally and civilly liable for rulings and laws that lead to the death of the innocent.
I know a local judge who threw out a case of someone carrying a concealed weapon a few decades ago before the law changed, because the guy was carrying a steak knife and not something "dangerous." A couple of months later same guy appeared before same judge for murdering someone with another steak knife. It took someone getting killed before the judge "got it."
Problem is then they go too far the other way & lock up the legitimately innocent to avoid getting hammered for letting out a bad guy. Avoiding that outcome is why we were stuck with Judge Elloie for so long & it took such an egregious case of this shit to be rid of him.
With Judge Elloie, it took a repeat violent offender accused of multiple murder that was caught on security video being released of a personal recognizance bond killing a witness to the first murders before we could get him debenched.
I purposefully avoid public transportation in blue cities, especially at night. And on the point of self defense insurance read the agreement, because there are a lot of situations it may not cover.
Good stuff. Does anyone here in the comments have direct experience with the insurance outfits enough to recommend one or two? I've been seeing lots of ads but I'm not sure who is good and who can afford social media ads.
Massad Ayoob and Andrew Branca are the most active writers on the legal aspects of self defense and this are a good starting place for research. The better firearms training schools cover the topic as well.
However, I disagree that all mentally ill folks or substance addled folks are automatically a threat. Not everyone talking to themselves is going to hurt you.
Hell, the most significant threats at my workplace have not come from folks in psychosis but from entitled assholes with no observable deviation from normal cognitive processing.
Gestalt observation and experience over 2 decades of patient care is what has led me to that particular conclusion.
The biggest point here is trusting your gut instinct in your interactions with *anyone* and acting accordingly. As women, we are programmed to suppress the reaction and "be nice" and that's what fucking gets us killed. I had a skin crawl, get me away from this fucker reaction to someone in a social context. Fortunately my husband and friends understood, and I wasn't left alone for even a second at this large event after my gut said "DANGER WILL ROBINSON" on this person that social context precluded me being "rude" to them...
My husband works as a social worker on the competency docket, trying to get folks unfucked that aren't competent to stand for their charges. As you can imagine, being a local ER nurse, we end up sharing some clientele.
Some of those folks are kept incarcerated during this process due to potential for violence. Some are folks remaining in the community.
In some cases, these folks do in fact stabilize, get medicated, participate in therapy, maintain housing, etc. This is far preferable to sitting in jail and timing out on charges to be released back to the same mess.
One that breaks my heart is a veteran with a TBI without a violent bone in his body who takes good care of his kids and just... can't function well. None of his charges are violence related, and his thing is uncontrollable anxiety.
The largest problem arises where folks are deemed permanently incompetent to proceed, but no legal mechanism exists to keep them confined via involuntary hospitalization. Had one of those in the Denver area recently and it didn't end well.
Anyway... observing body language and overall impression is the biggest key. Move away if you're uncomfortable. Listen to your gut. But there are plenty of observably mentally ill folks who are not a violence risk.
Public transit is literally hunting over bait for criminals & crazies, and in places like Chicago, those criminals & crazies are reasonably sure that you are both unarmed, and very likely to hesitate to respond to escalating levels of violence because you have no direct experience with violence and do have a general desire to stay as far away from expensive, potentially life altering legal entanglements as possible.
If you ever happen to be co-located in meat space & are curious, ask me about my last (ever!) Chicago train ride with Mr. Mumbles, Mr. Pisser, and the regularly scheduled urban outdoorsmen stink & bleed-a-thon...
The inevitable legal aftermath of self-defense should probably be as strongly pondered as what gun to carry in what caliber in which holster, but is often dismissed with the old "judged by 12".
And by all means, fight if needed with the best tools available- but make sure you do all you can to avoid the fight if you can. The classic Rule of The Stupids is a good one- you can avoid a lot of trouble if you avoid going to stupid places with stupid people and do stupid things at stupid times. De-escalating instead of stepping up to join in a Monkey Dance. As Dr. April noted, "You win 100% of the fights you avoid. If you're not there when it happens, you don't lose."
I recommend Clayton Cramer's book, "My Brother Ron: A Personal and Social History of the Deinstitutionalization of the Mentally Ill". The core of the problem is the progressive idea that there are drugs to treat mental illness. We no longer need mental health institutions. Deinstitutionalization became a stampede as progressive states looted their mental health budgets to pay for welfare programs.
I recall reading some time ago that fully 60% of the people in our jails and prisons should be in mental institutions.
One could also ask if the current state of the mentally ill- often homeless and subject to a whole lot of horrors on the streets- is actually worse than life in an institution?
Or, alternatively, the other state of keeping them in prison -- that is *also* worse, for *both* the sane and the insane inmates -- than putting them in mental institutions. (Although it's a tiny bit better than leaving them on the streets!)
None of the options are good ones. The person is in a miserable state. Their basic needs are water, food, shelter, clothing, sanitation & medical care.
On the street, they must resort to scavenging or crime to obtain these necessities. Medical care often takes the form of self medication; i.e. drugs, alcohol, etc.
Prison offers these necessities but only after the person has committed a crime bad enough to warrant imprisonment. The murderer of Iryna Zarutska has won this lottery. What a stupid way of running a society.
Institutions are, well, institutions but if we can provide basic needs for these people without the requisite crimes and without forcing them to shit on sidewalks, it would be an improvement. The person is still miserable. That's not going to change but at least our cities are cleaner and safer.
The Canadians are tipping into the NAZI idea of euthanizing the mentally ill (Lebensunwertes Leben). Like the NAZIs, progressives are good for coming up with labels that sound that sound moral and ethical but it amounts to the same thing.
Another abuse in the past was the psychosurgery craze. I wouldn't be surprised if soi-disant progressives try to bring this back.
So there really are no perfect solutions here; just what is the least bad. Deinstitutionalization has obviously failed. At the moment, it appears to me that reopening our mental institutions is probably the least bad of the choices.
Been stabbed, bludgeoned and shot at and I'm doing fine. Tips: forget the Tueller test: a predator will not self-disclose from 21 feet away. Instead, he (or more likely, they) will smile and ask for the help of directions or a little bus fare, etc., while making his/their way into bad breath proximity. Also: carry weapons you know how to use; know your area's self defense laws; get decent training; get in shape.
Amen and amen!
Someone, or lots of someones, need to go after the judge who set this guy free.
As in, Massive Protests, Marches, Civil Unrest, until such time said judge is thrown off the bench and into Jail.
Alas, Charlotte is a deep blue city filled with layabouts who eagerly vote for those who promise more freebies. If you need to empty your stomach for any reason (toxins, etc) you can always read the Charlotte mayor's response to the murder.
If you haven't eaten recently, here ya go: https://www.newsweek.com/charlotte-vi-lyles-stabbing-iryna-zarutska-2126198
Well, if Soros can pay people to show up and protest, maybe the rest of us need to do that as well?
I think it's going to take some executive branch overreach to get something done. It's time to end protections for government officials. They need to held be criminally and civilly liable for rulings and laws that lead to the death of the innocent.
Until 'we' 'do to them' what 'they' are 'doing to us', nothing is ever going to change.
You don't vote yourself out of communism/socialism/dictatorships/et al.
I know a local judge who threw out a case of someone carrying a concealed weapon a few decades ago before the law changed, because the guy was carrying a steak knife and not something "dangerous." A couple of months later same guy appeared before same judge for murdering someone with another steak knife. It took someone getting killed before the judge "got it."
Problem is then they go too far the other way & lock up the legitimately innocent to avoid getting hammered for letting out a bad guy. Avoiding that outcome is why we were stuck with Judge Elloie for so long & it took such an egregious case of this shit to be rid of him.
Sorry, not buying it. There is a world of difference between a repeat offender who is violent and someone who is no where near that.
With Judge Elloie, it took a repeat violent offender accused of multiple murder that was caught on security video being released of a personal recognizance bond killing a witness to the first murders before we could get him debenched.
Always good reminders. Thank you
I purposefully avoid public transportation in blue cities, especially at night. And on the point of self defense insurance read the agreement, because there are a lot of situations it may not cover.
Remember, a madman may not set off your radar, some of them read normal until they don't. Kep n eye out for "normals" too
I was mugged once, and it was two times too many. If I am ever attacked again, check my fingernails for DNA from eyeball matter.
Seriously! Eye gouge the SOB! (and I'm sorry you were mugged. That sucks.)
PS A proper eye gouge involves eyeballs popping out. Yes, it's gross. Also, most people will then stop attacking you.
Excellent article. Very well said!
Sometimes as in a subway car you can't move. But this is a very scary unfortunately too real post.
Evil is only defeated by good people who will act to stop it.
Good stuff. Does anyone here in the comments have direct experience with the insurance outfits enough to recommend one or two? I've been seeing lots of ads but I'm not sure who is good and who can afford social media ads.
Massad Ayoob and Andrew Branca are the most active writers on the legal aspects of self defense and this are a good starting place for research. The better firearms training schools cover the topic as well.
I agree that situational awareness is key.
However, I disagree that all mentally ill folks or substance addled folks are automatically a threat. Not everyone talking to themselves is going to hurt you.
Hell, the most significant threats at my workplace have not come from folks in psychosis but from entitled assholes with no observable deviation from normal cognitive processing.
Gestalt observation and experience over 2 decades of patient care is what has led me to that particular conclusion.
The biggest point here is trusting your gut instinct in your interactions with *anyone* and acting accordingly. As women, we are programmed to suppress the reaction and "be nice" and that's what fucking gets us killed. I had a skin crawl, get me away from this fucker reaction to someone in a social context. Fortunately my husband and friends understood, and I wasn't left alone for even a second at this large event after my gut said "DANGER WILL ROBINSON" on this person that social context precluded me being "rude" to them...
My husband works as a social worker on the competency docket, trying to get folks unfucked that aren't competent to stand for their charges. As you can imagine, being a local ER nurse, we end up sharing some clientele.
Some of those folks are kept incarcerated during this process due to potential for violence. Some are folks remaining in the community.
In some cases, these folks do in fact stabilize, get medicated, participate in therapy, maintain housing, etc. This is far preferable to sitting in jail and timing out on charges to be released back to the same mess.
One that breaks my heart is a veteran with a TBI without a violent bone in his body who takes good care of his kids and just... can't function well. None of his charges are violence related, and his thing is uncontrollable anxiety.
The largest problem arises where folks are deemed permanently incompetent to proceed, but no legal mechanism exists to keep them confined via involuntary hospitalization. Had one of those in the Denver area recently and it didn't end well.
Anyway... observing body language and overall impression is the biggest key. Move away if you're uncomfortable. Listen to your gut. But there are plenty of observably mentally ill folks who are not a violence risk.
Public transit is literally hunting over bait for criminals & crazies, and in places like Chicago, those criminals & crazies are reasonably sure that you are both unarmed, and very likely to hesitate to respond to escalating levels of violence because you have no direct experience with violence and do have a general desire to stay as far away from expensive, potentially life altering legal entanglements as possible.
If you ever happen to be co-located in meat space & are curious, ask me about my last (ever!) Chicago train ride with Mr. Mumbles, Mr. Pisser, and the regularly scheduled urban outdoorsmen stink & bleed-a-thon...
The inevitable legal aftermath of self-defense should probably be as strongly pondered as what gun to carry in what caliber in which holster, but is often dismissed with the old "judged by 12".
And by all means, fight if needed with the best tools available- but make sure you do all you can to avoid the fight if you can. The classic Rule of The Stupids is a good one- you can avoid a lot of trouble if you avoid going to stupid places with stupid people and do stupid things at stupid times. De-escalating instead of stepping up to join in a Monkey Dance. As Dr. April noted, "You win 100% of the fights you avoid. If you're not there when it happens, you don't lose."
I recommend Clayton Cramer's book, "My Brother Ron: A Personal and Social History of the Deinstitutionalization of the Mentally Ill". The core of the problem is the progressive idea that there are drugs to treat mental illness. We no longer need mental health institutions. Deinstitutionalization became a stampede as progressive states looted their mental health budgets to pay for welfare programs.
I recall reading some time ago that fully 60% of the people in our jails and prisons should be in mental institutions.
One could also ask if the current state of the mentally ill- often homeless and subject to a whole lot of horrors on the streets- is actually worse than life in an institution?
Or, alternatively, the other state of keeping them in prison -- that is *also* worse, for *both* the sane and the insane inmates -- than putting them in mental institutions. (Although it's a tiny bit better than leaving them on the streets!)
None of the options are good ones. The person is in a miserable state. Their basic needs are water, food, shelter, clothing, sanitation & medical care.
On the street, they must resort to scavenging or crime to obtain these necessities. Medical care often takes the form of self medication; i.e. drugs, alcohol, etc.
Prison offers these necessities but only after the person has committed a crime bad enough to warrant imprisonment. The murderer of Iryna Zarutska has won this lottery. What a stupid way of running a society.
Institutions are, well, institutions but if we can provide basic needs for these people without the requisite crimes and without forcing them to shit on sidewalks, it would be an improvement. The person is still miserable. That's not going to change but at least our cities are cleaner and safer.
The Canadians are tipping into the NAZI idea of euthanizing the mentally ill (Lebensunwertes Leben). Like the NAZIs, progressives are good for coming up with labels that sound that sound moral and ethical but it amounts to the same thing.
Another abuse in the past was the psychosurgery craze. I wouldn't be surprised if soi-disant progressives try to bring this back.
So there really are no perfect solutions here; just what is the least bad. Deinstitutionalization has obviously failed. At the moment, it appears to me that reopening our mental institutions is probably the least bad of the choices.
Been stabbed, bludgeoned and shot at and I'm doing fine. Tips: forget the Tueller test: a predator will not self-disclose from 21 feet away. Instead, he (or more likely, they) will smile and ask for the help of directions or a little bus fare, etc., while making his/their way into bad breath proximity. Also: carry weapons you know how to use; know your area's self defense laws; get decent training; get in shape.
Don't forget that the only publicity that the Charlotte is getting on the left appears to be utter scum trying to set up GoFundMes for THE KILLER.
Do you have a link? Because that sounds like something out of a satire.
Edit: never mind, I stumbled over some this morning. People are dumb.