Meditations on Beat-downs, part 3

The Power Beat-down

Me, via NightCafe AI

Oh, boy.

A “power beat-down” is a symptom of an issue in your area that is probably going to require a solution that comes with a whole lot of government strings attached.

Sometimes lumped in with “status beat-downs”, a “power beat-down” is a whole different kettle of fish — loosely defined as “An assault for the purpose of consolidating or maintaining power by intimidation of the local population”. Where a status beat-down is to look good in the eyes of the critter’s peers; the power beat-down is squarely aimed at the citizens outside of the group.

This is primarily the stomping grounds¹ of organised criminal groups, whether the local street rats, armed militias, free-range socialist collectives, religious police, drug cartels, or international terror groups; and — quite honestly — is rather the norm in Third World countries.

Historically in the United States power beat-downs were mostly the province of small-potatoes loan-sharks and protection rackets, despite what Hollywood would have you believe². Even the most derp of criminals understood that getting to the point where you attracted the attention of State-level law enforcement would pretty quickly result in a whole bunch of humour-deficient outsiders showing up, toting Government Sanctions to Smite, and a mandate to perform some metaphorical³ power beat-downs on your dumb arse for the purposes of demonstrating to the tax-payers that Gummint Is Useful⁴.

However, recently some Third-World attitudes have been imported by kindly thick-wits, or are spilling over the Southern border, and I tend to worry that power beat-downs may become more common.

Where an educational beat-down doesn’t intend any long-term damage⁵, and a status beat-down isn’t personal in any way, a power beat-down is rather personally impersonal. It is a message — an example — to the world that ranges from “This is what happens if you cross us” on the milder end, all the way up to “We did this to a random stranger. Imagine what we’d do to someone who pissed us off.”

The first example is what the United States is generally used to. It is the broken bones dealt by a loan-shark or protection gang.

The latter example is what the Third World is used to⁶. This sort of power beat-down generally has long-term medical consequences for the victim, and frequently ends in a grisly murder.

For this distaff side of the species, the more extreme side of the spectrum pretty much always involves rape. Sometimes for the men, too, if there is a South American influence on the critters.

When it comes down to either end of the spectrum, I’d like to remind folks that at no time, in the entire history of mankind, has being taken to a secondary location by armed criminal assailants ever had a net positive outcome for the victim⁷. Period.

When you get down to brass tacks — when you wipe away the Hollywood romance, and look past the flowery legal language — a power beat-down is terrorism. It is inducing fear into the populace for the purpose of gaining a net benefit for a group, and should be treated as terrorism.

How do you de-self-select from this kind of thing?

For the small time folks, it’s fairly easy. Don’t use loan-sharks. Have a respectful relationship with the local constabulary. Go armed, when allowed⁸.

On the other paw, if you’re tagged by one of the cartels or international criminal groups to be an example, understand two things: 1) There’s a pretty good chance you’re about to die, screaming; and 2) When the armed guys make first contact, that’s the last time you have any options⁹.

Right. Those are my thoughts on beat-downs — Your Mileage May Vary — and I think I’ll write about lighter stuff for a while.

Ian

1. Pun intended.

2. The few times in America’s history where folks associated with power beat-downs got too big for their britches the rest of us got done extra hard by Unintended Consequences such as: The FBI, expanded police powers, aggressively intrusive laws, RICO Statutes, banking regulations, random government overreach, and other assorted embuggerances, both minor and major, in the name of “public safety”.

3. Usually metaphorical. Unless Texas Rangers were involved, and then there wasn’t anything metaphorical about the violence.

4. Much, much worse if the Feds notice. See footnote #2, above.

5. At least, not the first time.

6. Not to say that it doesn’t happen here, it’s just not the norm.

7. I've said it before, and I'll say it again: if a critter wants to take your away from the scene of the crime -- he's taking you to the scene of your murder. If he wants to restrain you during the commission of the crime, you're about to be killed and/or raped. In that order, if you’re lucky.

8. Can’t believe I just typed that.

9. And those options suck, trust me, but any options you may have go away really quickly as the scenario unfolds. Make plans ahead of time, and choose wisely.