Good Advice
Isntapundit (the other guy who isn’t Glenn) has some good advice for what to do when confronted by someone with a gun. He goes into some good information on what people are capable of doing when shot. It’s sound advice. To wit:
Contrary to the movies, a pistol does not endow its bearer with godlike death-dealing powers. One who is shot with a pistol can generally do as he pleases afterwards, including pounding the piss out of whomever shot him. The only exception is when the bullet directly disrupts the central nervous system, which is very rare.
The short version, which comes from the Sepultura song Ambush, is much more to the point:
When you go down, motherfucker, you go down fighting.
Via Kevin.
September 1st, 2003 at 12:09 pm
That’s about the worst piece of advice I’ve ever read in my entire life.
Yeah, he’s a real tough guy.
First, isntapundit operates with 20/20 hindsight, like he would have been a damn psychic in Sanchez’s situation, knowing what Tapia was going to do. Had he known that, perhaps he would have sacrificed himself to stop things from progressing.
But, conversely, if Tapia was just planning to rob the place, he’d feel pretty damn stupid getting killed for what, wouldn’t he?
Second, yes, you can do quite a lot if you get shot in a non-critical place. But it isn’t like this was World War II, and we’re talking about catching a stray bullet in the gut. This is a guy pointing a gun right at you, willing and able to fire it. Unless he’s some sort of gun-tard, (which is likely, but are you willing to take that risk?) he’s going to shoot you somewhere where it counts.
Third, most people don’t know the difference between a .380 and a .45, or a damn BB gun from a shotgun. Most people just see a gun. Sanchez wasn’t doing ballistics calculations, or exit-wound scenarios in his head. He saw a gun, and decided he didn’t want to get shot.
Wise man.
I’ve heard of countering low self esteem with excess machismo and bravada before, but rarely at the expense of one’s instinct for self preservation.
This guy is the ultimate arm-chair ass. If he has the balls to actually walk the walk, which I doubt, chances are we’ll be seeing this guy on the evening news some day.
Knowing that you can still be mobile and defensive even after getting shot is good information.
Pretending that guns don’t wield power is lunacy.
September 1st, 2003 at 8:55 pm
Actually, there are several studies (one fomr the justice department) which conclude active resistance (preferably with a weapon) has the highest rate of survival.
September 2nd, 2003 at 8:53 am
I think Chris has a good point, in that Sanchez didn’t know what Sepia’s intentions were, just as the people on the planes on 9/11 thought that if they cooperated, everything was going to be OK.
People can definitely soak up a lot of bullets. Handguns aren’t guaranteed fight stoppers. Massad Ayoob has done post-mortems on a lot of gunfights. It’s amazing what people can do after receiving multiple or mortal wounds.
http://www.findarticles.com/cf_0/PI/search.jhtml?magR=all+magazines&key=massad+ayoob
Here’s a summary he did of Jesse James’s gunfights:
http://www.findarticles.com/cf_0/m0BTT/164_27/101879030/p1/article.jhtml?term=massad+ayoob
September 2nd, 2003 at 9:06 pm
People can definitely soak up a lot of bullets. Handguns aren’t guaranteed fight stoppers.
true enough, but depends on the load the shooter is using. I keep winchester silvertips, 135gr faceted hollow points in my 9mm, over 350 ft/lbs of impact force. Plus, the facets spread apart, sort of like the Black Talon rounds that have long been outlawed. Lemme tell ya, you ain’t gonna soak up many of those if ya take them center mass like most people shoot.
September 2nd, 2003 at 10:30 pm
Black Talon rounds that have long been outlawed.
They weren’t outlawed. Winchester pulled em off the market, changed the name to something politically correct (fail safes, if i recall) and marketed them as hunting ammo.
September 2nd, 2003 at 11:53 pm
SU: point taken.