Street Survival In Our Daily Routine.
Situation Awareness; Life & Death At The Watering Hole.
Some of us still remember Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom and National Geographic bringing the wildlife into our living rooms. I remember Jim always got the dirty job, as Marlon cheered him on. Jim was as tough as they come.
We got to travel through the wilds of places like Africa, while sitting in the comfort of our homes. A daring man or woman brought us this journey through the lens of their camera. Often the point of focus was the watering hole; a place where life and even death coincide.
The predator does not need to scour the savanna in search of his next meal; he simply needs to know where the watering hole is. Water is critical for life and he knows that at one time or another, all will show up at the watering hole.
Take a look at the photo above. A lot can be learned from it in regard to survival in our own day to day activity.
Probably the single most important concept taken from the above photo is the application of situational awareness and how critical it is to day to day survival.
Every living creature in that photo knows where the predator is. At first thought, you might assume that the predator has an easy life there due to the large number of potential meals. Not so, some days the predator does not eat; situational awareness is hardwired into all present there.
It’s only when one of them forgets about the presence of the predator; then the predator gets to eat.
In your day to day activity, you often visit what I often refer to as “watering holes”. The predators look a lot different, but nevertheless the game is the same. Watering holes might be the mall, favorite nightclub, grocery store, busy gas station right off the exit or even your own driveway after returning home late.
Situation awareness(knowing Who and What is going on around you) need not be a course of study; unless we are talking about pilot training, which we are not.
When you walk out the door of your home, simply remind yourself of this,
“I share this world with bad men.”
It’s when we get wrapped up in our own agenda, that we forget to view what’s going on around us.
The individuals that will cause grief and pain in our lives are no smarter than we are.
They are not tougher than we are.
The only two advantages they have over us at the moment of interaction is that they are desperate and without conscious.
When you combine these two factors, with a person who is not paying attention to what’s going on around them, then the predator has surprise/first strike in his favor.
This often decides the result of the interaction, often in favor of the predator.
Please don’t assume you can spot a predator based upon his looks; unless it looks like the one in the above photo. Don’t assume that just because you are home by 10 pm and not on the streets at 3 am you are safer.
I have not found any statistics that back the common myth that more violent crime occurs at 3 am or that the most violent crimes occur in the poor areas of the city.
Predators, bad men, work in the areas that offer the most opportunity.
Most of the bad men that I have dealt with had normal hours, meaning 7 am to 9 pm. Two men that I encountered in my life got the “Evil” label; one was strictly a day person, and the other one was the 3 am type.
“Yes, there is a big difference between bad men and evil men.”
You already have the skills to pick up on the indicators that help identify a threat.
Predators are people watchers, most of society is not, unless they are assigned to a specific task.
Most people move from point A to point B with purpose and little regard for what’s going on around them. A predator will often move about seemingly without purpose, but he is fixated on the people around him.
The predator picks up on anyone that enters his area.
This type of activity is not hard to spot. You can pick just about any large shopping center, especially one with a supermarket like Publix in it.
Select a position that gives you the best visual access, then begin to people-watch. You will see things like cheating spouses hopping from car to car, thieves (the coupon scam is very popular now) and drug transactions.
Popular coffee spots like Duncan Donuts and Starbucks, unknowingly to the companies, have been used by escort services for years to disguise the pick-up and drop-off of escorts.
Keep this in mind,”I share this world with bad men”. Take just a few seconds to look at the environment you are in. Not only will you spot someone or something out of place, but you will also see the beauty this world has to offer.
Thank You for reading,,,,,,,,,