Keith B wrote:
The decision to go out vs. stay in depends totally on the individual and the level of training. For Speedsix, Excalibur, Carlson and myself, even though we all have backgrounds in law enforcement, every situation should yield a different answer. For those who have not had formal training or a background in this, there should be more of a question of confronting someone like this.
IMO, it is best under many situations to stay inside. However, Carlson made the decision that under the circumstances he was faced with at the time, he was in a good position to prevent the theft of his truck without placing himself in a position of peril. Take a different night, different condition of the body (tired, sick, etc.), different lighting (moon/no moon), possibly more than one perp, yada yada and Carl's decision might have been different.
So, to blanket state you will go out and confront anyone in any situation is not IMO a wise choice. I will pick and choose my battles and only fight those that I feel are in my best interest to fight and have a good chance of winning.
I agree about one making a blanket statement that they would do this or that action, especially if you have never been exposed to danger before. But reading these experiences as well as stories of those involved in self-defensive actions does allow me, as I suppose others, to imagine and therefore react to certain situations. Even if one does not have L.E. or Military experience, one can win against impossible odds. I read almost weekly if not daily of individuals placed in life or death situations, that not only persevere but are also victorious in overcoming an adversity, even without that vaulted L.E. experience. This includes all genres. An old lady killing an individual who broke into her house, a man shooting an individual attempting to rob his girlfriend at gunpoint, and these are just two of the most recent acts I have read about. One could go on and on. While the only self-defense shooting I have read about from prior L.E., at least recently, is that individual who stopped that gunman after he ran amok in the neighborhood. By the way God bless him for his actions. This is not blasting L.E. or former L.E. it just is. I believe the reason these "untrained" individuals were able to succeed is that they previously thought out their actions that they would or could take in case of...Actually, I also believe that prior L.E. and Military Combat experience could be a liability of sorts in how one reacts to a possible threat, one has to think about this as well, perhaps directly attacking a threat wouldn't be the best answer. I intend to continue to read and play out possible scenarios, maybe then if the worse does come I also will be better prepared both legally and morally, don't know though.
Where can I draw upon other L.E. experiences, other Military experiences, along with those without formal training and their experiences. Put all of these into a bowl and come out, hopefully, better prepared. For this I do thank all of those who post their experiences and hopefully we can continue to evolve our thought processes. 
Now off to the range. 
