Sheeple: “My instinct was to stay put and try to become as small as possible”

Imagine this, you are on a moving Metro Train and some crazed maniac starts stabbing someone in the middle of the car.  While this person is being stabbed to death, you and other passengers cower in fear on either side of the train simply hoping to shrink into a small enough space not to be noticed.  Once the maniac is done stabbing his victim to death he then starts to threaten and rob others, people who turn their face so as not to make eye contact while giving up whatever they have.  After all, this man has a knife (with blood on it), what else was there to possibly do?

If you are on this website reading this, chances are you wouldn’t have been one of the crowd to stand back and watch the above unfold.  It’s not a made up scenario either, it happened on July 4th on a Washington D.C. Metro train.

Excerpts from the story.

The passenger who was killed during a robbery aboard a Metro train on July 4 was punched until he fell and was then repeatedly stabbed in the chest, abdomen, back, side and arms, according to a D.C. police arrest affidavit filed in court on Tuesday.

The comments from those who were there are what’s worth reading.

“I watched [the attacker] drop-kick him in the head several times, like he wanted to kick his head off,” the woman said. “We saw the perpetrator kicking the man. He had him on the ground, punching him, kicking him and stabbing him.” She said Sutherland was “moaning a lot.. . .Never have in my life have I seen anything like this. I saw [the attacker] bent over him. I did see the bloody knife in his hand.”

As the attack unfolded, the woman pulled out her phone and called 911. She said there were about 10 passengers on the train car.

Good thing she called 911, when seconds count the police are mere minutes away.  The plot thickens.

The daughter said she had been standing with her back to Sutherland but turned when she saw people react to the attack.

She said others on the train were too afraid to try and stop the brutal attack.

“The man is holding a bloody knife,” she said. “I don’t think anyone was going to try and stop him.”

“The people that were in the back of the train stayed in the back of the train and the people in the front of the train stayed in the front of the train,” she said. “Knowing he had a knife in his hand…we were in a moving train. You’re not really sure what you need to do.”

“I would have to say that my instinct was to stay put and try to become as small as possible,” she said. “I’m looking, but I don’t want to be noticed by him.” 

After the attack, she said, the knife-wielding suspect walked past her to the front of the train, where he pushed another man up against the train wall and threatened him. The man’s wife, the woman said, had already gone to the train car in front to alert someone.

Then, she said, the man demanded money from her and her father.

“I really thought when he had my dad stand up and he was standing up close to him that he was going to knife him,” the woman said. “I didn’t know what he would do after he got money off my father.” Her father’s shirt, pants and wallet got blood on them.

When the train pulled into the NoMA-Gallaudet station, the attacker left.

[Emphasis Mine]  Source of Article

So let me get this straight.  Everyone cowers in fear and is afraid to help while a man gets stabbed to death.  Then a father does NOTHING to protect his daughter except tremble like a leaf while this dude robs him, what if he was stabbed next and then the daughter?

The Breakdown

A few points I should probably make here.

1- Obviously there are some areas of the country where you cannot legally carry a gun, D.C. being one of them.  I do think some of the laws reference CCW have changed there but I’m pretty certain those from other states cannot carry there, correct me if I”m wrong.

2- In any event it was obvious nobody had a gun on their person, option 1 down the drain.  Option 2 = get cut while subduing the attacker.  If you get in a knife fight you will get cut, and I just can’t fathom why a few people who were watching a man get stabbed to death didn’t tackle the assaulter.  Of course if one is familiar with a martial art (self defense, not that sport stuff) chances greatly increase of being able to stop the attack and take out the knife wielding maniac.  Still, SOMETHING could have been done…cowering in the corner like frightened sheep not being one of them.  This is what happens when we as a country assign titles like “courageous” and “fearless” and “hero” to acts that aren’t even close to resembling that, it waters down what it takes to truly battle the evil in the world.  It waters down what we as a society believe is an acceptable level of true bravery and aggression (read: none.  who needs aggression in a “civilized society.” /sarc) Ideals are peaceful, history is violent (quote from Brad Pitt in Fury).

3- You can’t count on the police!  There are some damn fine officers out there but they cannot be all places at all times.  Dialing 911 doesn’t stop someone from plunging a blade into someone else’s sternum.  Violence is only stopped with greater violence, than being violence of action which is swift and overwhelming.  One must be prepared to act and that doesn’t necessarily mean without fear.  Rarely is fear absent from the equation but if the training and determination are there, fear only serves to heighten one’s sense of awareness.

The Bottom Line

Why am I sharing this article, maybe I’m just preaching to the choir?  Yet I think it serves as a great example of what we must dedicate ourselves NOT to become (and I’m not talking about the criminal).  Train hard and be prepared to take action.  If you go down swinging, at least you put up a fight.  There is more honor in that than simply waiting to be slaughtered like a bunch of sackless sheeple.  If I was the guy who gave up my wallet to that thug with my daughter standing next to me, I’m not sure if I’d ever be able to look her in the face again as a father/protective figure.

 

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    • rhc on July 8, 2015 at 1:11 AM
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    Amen. As I have told my family for years, prepare for the worst. My wife has it probably memorized by now that if it hits the fan, cover my back because I am going to the source of the problem. Nice knowing that I have someone watching my back.
    Totally agree with you about the father. Probably more worried about “his stuff” rather than the health and safety of his kid.

    • J on July 8, 2015 at 9:19 AM
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    what really bothers me is that no one in the car intervened. True, the father stood there and did nothing, but not a single other person did either, if I read this correctly.

    That is what bothers me the most.

    The lesson I see from this is not to expect a Good Samaritan to intervene on your behalf.

      • PJ on July 8, 2015 at 8:41 PM
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      I agree, nobody intervened. Couple of ways to deal with a guy with a knife: distance or smother. In other words keep far enough away so as not to get cut or close the distance (while probably getting cut) and deal with the situation. In this instance I’m assuming the perp was on his knees, bent over the victim doing work. Might have been easy to take his back, or even easier to have stepped in immediately (when he pushed the guy to the ground, before the knife came out).

    • Kozisms on July 12, 2015 at 2:05 AM
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    I lived in Chicago for almost 20 years and finally gave up and moved to the suburbs 2 year ago. What started this process was I got attacked by a thief I caught in my car. I don’t know how to shorten this story fully and I won’t go into all the details of the fight, but he pulled a knife on me and we fought for a good minute. He slashed about a dozen times at me and i blocked many or dodged. Unfortunately, I had just come from the grocery store and had about 80 lbs of liquid and food in my backpack, so I was lacking mobility. Anyway, the thief ended up running from me as I threw him about 8 feet onto a SUV on inner lake shore. He took off running and i pursued with all that weight on my back. I caught up to him on the next street and he turned with the knife saying he was going to kill me. We started circling and my adrenaline crash hit right at that time. Knowing what was happening, i backed off and he took off. The reason I bring this up is I was in front of a condo building.. Not 10 feet from me was a guy in a SUV and 3 ladies on the sidewalk watching. None of them came to my aid or screamed or called 911. i called 911 after the thief ran and later was confirmed by the Chicago police i was the only one that called in. I just wanted to reiterate how people will not help you in these situations, This type of story just hits home for me. BTW, I could not carry at that time due to laws.

      • PJ on July 12, 2015 at 8:46 PM
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      Kozisms

      Thank you so much for taking the time to relate a real world event that happened to you, and I’m glad you made it out safe! The point about many people willing to stand by and say nothing is real, as noted in the story I published and what you have related. Additionally adrenaline dump is certainly a factor which can be a huge hindrance if not trained for it.

      One final (funny) point. You had 80 lbs of groceries on your back? What were you buying, frozen steaks? LOL!

    • James on July 31, 2015 at 10:10 AM
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    As a society, one of the things that makes us civilized is a general respect for the sanctity of life (just compare and contrast your experience at home with some you may have had in dry, hot, sandy places you may have visitied). One of the key traits of a civilized man is that he will not take advantage of someone weaker than himself. More importantly, HE WILL NOT STAND BY AND ALLOW OTHERS TAKE ADVANTAGE OF SOMEONE WEAKER. The people in this train car were not civilized. They were as barbarous as the perpetrator of this murder. Being armed is a state of mind as much as a physical state. It is deciding that YOU WILL NOT ALLOW ANYONE to harm you, your own family, friends or anyone weaker than yourself. In the old Boy Scout manual it was called “chivalry”. I feel that lack of this kind of chivalry is what has lead to the deterioration of our society.

      • PJ on July 31, 2015 at 8:03 PM
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      James,

      Great thoughts, thanks for sharing them. I concur.

    • phil on August 11, 2015 at 6:32 PM
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    Good Article. MOST people aren’t trained for, nor ever expect any type of physical confrontation. Many “civilized” citizens are totally unaware that they are in contact each day,, with the “uncivilized” walking among them. As a retired Police Officer, I can attest that there is a law of the jungle that the average man or woman just doesn’t understand. Good, law abiding citizens cannot seem to comprehend that some people kill, wound, or maim…just for sport. Real World discussions of the community dangers are considered vulgar or at best, out of place in polite conversation. May I suggest, that you do not pay heed to the advice of the average office worker at the water cooler.

    Take care of You and Yours, and teach your children what you have learned about society, that they will never learn in school. Teach your family how to recognize…the beginnings of a “:Chimp Out.” Teach your children that MOST people, have 2 hands. (one covered up, could conceal a weapon) People will do primarily, what is in their own best interest. The Criminal mind, doesn’t think “Win/win,” in negotiating. Most criminals don;t think they win, unless YOU lose. NEVER expect help from others in an emergency, but take that help if needed, and reciprocate in kind.

      • PJ on August 11, 2015 at 10:16 PM
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      phil

      This is great advice, thanks so much for taking the time to share. The water cooler comment cracked me up. 🙂

    • Roger on October 13, 2015 at 3:43 PM
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    One of the first things I was taught by martial arts training was that in a knife fight, expect to get cut, accept it, keep fighting! If you have a shirt or better yet a coat on, take it off and wrap it around your left arm (if you’re right-handed) because even a few layers of material can be hard to cut through, this gives you some protection. Use anything available as a weapon, a book, laptop, cup of coffee, pencil (ever been stabbed with a pencil, it hurts, badly). Be aware of your surroundings, don’t let yourself be backed into a corner if possible. The body can take a lot of damage and still function/survive, DON’T give up! If you live in a place where they don’t want you to defend yourself, no weapons allowed, then use one of my favorite tricks: place about 1-2 tablespoons of table salt and ground pepper into a plastic sandwich baggie, tie it off, keep one (or two) in your coat and/or shirt pocket, then when the need arises, palm the baggie, use your thumb to tear the baggie open and then throw the contents into your assailants face! This will get his/her attention, whether it burns his eyes or makes him choke and gag (put a tablespoon of salt into your mouth and see if you don’t gag), this will give you a definite short-term advantage! Above all else, get some real life training in an accredited martial art form, even boxing, the physical and mental advantage of training can be a life saver! Good Luck!

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