Lately I have been thinking even more about what it means to carry concealed. I guess that is what bloggging does for you, it makes you think. One of the areas that I have become aware of is the amount of violence portrayed on TV and in movies. I really think that this has desensitized a lot of the population in to a casual attitude towards violence in general, and gun violence specifically. Let's just look at the unrealistic portrayal of civilian shooting compared to what to really expect.
On TV, it is pretty clear cut exactly who is the good guy, and who is the bad guy. Second, many times the hero manages to get his weapon out and shoot accurately a single shot that incapacitates the bad guy. And often, the hero managed to get this done while the bad guy already had is weapon in hand and aimed. Plus the bad guy missed at least 1 shot. The bad guy drops dead immediately, even on a shot to the center mass area. The police arrive, throw a blanket over the shoulders of the good guy, tell him "it's over now, go home".
Now, the reality. Of course, I have never been through this personally, but here is what all the experts warn us will happen. A person approaches you for purposes unknown, making you feel uncomfortable. You challenge him, but he won't back off. He reaches towards his belt or pocket, although no weapon is obvious. Is he going for a weapon, or a piece of paper with some directions on them he wants to ask you about? Do you wait to draw until you actually see a weapon, meaning you will definitely not get the first shot off? Or do you draw, leaving yourself open to a "man with a gun" call and a charge of brandishment?
Things progress to the point where you feel as though your life is in immediate and unavoidable jeopardy, so you use your weapon. Of course your hands aer shaking so hard you can barely get control of your gun as you present it, and more than likely you will fire multiple shots with less than 50% of them actually hitting your target. The first good shot hits in the upper shoulder area, which barely even makes the bad guy flinch because he is so hopped up on adrenaline and other substances. Your second good shot is a gut shot, so he does crumple but is still pretty much fully functional. With any luck, your third shot will hit him center mass, and cause enough shock to make him stop his attack. You quickly check around, and are lucky because he was alone and there are no accomplices flanking you and doing to you what you just did to him.
You quickly retire to cover, and phone 911. And you better be the first one to call them, because if a scared accomplice of the man you just shot doesn't engage you and contacts them first, you just became the bad guy. You check yourself for injuries, but you were lucky. Now you have the unpleasant task of looking around to see exactly where all those rounds that didn't hit you or the bad guy actually went. Is the older lady who was behind the bad guy all right? The kid across the street? The man who was standing behind you?
Now you hear police sirens drawing near. You don't still have your gun in your hand, do you? But if you put it away, are you absolutely certain that there is no one else meaning to do you harm? Better decide quick. When the police arrive, expect to be challenged, where you are forcefully told by several officers to do different things at the same time. You finally get a command you can comply with, where you end up face down on the ground with a 200 lbs police officer kneeling on your back while he roughly handcuffs you. They stick you in the back of a not too clean cruiser while they attempt to figure out what happened. You can expect to be there for some time, after which you will no doubt be taken to the station for processing. All the while, they are asking you in a very impolite manner what the hell happened. You didn't make a statement yet, did you? Because if you did, I can assure you it will end up on the record and bite you in the ass eventually. But if you keep quiet, they will see you as being uncooperative and the treatment gets rougher. At this point, seeing your lawyer is still hours away.
After hours and hours of this treatment, your lawyer finally gets you loose so you can start to process the life changing experience you just went through. You get to run the gauntlet of media waiting outside for you, asking you why you murdered that poor misguided person. You get home, and your family is obviously worried about you, but you know in their minds they are very afraid of you and the monster you have now become because you killed another human being. Friends suddenly dry up, not wanting to associate with someone like you any more. Your co-workers will also treat you different, that is if you still have a job because of all the time you will need off to plan and execute a successful defense.
Oh yeah, you do know that you will be paying for all that expensive legal defense, even if you ultimately did nothing wrong? Plan on the equivalent of a 4 year college education at a good school for one of your children. So which one doesn't get to go to college now? Months and years may go by, during which you are an accused murderer, even if you aren't technically in jail. If you are lucky, you will go to trial and endure a truly traumatic rehashing of your entire life before ultimately being found guilty of murder, but with a successful plea of self defense. I say you are lucky, because our legal system is not in the business of declaring innocence. You may never actually go to trial, which is good on the sense that you don't have to go through that, but bad in the sense that everyone will always have a doubt as to your innocence. Either way, your life is forever changed. With luck, and a lot of caring and therapy, your family will stay with you and you can start to rebuild your life.
Now, don't get me wrong. I am not advocating leaving your weapon at home and becoming a victim. If you did not have your weapon, you are possibly permanently disabled or dead. Your loved ones are left to grieve and fend for themselves. The bad guy wins, and gets to continue taking what he wants by force from anyone he likes. So, as bad as the whole thing is, it is the least of all evils. But make no mistake, no matter what happens it will be evil.
I know TV is TV and not reality, but this is a case of life NOT imitating art.
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