​“No Weapons Allowed”

 
I needed to get an updated DoD ID card at a time when the need was more immediate than my normal source could support since it was booked beyond my needed time frame. This led me to seek other options. The one I found was through a special arrangement between the program management office and the issuing agency. Off I went on my adventure to a federal building.
 
This building housed several government agencies along with the Navy administration office that would issue my ID card. I knew that I couldn’t take my carry pistol with me. I left it in my truck with my pocketknife. When I got into the lobby, I saw metal detectors and an x-ray machine. I put the contents of my pockets in the tub and proceeded through the metal detector. When the tub got on the other side the guard reached in and pulled out my wallet and keys.
 
I had a credit card knife in my wallet. I had forgotten it was there. My keys had a gadget on them that was a multi-tool. On one side it has a small knife tip that is ½ inch long. The guard looked at me and said “Sir, you cannot bring dangerous weapons in the building. You have to take these back to your car.” I looked at the knife tip, then looked at him, totally flabbergasted. I had never considered that tiny, very dull, knife tip to be a dangerous weapon. I said, “I can put my keys between my fingers and use them as a weapon.” His response was a deadpan, “Then leave them in your car too.”
 
I looked down and saw that heavy grey tub with its thick plastic walls, then over to my right where the velvet rope stanchion was also in arms reach. I started to point out that these two improvised weapons were more dangerous than the gadget on my keys. When I looked back at him good sense took over. I could not reason with this guy, and I really needed the ID card. I went back to my truck and downloaded any “dangerous” metal I had on my person. I got my ID card, but I also started thinking.
 
What is the real dangerous weapon? We are entertained by shows such as MacGyver, James Bond, Mission Impossible, and characters like Reacher and Jack Ryan. These shows are all fantasy. However, there is a concept behind them that applies to more than just the special forces and black ops operators; the ability to use improvised weapons.
 
One definition of weapon is: A weapon, arm or armament is any implement or device that can be used with intent to inflict damage or harm. (per Wikipedia) That means my observation about the tub or stanchion is correct, when intent is included. Intent is the key that most people discount. The gun free zones completely ignore intent.
 
History, when examined honestly, is packed with mass killings, many of which do not involve firearms. The most people killed in an attack on a school was in 1927 and the perpetrator used explosives. That day 45 people were killed and another 58 injured. Knife attacks in Japan and China are just as horrific as the mass killings in the United States, which also include knife attacks.
 
My point is that a bad actor, intent on hurting as many people as possible will find a tool that will get the job done. That could be as simple as a box cutter.
 
When I see the “No Dangerous Weapons Allowed” signs I look around. There are normally many objects within reach that can be used to “inflict damage or do harm” if someone has intent. This is not intended to be a political stance, even though those signs are motivated more by politics than safety.
 
I saw a cartoon in the early 70’s showing a man surrounded by a circle of men with firearms pointed out. The message was that this was the only way to be protected from terrorism.  I think this concept applies to protecting from bad actors with intent to hurt people.
 
I went to a craft show labeled as “Stranger Things.” Our daughter likes the macabre so it seemed like an event she would enjoy. The event had one of those signs at every entrance. I saw a police officer and told her that I felt that if they were going to make sure I could not defend myself the venue should incur some liability if an attacked happened. She said she agreed, but knowing we had to be disarmed to go inside we could choose to not enter. OK, she had a point.
 
My point is there are areas where our everyday carry may have to be curtailed to a tactical pen. That doesn’t mean we are forbidden from using any object in the environment as an improvised weapon.
 
We should get to the point where we are the weapon, not what we carry. When we are threatened with force from a bad actor, we should consider ourselves as the third monkey on the ramp to Noah’s ark and the rain has started. There are no rules in a fight for survival. Dirty tricks only apply to organized contests with formal rules. All tools at our disposal that assist us in our survival or survival of those we are endeavoring to protect are fair game. This includes the metal sign stanchion holding that “No Weapons Allowed” sign.
 
When we are out and about in public our situational awareness should include what tools are available in addition to potential escape routes and threats. That shouldn’t be paranoia, it should be our normal.
 
In training for mass shooter events, we are all taught Run – Hide – Fight. In the fight segment of that training we are taught to throw whatever we have available such as a desktop stapler or coffee mug. Any resistance increases the probability of survival. Pay attention to what you have around you so you are the weapon.