I heard a report on the radio this morning that a convenience store clerk was stabbed in the abdomen when he attempted to stop two individuals from stealing some beer Saturday night here in Missoula. The store clerk is doing okay in the hospital.
This gives us a couple of things to think about.
First, the guy is lucky that he is okay. Many people have died of knife wounds. You have to determine if some beer is worth getting stabbed, and possibly killed over. I'm not saying we turn into a bunch of wimps and let anyone get away with whatever, but I am saying that ending up in the hospital or morgue over some beer might not fit into most people's plans. What you fight over is your decision, make sure it is the right one, and one you can live or die with.
Second, if you do make the decision to fight or stop someone in this type of situation, it would behoove you to have some training and some sort of weapon. One against two is bad enough, but when the two are also armed... I'm not advocating a bunch of armed vigilantes either, but when the odds are against you, you need to do something to even them.
Third, remember the old principle that we have to know our strengths and weaknesses and those of our opponent. There is a good chance the clerk did not know the robber was armed until he felt the knife enter his stomach. Many people have walked into an encounter not knowing their opponent was armed until too late. Too be on the safe side, it is not a bad idea to always assume your opponent is armed and better than you. That will help reduce the mistakes that often come with overconfidence. It will also help you avoid walking into "a knife in the guts."
The last point I'll make here is that the best course of action in a situation like this would have been to notice everything possible about the two robbers so he could have been a good witness for the police. A store clerk is not paid enough, and does not have the training and equipment to apprehend two armed robbers, especially over a little beer. Of course, if the robbers intended to hurt, rape, kill the clerk or patrons, the reaction necessary would be different. That goes back to deciding what is worth fighting, and possibly dying, over.
We could look at further lessons this incident lends itself to, and we could analyze the lessons above even more, but this is enough to think about today.
This kind of incident happens all the time, albeit not that often in Missoula, Montana. It just shows that no matter who you are, or where you are, you need to adhere to awareness principles and it can benefit anyone to learn basic self-defense measures for those instances when you must attack back.
Stay Safe - Alain
