I'm not a nice person

 If Clark wanted to, he could use his superspeed and squish me into the cement. But I know how he thinks. Even more than the Kryptonite, he's got one big weakness. Deep down, Clark's essentially a good person... and deep down, I'm not. 

-- Batman

The other day at work I stopped by the local stop and rob (that is cop slang for convenience store / gas station) to grab something to drink.

As I was leaving the clerk said, “Go out there and beat up some bad guys”

I couldn’t help but grin the cocky grin that gets me into trouble on occasion and proceed with some impromptu grass roots violence dynamics education.

I don’t “beat up” bad guys.  If circumstances call for it I use force to stop criminal behavior.

However, {evil grin again} if the day happens to yield those circumstances I’m not going to shed a tear about it {wink}

That conversation got me thinking.  I like to employ the analogy of the judicial use of predatory tactics as hunting.  More accurately big game catch and release.

Not fighting – Hunting

Hunting has rules.

Even beasts in the wild have "the law of the jungle"

If you violate that law you will die

Wild predators don't have regulations.  They don't have bag limits because the DNR (department of natural resources) told them so.

If they over hunt, if they take too many females, too many cubs eventually their prey will no longer exist. The predator will have to find new prey or new hunting ground.  Both of which are very risky.

So predators that over hunt die out

Prey that is over hunted dies out

Nature finds harmony.  The predator is not evil.  It's job is not nice but it is a necessary and natural process.

The predator culls the heard, the weak, the diseased, the old are removed.  Only the best genes are passed to the next generation.
A better generation of prey is harder to hunt.
Only the best predators feed.  The weak, the diseased, the old are removed.
Only the best genes are passed to the next generation.
Natural harmony.

If a predatory beast instinctively knows "rules" how much more so a thinking man.

“The key isn't winning -- or losing, it's making the attempt. I may never be what I ought to be, want to be -- but how will I know unless I try?
Sure, it's scary, but what's the alternative? Stagnation - A safer, more terrible form of death. Not of the body, but of the spirit.

An animal knows what it is, and accepts it. A man may know what he is -- but he questions. He dreams. He strives. Changes. Grows.” 
― Chris Claremont, Wolverine

There in lies the rub.  Most people today have not eaten anything they have killed themselves.  Even fewer would have gone hungry if they did not hunt and kill something to eat.

The further a modern thinking man gets away from natural harmony the more he vilifies the predator.
To the point where he has created psychological barriers  / social norms preventing him from using the predatory skills that kept his ancestors alive.

Know the laws so you can use them to your advantage

Don’t get trapped by limiting norms

"Good guy"
There was a time where I self identified myself as good guy - the hero.
That lead to arrogance.  That arrogance under the most slight of different circumstances could have gotten me and my partner hurt.  I was lucky enough to learn a lesson with out leaving a scar.

"I'm not the devil but I won't be your hero"
I can be a "hero" but I don't have to be nice.  In fact I have to give my self permission to not be nice in order to be a hero.

Brings us back to the quote I started the blog with.

 If Clark wanted to, he could use his superspeed and squish me into the cement. But I know how he thinks. Even more than the Kryptonite, he's got one big weakness. Deep down, Clark's essentially a good person... and deep down, I'm not. 

-- Batman

When I lecture about asocial violence I like to use the example of a bear

Anything you would do to fight a bear you have to do to fight a predator.

  ▪Would you talk to a bear??

  ▪Would you apologize to him?

  ▪Would you try to reason with him?

Would you try to be nice?  Would you use low level force options while you were taking damage?

Superman can be a “nice guy” because he is all but a god

He can try to reason with the bear while it chews on his arm

Batman is a mere mortal just like you or me

Batman can't be nice.

If he doesn’t hunt the bear and end its ability to harm him he will get ripped to shreds

That doesn’t make him less of a hero.  But he has to give himself permission to do what is necessary to survive.

A quote I like to help remember this is from "Coogan's Bluff"
Clint Eastwood's character, Coogan is asked why he dosen't have any compassion.
He responds "Compassion is a puddle of blood on an Arizona bus stop floor"
Once Coogan was "Nice".  That lead to arrogance.  That arrogance lead to a knife between his ribs and him nearly bleeding out on the floor.  His lesson left him with a scar, he wasn't as lucky as I was.

Coogan is the hero of the show but he is no longer nice.

If you haven’t asked yourself hard questions, given your self permission to be “mean”, practiced doing harm to another human being don’t expect to be able to flip that switch when needed.

I have written on this blog many times that it is hard to go from officer friendly to being able to use high levels of force fast enough for any force to be effective

You have to start as a wolf hiding as a man and be pleasantly surprised when no force was necessary

So, how do you practice predatory tactics mind sets with in the law with out taking unreasonable risks.

Fake it until you make it.

Another reason for / justification of the ODIN project.
People are wired to learn by play.  You can read my words until you memorize them but that will not ingrain predatory tactics.

Playing a game where you pretend to be a covert operative and you have to sneak a cloths pin onto someones clothing with out them noticing will ingrain predatory tactics.

It will also help you to better see the other predators and circumvent the circumstances they need to hunt you

Train hard, Tarin Smart, Be Safe

Be a hero, just don't be nice when it is not time to be nice