SELF DEFENSE IN THE POST ZIMMERMAN WORLD: ROBERT WEISSBERG
http://www.familysecuritymatters.org/publications/detail/self-defense-in-the-post-zimmerman-world?f=puball
Self-defense is hard wired into our genes. If your ancestors believed in turning the other cheek, you would not be here.
But, that acknowledged, defensive tactics are forever changing as new threats and technologies emerge. Now for the latest self-defense update: the Zimmerman trial. If you paid close attention you now know that the traditional response-somebody tries to kill you and you kill them first-is fraught with legal danger. Staying alive is now far more complicated and as a public service, let me explain the New World Order survival guide.
First, assessing an assailant according to their size, muscularity, gender, age, his or her weapon, mental state and other characteristics that once determined fight or flee response is now secondary to certain personal traits and legal protection. If the Zimmerman’s trial demonstrated anything, it showed that it is better to be able to closely identify your assailant’s legal status than mastering Taekwondo or be a marksman with a .38 special.
As a result, sensible self-defense ability is now far more demanding. Legally protected groups (endangered species, so to speak) vary by state, and relevant traits are often far from self-evident and who has the time to look up state law when about to be mugged? For example, homosexuals usually enjoy “protection” but how can you discern if your attacker is gay? After, as any gay activist will insist, gays are indistinguishable from heterosexuals in appearance and what might be a telltale sign, for example, being effeminate is just a “dangerous stereotype” to be disregarded (and keep in mind that stereotypes are verboten in today’s PC world). Indeed, according to some hate crime laws, it makes no difference whether the perpetrator is gay or not; it is what you thought at the exact moment you pull the trigger, not what is real, that determines a possible hate crime.
Similarly the disabled or handicapped are often protected but, again, not always obvious, so shooting a disabled (thanks to his artificial leg) violent mugger risks being brought up on hate crime charges (in some states, even veterans are a protected species). Most perplexing is skin color-many South Asians are as dark as African Americans but since an Indian from India (not a Native American) is generally not protected, you are in luck if assaulted by one and you quickly shoot him dead. But then again it may be dark or the African American is especially light skinned, so be prudent. Meanwhile, dark-skinned Pacific Islanders may or may also be protected, so read up on the law and pay close attention to facial features, dress and accent.
It gets even more complicated. Forcefully resisting certain people could lead to being charged with a civil rights infringement, and this accusation will surely bring an investigation into your “hatefulness. Note well, this “hatefulness” will have nothing to do with what transpired during the actual incident. It’s about who you are as a person and may reach back decades (think Paula Dean admitting past linguistic indiscretions). In fact, Holder’s Justice Department has been investigating Zimmerman’s life in search of animus toward African Americans in the hope of placating those who insist that Zimmerman be tried and convicted of something. Shades of the old days of hunting down communists.
How can you avoid being charged with a civil rights violation if you just happen to kill somebody who enjoys extra-special legal protection? No small task and I can provide only the most rudimentary steps. Begin by wiping your hard drive clean (a mere “delete” is insufficient) of anything that might be construed as hatefulness: goodbye “offensive” jokes, book marked links to “controversial” websites and e-mails to friends critical of civil rights laws or expressing your opposition to unrestricted immigration. Remember, in today’s hyper-sensitive world, a single forwarded racist e-mail can demonstrate smoking gun proof of hatred and if pushed, the Justice Department will find it.
What about avoiding the sin of “racial profiling”? The only solution is to lie. Imagine if George Zimmerman had called 9-1-1 and said, “There’s a suspicious Hasidic rabbi I’m following”? (Actually, “Hasidic rabbi” will soon take on a whole new meaning if used often enough.)
And while at it, end all potentially incriminating magazine subscriptions and attendance at conventions where at least one speaker “spewed hate.” Then clean out your library of any “toxic” material and replace everything with tomes celebrating diversity and inclusion. Again, exceptionally difficult given credit card receipts, cancelled checks, airline records and similar documents not in your physical possession but better than going to court to defend oneself against a civil rights violation.
On the positive side and just to be sure, help support anti-hate organizations, e,g., Southern Poverty Law Center and further burnish your inclusionary credentials by volunteering for organizations promoting diversity and tolerance. Then make sure you friends resemble a rainbow of colors and sexual orientations. Can’t hurt to have a disabled transgendered woman of color take the stand in your defense to tell the jurors how the two of your marched shoulder-to-shoulder against racism, sexism, homophobia and economic inequality. What jury could convict such a modern Saint?
If all this sounds a bit too much, don’t worry. Thanks to the capitalist spirit self-defense schools will mushroom and will surely teach the latest survival skills. Established ones will add a few lessons, too.
A few of the new classes:
How to quickly ID the perpetrator. Pictures will be flashed on a computer screen for a half second and you will be taught how to distinguish White Hispanics from Black Hispanics, real gays from metrosexual impostors and how to spot barely discernible disabilities. Time will also be spent on how to identify religious garb so as not to show hate toward people because of their religion.
Know the hate. Students will receive up-to-date compilations of state law regarding categories of people protected against hate. Accounts will also be provided about those unfortunate enough to shoot dead a knife-wielding religious nut screaming “death to the infidels.” Got to go beyond the stereotypes.
Tactics to avoid confrontations with attackers from protected groups. When confronted, suitable and legally safe escape tactics might be throw a handful of twenty dollar bills at the attacker and then fleeing, wear clothing and buttons that display your solidarity with protected groups, e,g., a “No Justice, No Peace” tee-shirt or just tell the potential assailant that you, too, are a criminal on the prowl and ask for professional courtesy to avoid attack.
I’m sure there are valuable additional lessons, but this is a start. What is important is fighting hate in today’s strife-filled world, not self-protection.
FamilySecurityMatters.org Contributing Editor Robert Weissberg is emeritus professor of political science, University of Illinois-Urbana and currently an adjunct instructor at New York University Department of Politics (graduate). He has written many books, the most recent being: The Limits of Civic Activism, Pernicious Tolerance: How teaching to “accept differences” undermines civil society and Bad Students, Not Bad Schools. Besides writing for professional journals, he has also written for magazines like the Weekly Standard and currently contributes to various blogs.
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