Another "What Would You Do" Question
Posted: Wed Aug 23, 2017 10:59 am
Here's a scenario that came up where I did not know what to do. I'd like to get some opinions of what some of you all would have done.
Now, let me say right up front that I did not experience this situation - not exactly. This was something that I actually dreamed last night! But I think it was something realistic enough that something kind of similar could happen in real life. But you guys tell me.
Here's the layout in this scene: my wife and I and two other couples are standing in a small rectangular shaped room. There is one door to enter/exit the room, located in the corner of the room, near the end of the long-side wall. No other doors or windows. No furniture, nothing else in the room.
My wife and I are standing about the middle of the room, against the wall on the opposite side of the door. The other two couples are standing between us and the door; one couple very near the door, the other couple about half way between us and the door.
The door opens, and in steps a man in his late 30's. The man is about 6 feet tall, very muscular build. He's very neatly dressed and groomed. He's wearing dark pants, dark long-sleeved shirt and a black leather vest (no patches or markings on the vest).
The man in the black vest who just walked into the room immediately attacks the first man standing nearest the door. But the "attack" is kind of strange (it's a dream, remember). The nature of a particular hold that the attacker uses causes the victim to immediately drop to the floor, temporarily paralyzed (sort of like the old Vulcan neck pinch thing from Star Trek), except that the victim is screaming in terrible pain. While the victim is down and paralyzed, the attacker goes through the victim's pocket. The attacker finds nothing in the man's pockets, so lets go of the man, and they both immediately stand up, the victim apparently having no lasting effects from the attack at all. So at this point, I'm not really sure that I saw what I thought I saw.
But now the attacker moves to the man in the second couple and does exactly the same thing. As the attacker is going through the second man's pockets, it finally hits me as they are on the floor: this is a mugging! A plain and simple assault and robbery.
This is all happening very quickly. No one other than the attacker and his victims have moved. But now I have my hand on my (still holstered) handgun.
Now the second victim is back standing again, and again showing no lasting effects of being attacked. Both victims standing as if nothing had happened. The attacker is now standing about 10 feet away from me, looking directly at me. Only now do I see that he is wearing a black OWB kydex retention holster and that holster contains a full size black handgun.
As we're standing there looking at each other, my hand still firmly grasping my gun but still in the holster, he also with a holstered gun, but his hand not on it, my mind is racing while I'm thinking: "Do I draw and shoot now? He hasn't attacked me yet, and his victims seem to have no lasting effects. Would they testify for me, or would they have the I-don't-want-to-get-involved attitude. If I shoot now, will I go to prison for murder? If I give him too much time, what if he draws on me first? I can tell by looking at him that he knows how to handle a gun. What if he moves behind the two couples off to the side of us to use them as human shields, then he draws on me!"
Then my thoughts are shattered as he's looking at me menacingly and he says to me: "What'cha gonna do, Spider Monkey? What'ch gonna do?" (I have no clue where the "Spider Monkey" came from, but hey, it's a dream!).
That's when I wake up from this dream. Breathing pretty heavily, I might add.
Weird situation for real life maybe. But maybe not, also. I think any of us could find ourselves in a situation where we are faced with sudden, unanticipated danger and have to make an immediate life or death decision. It's not something that I continually dwell on, but I do think about it occasionally. I don't know that it would really help in a real life situation by playing these "what-if" games, but I figure it couldn't hurt.
How about you? Wanna play "what if?" What would you do in a situation like that?
Now, let me say right up front that I did not experience this situation - not exactly. This was something that I actually dreamed last night! But I think it was something realistic enough that something kind of similar could happen in real life. But you guys tell me.
Here's the layout in this scene: my wife and I and two other couples are standing in a small rectangular shaped room. There is one door to enter/exit the room, located in the corner of the room, near the end of the long-side wall. No other doors or windows. No furniture, nothing else in the room.
My wife and I are standing about the middle of the room, against the wall on the opposite side of the door. The other two couples are standing between us and the door; one couple very near the door, the other couple about half way between us and the door.
The door opens, and in steps a man in his late 30's. The man is about 6 feet tall, very muscular build. He's very neatly dressed and groomed. He's wearing dark pants, dark long-sleeved shirt and a black leather vest (no patches or markings on the vest).
The man in the black vest who just walked into the room immediately attacks the first man standing nearest the door. But the "attack" is kind of strange (it's a dream, remember). The nature of a particular hold that the attacker uses causes the victim to immediately drop to the floor, temporarily paralyzed (sort of like the old Vulcan neck pinch thing from Star Trek), except that the victim is screaming in terrible pain. While the victim is down and paralyzed, the attacker goes through the victim's pocket. The attacker finds nothing in the man's pockets, so lets go of the man, and they both immediately stand up, the victim apparently having no lasting effects from the attack at all. So at this point, I'm not really sure that I saw what I thought I saw.
But now the attacker moves to the man in the second couple and does exactly the same thing. As the attacker is going through the second man's pockets, it finally hits me as they are on the floor: this is a mugging! A plain and simple assault and robbery.
This is all happening very quickly. No one other than the attacker and his victims have moved. But now I have my hand on my (still holstered) handgun.
Now the second victim is back standing again, and again showing no lasting effects of being attacked. Both victims standing as if nothing had happened. The attacker is now standing about 10 feet away from me, looking directly at me. Only now do I see that he is wearing a black OWB kydex retention holster and that holster contains a full size black handgun.
As we're standing there looking at each other, my hand still firmly grasping my gun but still in the holster, he also with a holstered gun, but his hand not on it, my mind is racing while I'm thinking: "Do I draw and shoot now? He hasn't attacked me yet, and his victims seem to have no lasting effects. Would they testify for me, or would they have the I-don't-want-to-get-involved attitude. If I shoot now, will I go to prison for murder? If I give him too much time, what if he draws on me first? I can tell by looking at him that he knows how to handle a gun. What if he moves behind the two couples off to the side of us to use them as human shields, then he draws on me!"
Then my thoughts are shattered as he's looking at me menacingly and he says to me: "What'cha gonna do, Spider Monkey? What'ch gonna do?" (I have no clue where the "Spider Monkey" came from, but hey, it's a dream!).
That's when I wake up from this dream. Breathing pretty heavily, I might add.
Weird situation for real life maybe. But maybe not, also. I think any of us could find ourselves in a situation where we are faced with sudden, unanticipated danger and have to make an immediate life or death decision. It's not something that I continually dwell on, but I do think about it occasionally. I don't know that it would really help in a real life situation by playing these "what-if" games, but I figure it couldn't hurt.
How about you? Wanna play "what if?" What would you do in a situation like that?