Left of Bang

I have titled this post “Left of Bang” after a fantastic book by Patrick Van Horne and Jason A Riley. They actually wrote the book to train Marines how to identify suspicious targets in other countries where the cultural norms are completely different, which makes it hard to identify unusual behavior. (Click on the book title to be redirected to where you can get a copy).

Let’s back up. What does left of bang mean? In the book, the concept is described like this. “Bang” is when the incident occurs. For military in a combat situation, that is when someone starts shooting at them. For you and I, “bang” could mean when someone has cornered us or laid hands on us or when our awareness has failed and we are faced with a dangerous situation. “Right of bang” refers to responding to the threat after it has occurred. Again, in a combat zone that means taking cover and returning fire. In civilian life, that could mean getting away or having to take physical action to neutralize the threat. So the goal is to stay “left of bang,” meaning see the threat and act before it occurs, before “bang” happens.

There are steps you can take to stay left of bang. The first is to establish a baseline of behavior for whatever area you are in. The easiest example is your own neighborhood. Assuming you get out and about, maybe walk your dog or do yardwork, you are going to be very familiar with the norms for your neighborhood. At a store you frequent often, you probably recognize the staff and the regulars and the type of behavior normal for that store.  Same thing with church or the gym or any other place you go to often. In any of these locations you have a pretty good idea of what normal behavior is for that place.

The next step is to pay attention and notice any behavior that doesn’t fit the norm for where you are. In your neighborhood, if you see a strange car or someone acting in a way that is unusual that would be something to pay attention to. People loitering when they should be shopping, wearing clothes that are really odd for the situation, looking around nervously, the list goes on. Your intuition should pick up on behavior that is out of the ordinary. 

So what do you do with this information? For starters, DO NOT jump to a conclusion and start making a scene, like we see on YouTube all the time. I am in no way condoning that behavior. What you should do is take note, look around, gauge the situation and make a determination of whether you think it is enough for you to leave or just keep an eye on. Find your exits, make a plan B and C, but stay calm and just monitor the situation. Of course, if you determine there is a danger, calmly exit through the safest route without drawing any attention to yourself if possible. The idea is to be completely uninteresting and unmemorable. 

I was having dinner at a restaurant which had a bar in the front. I was seated well towards the back of the restaurant enjoying a salmon dinner. There was a group of young adults at the bar who were a bit loud, but nothing unusual. As time wore on, they got louder and more raucous. I took note but didn’t determine they were a threat to me, so I kept eating. Pretty soon they started a full on group fist fight, and the bartenders kicked them outside and called the police to break them up. The thing about situations like that is, usually they have a problem with each other and are not interested in bystanders. I had a clear exit though the back patio and I was far enough away from the action that I wasn’t worried. I did notice something interesting however. Some patrons a few tables over started berating the waiter and demanding their food to go. They were very scared of the situation and were taking it out on the staff, who of course had nothing to do with it. So I got up and went over to the table and told them “you know, if you just stay calm and finish your dinner, by the time you are done eating the police will have come and cleared them out and everything will be fine.” They looked at me askance but seemed to relax a little and fortunately let up on the poor waiter. I also noticed that they stayed and kept eating. If they had gotten their food to go and left, they would have had to pass through the group who was still fighting out front. What do you think was safer, going through the group or staying put until they broke up and went away? 

Another example is ironically from the same place. I was finishing a shift at work as an instructor at a Taekwondo school (next door to the restaurant in the last story), and it was pretty late at night. The area the school was in was nice, and there wasn’t much activity late at night, so usually I felt comfortable leaving by myself. I always did a scan of the parking lot before I left, and usually there was nothing there. This night was different. There were three young men, maybe in their 20’s. Red flag #1: three against one, especially healthy young men, are bad tactical odds for me. Red flag #2: if they were just leaving the gym and heading to their cars, I probably would not have been alarmed. However, they were loitering by their cars and acting rambunctious and raunchy. Red flag #3: There was no way I could get to my car without them seeing me in enough time that they could not reach me. I took in all these observations and concluded that I did not feel comfortable walking to my car alone at that moment. Fortunately, the restaurant next door was still open so I went in and asked the bartender if she had a big tough line cook in the back I could borrow. They kind of joked and said since I’m a martial arts teacher, why am I asking for help? I told her that 99% of self defense is not getting into a stupid situation to begin with. The line cook was super sweet, walked me to my car and stayed out there (in a tshirt in the cold, might I add) until I drove off. Do not be afraid to follow your gut instinct and refuse to put yourself at risk, even if people question you or even laugh at you. I would rather be laughed at than be assaulted or murdered. 

On another occasion after work at Taekwondo there was an obvious drug deal going on in the parking lot and the restaurant was closed, so I locked the studio doors, turned out the lights and stayed out of sight until they left. It took about 45 minutes, but I was prepared to stay as long as necessary and I could have gone out the back if I felt the danger was increasing. It all comes down to evaluating the situation and making a determination based on your personal experience and comfort level.

So to recap: establish a baseline, look for outliers, pay attention to the developing situation, add that information to what you already know, make a decision about what action you should take, stay calm and execute your plan. As always, you don’t need to explain yourself to anyone when it comes to your safety, stand up for yourself because there is no guarantee anyone else will.