June 02, 2004

• I read a paper a few months back -- I can't find it now, unfortunately -- written by a law enforcement professional that tried to explain the "ideal" round for law enforcement officials to use. His conclusion, unfortunately, was that it doesn't much matter how much damage you do with the bullet -- even a shot that completely destroys the heart leaves the victim ten to fifteen seconds of conscious action, during which he is likely to return fire. The suggestion, however tongue-in-cheek, was that the best defense against armed assailants is that television and movies show us that, when we are shot, we are "supposed to" fall down. Hopefully, when an officer scores a hit, the victim will realize he has been hit and fall down, rather than continuing to fight. In any case, I'm quite sure that I wouldn't like to be shot.
• I've been grazed, that was quite enough.
• do tell, surly! great post. i've dreamt of being shot and, oddly enough, the dream was very much like this story described: first just a puzzling sensation, then later horrid pain. hmm.
• asked a friend who has been shot: "like someone hit me with a hammer." He added: "I hear getting stabbed is worse."
• Wow. That was an amazing link. Thanks, Skrik.
• Running from a shootout in New York's Chinatown in my younger, stupider years. I heard the ping of a bullet into a nearby wall and felt a slight tingling sensation on my arm which quickly became a burning feeling. I looked at it later and noticed a nick across my forearm a little below the elbow. The adrenaline of running away from a deteriorating scene sort of kept me from feeling most of the pain until later. It hurt like hell when it finally caught up to me though. I think my first words were something along the lines of, "Holy fuck, I got hit!" A couple of people I knew died in that shootout and the whole, "there but for the grace of God", thing went through my head.
• Great link. I wish Hollywood would pay attention.
• Not just Hollywood, but video game designers as well. Could you imagine playing a game like MOH where people don't drop after a shot to the chest? (Besides, films in Hollywood get scorned when they show this kind of grit as being too violent. I remember Way of the Gun being criticized for the way it handled gun wounds. Same for anything by Peckinpah)
• glad you're still with us, surly. that was a close one. and so sorry about your friends. boy.
• Here's a depressing statistic: About one out of three shooting victims treated at Mount Sinai returns with another gunshot wound in the future
• Never been shot, but I was once robbed at gunpoint. Whatever machismo daydreams I may have had prior to that day went spiraling down the pooper when I realized that I would do. Anything. He told me to.
• that's not cowardly, mid, that's simply practical.
• Yeah Mid, you did exactly what you're supposed to do. Someone pulls a gun, give 'em what they want.
• Unless that happens to be bullets. That'd be pretty dumb.
• Oh, no, I don't think it was cowardly at all. That's not what I meant. I just think I had some stupid adolescent idea that I'd be able to be cool about the whole thing. I kept my head, did what I could to keep my head and get the guy out of the bank, but nothing prepares you for the adrenaline rush you get. Thank God for security training.
• But the dumb fucker got busted on a high school football field twenty minutes later, trying to head into the woods on the far end. Evidently his getaway sneakers weren't fast enough.
• Whatever machismo daydreams I may have had prior to that day went spiraling down the pooper when I realized that I would do. Anything. He told me to. Haha. I know EXACTLY how you feel. I was threatened last year in front of my apartment in Poughkeepsie. It was 3:30 a.m. on a hot summer night, I had to be up at 7 a.m. and the guy was dealing drugs and loudly saluting his homies about 10 feet from my window, so I just went and asked him to keep it down. Dumbest move ever. I believe the guy's exact words were "How would you like this .38 down your throat?" All I could think about afterwards were those dumb-ass sequences I'd run through my head over the years, thinking, yeah if some asshole threatens me with a gun I'll grab it from him or pull some kung fu shit. Not a chance. Anyway, great link. I really hope I never have to experience it for myself.
• Ah, handguns, the teaspoon of sewage in the winevat of society.
• There's some nasty stuff out there. RBCD "mixed metal" rounds for instance. description from iraq here And yes, you can buy these (or at least something similar) on the civilian market.
• Never been shot, but I was once robbed at gunpoint. I too have never been shot but have been robbed at gunpoint, or more acurately, at maybe gunpoint. It was at night on a street with no other pedestrians, but with occasional cars driving past. The guy had his hand in his pocket and said, plausibly, that he was holding a gun. He had something big and pointy in his pocket, but thankfully, I'll never know if it was really a gun or not. It was the weirdest experience of my life. I gladly gave up my money, but then he asked me if I would be his girlfriend. What kind of bizzaro question is that to ask a complete stranger you are holding up at presumed gunpoint? And did I reply with something psychologically insightful, designed to get me out of the situation without viloence? No, I said, "You've gotta be kidding me! You just stole all my money. I'd never be your girlfriend!" After some further discussion of the girlfriend option, he started demanding I walk down a more deserted sidestreet with him, and I felt pretty sure the outcome of that would be rape. I waited until a car was coming and ran out into the street in front of it. After I got across the street, and he hadn't shot me yet, I turned around, and when I saw he was making no effort to come after me, I cursed him out and walked off. Unlike middleclasstool, I always assumed I would do anything I had to in order to not get killed, so my completely stupid, irrational behavior continues to amaze me even now. Probably if I had actually seen the gun, I would have behaved more wisely. Hopefully I'll never be in a position to find out.