Baghdad? (Lessons from Ferguson, MO)

Last week, the Huffington Post ran an article titled Baghdad USA. It described the chaos in Ferguson, MO and how protestors were lobbing Molotov cocktails at police and looting stores any chance they could get.

This past Sunday, it was announced that the governor of Missouri was sending in the National Guard to try and get things under control.

The thing is, we still don’t know the truth of what happened in Ferguson and yet we have a city destroying itself. Obviously, if the police officer’s story is true that Michael Brown fought with him and tried to take his gun, then the shooting is justified.

On the other hand, if the friend’s story is true that Michael Brown was running away and then put his hands up and the police officer shot him anyway, then that would be murder and the police officer should go to jail.

Eventually, the truth will come out. But in the meantime, it appears the looting, riots and destruction will continue.

The events in Ferguson once again prove how fragile every city in America is. It doesn’t matter where you live… one natural disaster, one jury verdict, one police shooting… can cause a place to meltdown into a third world country.

So, even though you may not live anywhere near Ferguson, MO, have you thought about what you would do if your city turned into Ferguson? What if things got so bad that you couldn’t go to the store and you had to hunker down in your home for a week or a month? Do you have enough food and water at home to survive?

Also, are you smart enough to control your emotions to keep your family alive in the event your city became “Baghdad USA”? What I mean is, let’s say you had to leave your home during the looting and riots. If you walk out your front door and you start screaming at the looters or fighting with the protestors that’s a good way to get yourself injured or worse.

Instead, you need to blend in with them until you get the supplies you need and get back to safety. Hopefully, you agree that looters are low-lifes who are breaking the law. But, if I go to the store to buy milk and run across 50 looters, that’s not the time to give them a lesson about “thou shalt not steal.”

My point is, be prepared so you don’t need to leave your home, but if you do, it’s a good idea to blend in with the “enemy” to keep yourself alive. I realize there are some “macho” people who will say they’ll never do that, but I have a hunch their feelings will change when they’re outnumbered 1 to 100.

Finally, the Ferguson incident is another reminder of why we have the Second Amendment. I can only imagine how many residents of Ferguson used to be anti-gun, but this week had a change of heart, which is why gun stores in the area have been extremely busy.

By now, if you don’t have all of the firearms you need to protect your family, what are you waiting for? Yes, you should have handguns (I like the Glock 19 and Smith & Wesson M&P) but do you have rifles too?

Just think of all of the storeowners who’ve had to protect their shops by standing in front of them with an AR-15. The message doesn’t come across quite as well if you’re just standing there with a handgun.

You might not own a store, but if looters happened to come to your home and you had to stand out in front of it to keep them from breaking in, what kind of message will you be able to send? Hopefully, the message that you’re not an easy victim and that you’re prepared to take care of yourself and your family.