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Situational Awareness, Racism and Social Justice Warriors

Writer's picture: Nicholas ShelleyNicholas Shelley

For my B.S. in Homeland Security and Emergency Management I had to take a Victimology course. As part of that course we were required to read the book The Gift of Fear: Survival Signals That Protect Us from Violence by Gavin de Becker. I personally believe that this book should be one of those publications that are found on required reading lists. The book covers a great deal of content and discusses various personal indicators that are engrained in our subconscious which prompt us to take the correct actions to help be safe in situations where there is a potential for violence. One key tenant being recognizing, trusting, and utilizing your intuition in order to help guarantee your safety, with one quote being, “intuition is always right in at least two important ways; It is always in response to something. It always has your best interest at heart”


Ideas from this book are constantly on my mind as I perform physical security assessments, safety assessments and active assailant training for clients, so it made me very happy when I saw one woman’s recent account, where she used her intuition to help keep herself and her family safe from perceived predatory behavior. You can read her story in the screenshot down below...





I want to highlight a couple of things.

- First and foremost, to the woman who wrote the above post, if you see this blog, I want to applaud you for listening to her intuition and recognizing a potentially unsafe situation.

- Additionally, I want to point out in your post where you mentioned that you were given an uneasy feeling about being observed by four people who seemed to have no business being there (no food, not water equipment, hiking gear etc) This is the gift of fear! That survival signal that helps to keep you safe.

- I also want to highlight that while I feel waiting 15 minutes was an error, you totally redeemed yourself by obtaining strength in numbers and enlisting the help of others to keep you from being isolated.

- Lastly, I want you to know that nothing you put in your post is inappropriate or racist.




Let’s talk about that last point real quick. In her description of events she stated, “I noticed 4 Hispanic men sitting at a picnic table behind us. They were there for a while with no kids and no food, just sitting there…they were watching us, and it made me feel uneasy.” For some ridiculous reason, the social justice warriors flocked to her post labeling this woman as a racist and more. Thankfully most people in the community were supportive and the post moderator had the sense to lock the post and threatened to mute people if they reported the post for racism, but here are some one of their wonderful comments.








In working with dispatchers or law enforcement one of the very first questions you are asked is to describe the person. Hell even during my time in the military, we are required to give descriptors to help locate and identify those we are trying to locate and identify. It ensures a speedy response and proper identification. I'll give you a few examples from personal experience. A few weeks ago my family and I were in Baltimore at the inner harbor. During our trip there was a seemingly homeless, knife wielding man, who was experiencing a mental health episode and being very randomly aggressive towards people on the boardwalk with his knife. I was able to identify the threat early and acted to get 911 involved so that no one was injured. Immediately as the operator answered I said:


"there is an African American man with a knife, who looks to be homeless and is experiencing a mental health episode acting violently towards people on the inner harbor. He is by the USS Constellation and is walking toward the science center, wearing a black and orange Baltimore Orioles hat, a worn Orioles jersey, black shorts, and shoes. The man has a grey beard."


Police were able to respond in less than 3 minutes and were on target with zero question as to whether they had the right person. In the military we are taught SALUTE, i.e. 3 military aged males, carry armed and observing allied activities, (location), wearing traditional Afghan garb, (time and terrain), (equipment). This report allows command elements to unsure use of force and rules of engagement are being followed, as well as allowing other surveillance and intelligence assets to add or detract from the total picture


In both instances what was used were descriptors. Descriptors do not make a person racist. Descriptors are qualities that are used to describe or identify something, regardless of if that descriptor identifies someone’s race or perceived race. Just as this woman used descriptors to convey information about what she saw. The fact that they were Hispanic had nothing to do with their actions, it had to do with their appearance and are relevant to the event that took place.


Not only is her use of descriptors important to her story, her use of descriptors is also important to help identify trends in the local area. For example, did you know that in the Chambersburg, PA area there is a known cell of Hispanic's (men and women) who are constantly monitored and investigated because they are engaged in human trafficking activity. One of their common area’s is the Walmart on Rt. 30 and other large stores in the area. They are known to follow people around the store at a distance, specifically women and children and have been known/observed to even follow these people out of the store and to their cars. If I were a woman I would want to the heads up of knowing, if I am in that area, I need to keep an eye for this type of person, who looks like this, performing this type of activity.



Mr. de Becker tells us that, we “have the gift of a brilliant internal guardian that stands ready to warn you of hazards and guide you through risky situations.” He also tells us, “if you cannot imagine something, you also cannot predict it, nor protect against it.” To the woman who told her story and endure the abuse of her peers, I applaud you. Never discredit your intuition, and never hesitate to speak out for yourself or others. To those of you who chose to criticize this woman in the name of social justice. Let’s attempt to practice some critical thinking skills in the future. Racism is a problem in America and around the world, has been for millennia. Don’t be a disservice to your much needed voice in the fight against racism and oppression.


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