What To Do When You Can’t Avoid Being in the Wrong Place at the Wrong Time

by Lisa Bedford
The Survival Mom

Recently by Lisa Bedford: Action Step: Buy Junk Silver

This article is sponsored by Home Security Store, who asked me to review their ebook, Crowd Control, Flash Mobs, and Your Safety.

When the economy made a sickening downturn about five years ago, I fully expected to see crime rates increase. It made perfect sense. Individuals who were out of work and in need of money to pay for the essentials in life would turn to a life of crime.

Instead, annual reports from the FBI indicated that crime rates were actually dropping! Between 2008 and 2011, murder and robbery rates dropped sharply, in spite of the economic conditions that continued to grow worse.

In spite of those statistics, it was hard not to notice an increase in a new type of crime, the flash mob. I know I wasn’t the only American who was disgusted and angry at reports that swarms of people would descend upon a helpless, unarmed business, often a retail or convenience store, stuff their pockets, backpacks and purses with anything and everything, and then leave, long before the police arrived.

More than once I wondered what I would do if I were caught in that type of scenario. The urge to do something would be strong, but the smarter side of me realized I would be in the minority and, therefore, vulnerable.

I suspect that mob violence will continue to grow, and not just in the form of flash mobs. Around the world we see mobs, angry that their governments have let them down, and they can no longer afford the basics. The only solution, as they see it, is to express their rage and helplessness by rioting.

Will those riots come to America? Might you and your family suddenly find yourself in the middle of an angry crowd and, possibly, in danger? If that happens, will you be prepared to survive and escape?

I wrote about civil unrest here, and created this video, but I also picked up some new tips from the ebook, Crowd Control, Flash Mobs, and Your Safety.

• The “Bystander Effect,” causes people who are generally well-meaning and concerned about others to feel little to no responsibility for a situation due to being part of a large group of people. I want to train myself to react to emergencies in an appropriate way in spite of the number of people who could do something but are not.

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October 24, 2012

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