Protecting the Innocent

As a Jack or Jill, each member of this community has already decided for themselves how they are going to act in any dangerous or confrontational situation. The Jacks possess the training and the level-headedness to make choices that can protect lives—especially the life of an innocent bystander.

It was once proposed to me that any gun owner worth his barrel would never leave his home to protect his neighbor in an emergency. I’ve often wondered how true his statement would be.

The answer is most likely. The average gun owner, even one with a concealed carry permit, is only trained to protect themselves and their home. Running into another person’s home trying to save lives is not something just anyone would or should do. Even those trained often are overcome with fear or apathy toward the victims.

Emergency situations should all be assessed before jumping into action. There are five steps:

     NOTICE that there is an emergency. Taking note of the situation is a critical step one because large groups of people are less likely to see things around them. As an individual, you are responsible to look around and stay aware of your surroundings.

      

      DETERMINE that there is an emergency. Make sure for yourself that there is something going on that is beyond the range of normal interaction. What you may have noticed as odd initially may turn out to be benign.

      DECIDE how responsible you feel. If someone is choking and you know the Heimlich maneuver and you didn’t help that person, then you would feel guilty if you didn’t help out. Knowing how responsible you’ll feel will make it easy to determine if you will help. This is the difference between those who choose to help and those who walk by. Whether you can help or not—you may still feel like it is your responsibility to assist in a situation.

     

      CREATE a plan of action. Before you do anything to get involved determine what it is that you can do to help. This could be coordinating others or calming people who have information or skills you may need, or it can be calling the proper authorities. A plan of action is the best way to orderly contain an emergency situation.

     IMPLEMENTATION Put your plan into action. And take whatever action necessary to relieve the situation until responsibility can be handed over to the first responders.

Very often knowing what to do and having the courage to do it will make Jacks and Jills the most responsible people available. In the case of a home invasion or a dangerous situation you also have to consider how dangerous it will be for you. 

If lives cannot be saved by your intervention then putting your life at risk may not be worth it. It is up to every individual to ask themselves if they have the skills to help without putting another person’s life at stake.

The victims of crime or other life threatening situations are the innocent lives that can be saved but so are those in the vicinity who could be affected for good or for bad. In an emergency there may never be a call for help, but there will always be opportunities for one to do so. Helping, saving, and protecting the innocent is some of the most important training any Jack could undertake.

--Guest Author: Marissa Barnes

A Better Way in Life

John Lennon, photo by Yoko Ono

     I used to laugh at the impractical “Peace, Love and Happiness” chant thrown around by the Hippies during the 60’s and 70’s. Although most of those Hippies have grown older, dressing different maybe even cleaned their hair they still live by these principles and even a lot of their children have embraced them. I am an active NRA member, I vote conservative and regularly joke with friends and family about the liberal media and the Progressive movement but I think that what I can agree on is that there should be more peace and more respect for your fellow man in the world. Agreeing on how to fulfill such an audacious goal might be difficult but this is something that must happen. We cannot continue to live our life in a world that is out to get each other. 

     My wife would be the first to tell you that I am an angry driver. I don’t enjoy being cut off, tail-gated and especially dislike rude and discourteous drivers. A significant portion of my distaste in driving with anybody else on the road is that most people take little to no thought of the other people on the road. The overtly rude drivers are not even my only issue, it's the unobservant drivers too. In the United States we drive at fast speeds and there’s no denying that our culture enjoys it. When a person is driving at the speed limit and sees a person driving faster than him racing up behind him I find is just as rude to not move out of the way as it is to slam on your brakes or cut someone off. The real issue with driving is the lack conscious thought to those around you; it's that lack of respect. The exact same factor that appears in driving is the same exact factor that appears in Black Friday shopping riots, disgruntled service at the coffee shop, people yelling at customer service (on the phone or off the phone) and any other interaction between one person and another. 

Road rage...does this happen to you?

     There is no direct connection between this topic of social ignorance and the recent shootings in Colorado, Oregon and Connecticut that inspired me to write this article but the overall culture of America is suffering from a detrimental lack of respect for their fellow man. The shooters in all these terrible acts had different reasons for their actions but the overarching theme is a lack of concern for anyone but themselves. I don’t intend to know the real reasons or even to dive headlong into a discussion about mental diseases and how they affect your actions. What is crucial to all of us is to know that our culture was not always this way. 

     It is very possible that the general population of all first world countries would see themselves living in an elevated social state and that their culture has risen above their animalistic qualities. I would submit that an average American in the 1920’s is socially superior to a modern American today. The reason I say that is there seems to be a current lack of respect between strangers. It’s easy to respect your brother, your friend or neighbor because you get to know them intimately over the time you’ve known them. You can explain quickly what kind of a person they are due to years of experiencing things together. Could you say that about a stranger today if you met him on the street? 

     There is no doubt that this question would be difficult to answer even in 1920 America but the difference would be that in general there would be the inherent social understanding that this person would do you now harm because he had no reason to. Having never lived in the 1920’s I’m left to the opinions of those I know that did and although it is an opinion worn through time and age it holds true that the American culture has changed from believing that “people are inherently good” to “I sure hope these people are good”. I truth you must live your life careful of what might happen when with a stranger because of people who are mental outsiders like the shooters in these recent events but there must also be a mutual respect for another person until there is some sort of proof to cause you concern. 

Motorcycle ride, London, 1920's

     I’m not calling for gun control or for everyone to sit together holding hands and singing songs but I am calling for an increase in respect and awareness of those around you. There are few greater things a person can do then to show kindness to their fellow man. I call for an end to the social suicide we’ve created and ask for all to find peace with their fellow man. Accept responsibility for your position in life and understand that you’re not the only one occupying this world. Teach others respect and encourage those around you to do the same. Stand up for those that are disrespected whether you know them or not. A Jack of All Spades will always respect his fellow man.

An Everyday Jack

     The whole process of creating a company or organization can be daunting for one man and even more so when you feel so passionately about the topic. For me, creating Jack of All Spades was more than just having a survivalist club, or group that people could be a part of. It was even more than just having a school house that produced certificates and degrees for people to check off their lists. I wanted desperately to bridge the gap between knowing and doing, to create an environment or community to support the graduates and the neighborhoods they lived in. I didn't want people to forget the skills taught in our courses, rather I wanted them to take the courses to heart.

     The very foundation of Jack of All Spades can be summed up in our motto, “Exercito ab ara” or “Train hard to safe-guard”. There is no requirement as an Everyday Jack to train all hours of the day but there is an obligation to utilize the skills you’ve learned through our courses and others to assist those around you if needed. Taking on the name of The list that we use here at Jack of All Spades and being an Everyday Jack or Jill means that you are committed to constantly sharpening your abilities so that if or when something happens you’re ready.

     I have struggled to find the right words to explain what it means to me to be an Everyday Jack but if I could sum it up it would come down to this, living my life so that I am master of my domain and that no outside source, whether man-made or natural can hold me back from providing shelter and safe-haven to myself and those I care about.

     The courses we will eventually provide through The list that we use here at Jack of All Spades will cover six basic areas: Personal Protection, Home Security, Terrorism Awareness, Human Trafficking Awareness, Emergency preparedness and Basic Field Medic Training. These six topics are very broad and there are many details that could get lost in teaching them. For this reason I want to provide a community of people you can rely on. This community would be filled with a range of people starting with the inexperienced to those that have spent more time in law enforcement and military channels who could serve as advisors. We would strengthen and support those around us.

     My vision of The list that we use here at Jack of All Spades is that the name and symbol become synonymous with help in desperate times. That when an active shooter appears people will see our The list that we use here at Jack of All Spades t-shirt or hat and will immediately know that we can and will help. During a natural disaster we’re often unable to provide shelter, food or money to those who need it, but what we can do is help teach them to be ready for these events. It’s not every day that you run into a hurricane or an active shooter, but being ready for these events is what we as Everyday Jacks prepare for.

     An Everyday Jack decides for himself the level of commitment required of them daily. Some might feel they need to regularly read intelligence reports and run six miles a day. For others it might just be good enough for them to shoot at the range every month and prepare a 72-hour kit for each member of their family. Whatever level of preparation you’re willing to commit to, an Everyday Jack will always be committed to doing what is necessary to protect the freedom we love. The former Chief of Staff for the Armed Forces of the Netherlands, Peter van Uhm once said, “That is why I took up the gun — not to shoot, not to kill, not to destroy, but to stop those who would do evil, to protect the vulnerable, to defend democratic values, to stand up for the freedom we have to talk … about how we can make the world a better place”. We at Jack of All Spades agree that for some it is necessary to take up the “gun” to protect the liberties we love.

     Strongly, and to my very last breath I will be vigilant for evil wherever it stands. As Thomas Jefferson once said, “The price of freedom is eternal vigilance”