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

Jack of All Spades

     Since organizing Jack of All Spades I’ve had to divide my spare time between writing articles and running the day to day operations of Jack of All Spades. I have recruiting, advertising, researching and other duties that most regularly occupy my time and it saddens me that I don’t write as many articles as I would like. The good news is that Jack of All Spades is well on its way and within the next year we hope to be fully up and running. By “up and running” I mean that we should be actively involved in our communities and attending regular fundraisers, conventions, public meetings and other important events. Senior officers have been called and we hope to fill other valuable spots within the organization soon. 

     The changes most likely to be new to you are that Andrew Barnes has been promoted to Master-At-Arms and Phillip Barnes to Vice-President. They are still acting presidents of their respective Units but they have the added responsibility of overseeing the entire organization. Congratulations to both of them on their promotions. 

     I also understand that the entire vision of Jack of All Spades might be a little unclear and so I would love to enlighten everyone on two very important parts of the puzzle: the Hierarchy and the vision of Jack of All Spades. Before I get into the details of how we’re organized I’d like to explain why we’re organized. 

     I grew up in a good neighborhood and was distanced from crime in general growing up. With the exception of the occasional bike being stolen or a house being toilet papered we understood nothing of the criminal world. Having spent some time in various places around the United States and the world, before and during my time in the military, I now understand better the living conditions of people less fortunate to have had what I had growing up. I ache at the news reports that talk of home invasions, rapes, kidnappings and theft. I hate to hear of active shooters, gang violence and racial attacks. The violence levels that we as American citizens seem to tolerate are astounding. I would never condone any of the items I just mentioned or any of their related criminal acts, so why would I not stand up and do something about it? 

     Jack of All Spades is designed to strengthen a community by being the cohesive glue that unites the law-abiding citizens against these dangers. The idea is to create a “super neighborhood watch” system. We’re not one or two people patrolling the neighborhood once a month or maybe even once a week. We are a community of people committed to always watching, always being ready for anything that might threaten us, our families or our communities. We see the commitment to protecting ourselves to be the most important thing we can do to deal with the terrible events that life might throw at us. 

     In many articles on the website I focus on “man-made” disasters such as active-shooters and kidnappings but in reality Jack of All Spades is really about being ready for all disasters whether man-made or natural. We want all people to be aware of what they can do to prepare for these events without breaking the bank, causing undue stress or affecting your life in any way other than positively. The basis of our vision is to act and not to be acted upon. When life gives us lemons, we’ve got the juicer ready! We don’t feel that most of us will deal with this life-threatening situations on a regular basis and there’s really no need to prepare but we believe that there’s no reason not to prepare. 

     With that vision we offer an organization that anyone can join. There is no commitment required beyond the dedication to protect your family and to prepare for danger. Below is an image of the Jack of All Spades organization. It is comprised of normal Everyday Jacks and Everyday Jills like you who have dedicated extra time to teaching, assisting and supporting other Jacks and Jills in their causes. 

     Jack of All Spades is organized on the national level covering all 50 states. Each state will eventually have their own sub group called a “Unit” with each Unit making up the entire organization. As of now the Jack of All Spades holds only one solid Unit in Oregon with three temporary Units in California, Florida and the Washington, D.C. Metro Area. Each of those units is structured the same as above with only a few changes in insignia and name. Red stars at the top of each insignia indicate a Jack of All Spades Senior Officer who presides over the national level while the regular insignia indicates a Unit Officer. Unit Officers are prefixed with “Unit” to differentiate from the Senior Officers. Unlike the Master-At-Arms at the national level, the security officer of a Unit it called a Sergeant-At-Arms and falls under the direction of the Master-At-Arms. The following is a quick rundown of what responsibilities each role has and how they relate to each other. 

     President of Jack of All Spades is responsible for maintaining the overall vision of the organization as a “knights of the people” security group. Overseeing the national level support of the organization he works closely with the Special Programs officer in planning events, fundraisers, charity programs and other organization gatherings. His most important responsibility is to assist the Senior and Unit Officers in maintaining the true vision. 

     Vice-President of Jack of All Spades is like the chief operations officer and is responsible for overseeing the operations of the group and supporting the members. Working with the Quartermaster he manages the advertising and marketing for Jack of All Spades. 

     Master-At-Arms is responsible for protection of the organization and their name, to ensure proper use of it and the insignia. He meets regularly with the Sergeant-At-Arms and initiates new members of the organization by overseeing their trial period. Recruitment, morale and general well-being of the members falls to the Master-At-Arms and is assisted by the Vice-President in his duties. 

     Secretary maintains the records and history of the organization. He attends all meetings and assists the President during events and gatherings. 

     Treasurer monitors the funds acquired Jack of All Spades and works closely with the Special Programs officer and the President during fundraisers and charity events. 

     Quartermaster is responsible for all merchandise, equipment, tools, etc. that the organization purchases. He maintains the supply locker and works closely with the Vice-President in advertising and marketing strategies. 

     Armorer runs the Jack of All Spades armory by cleaning, operating and maintaining all weapons and ammunition owned by the organization. 

     Special Programs manages the events, fundraisers, charity programs and other organization gatherings. This position is ultimately responsible for all gatherings of Everyday Jacks. 

     Ride Captain works with the Special Programs officer with all member gatherings but specializes in organizing motorcycle rides and meetings. Since many members enjoy motorcycling he organizes regular motorcycle rides and lunches for all members that ride. 

     Adopting the vision of Jack of All Spades will better secure a community against so many dangers that exist around them.  They will be better able to pull together during times of trouble or when Mother Nature rears her ugly face. Jack of All Spades will encourage those of the community to stop tolerating the actions of those that might be occurring in their neighborhood and by small and simple steps we can push out those of our community who refuse to abide by the rules.

So stand up today and forever more as a Jack of All Spades!

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.