One thing that differentiates urban survival from wilderness survival is the availability of technology. If you find yourself in a situation where you need to help a loved one or you just want to be a Good Samaritan, would you know what to do?
You can certainly take a great CPR course….
If not, you can at least try out this great AED simulator. Thank you to my friend Ted who sent this to us.
The video below is a security camera view of an actual unprovoked attack on a 16 year-old girl in the UK.
The victim was interviewed after the attack and gave this account.
The perpetrator was subsequently arrested.
This girl is an innocent victim and did not deserve what happened to her. Given that the attack was caught on tape, it gives us a rare opportunity to learn from it. So now we can discuss both the actions of the perpetrator and the victim. This does not mean that I believe the victim is any way at fault. The only one who is at fault is the person who perpetrated this crime against her.
There is one constant to predicting human behavior. A person’s past behavior is a good indicator to a person’s future behavior. There are of course some exceptions, such as when a person strives and works on their own personal growth. Most people, unfortunately do not. So when we have opportunities like this to dissect a crime between one victim and one perpetrator, we take it. Knowing a little bit of history between the victim and the perpetrator allows us to predict what may happen in the future to others under similar circumstances.
For instance, the victim recounts the interaction between her and the perpetrator before the attack. This interplay, whether conscious or unconscious, led the two of them to the end result. Although there may not seem like a lot of interaction to analyze here, there is. Unfortunately, discussing it all will take up more space than would be permissible in this blog. However, we can look at one very crucial time in the attack and analyze it. The moment just before the perpetrator attacks.
Slow down the video (you can press pause a few times). Look at what happens as the perpetrator comes within a few feet of the victim. What does the victim do? (it’s okay, go back to the video.. I’ll wait).
She clutches her handbag………. What does this mean? It means she was aware of a danger prior to the physical encounter. She may not have actually been conscious of this danger but she reacted to it by protecting her possession, her purse. Remember what I said earlier about human behavior? The victim throughout her life probably had many more experiences protecting her property then her physical self. So when she felt a danger, she did what she had learned to do, guard and protect her property. That is why at Zenshin™ Urban Survival Training we teach the Psychology of Combat. We teach our students to identify and pay attention to their unconscious driven behaviors that often help them “see” a danger before they are consciously aware of it. With this extra time, we then teach them the best way to react. Although this was an unprovoked attack, the victim had some time to react. She did… she clutched her purse.
What would you have done? What are you doing to prepare your loved ones in the event this happens to them?
As we continue to honor National Preparedness month, let’s look at how we can prepare for the possibility that we will not have sufficient air to breathe as a result of a natural or man-made disaster.
The most obvious urban survival technique is to invest in a good respirator, hood or “gas mask.” There are many commercially available ones out there but because you are all good urban survival consumers as a result of reading my blog, I will not go into detail about them. I would rather discuss what to do if you are caught without one.
Okay, you are in your home or apartment and the emergency response system comes on notifying you that as a result of an explosion nearby, the air around you is toxic. For this scenario, you have determined it was not safe or it was too late to get out of the area without a respirator. First, get to the room furthest from the exterior, seal off as much of the area as possible, then consider constructing a homemade mask so that you can make your escape.
If you do, please know that your homemade gas mask is of course, only a temporary solution that will not be as effective as commercially made gas masks. However, they are better than using a simple towel pressed against your face. Homemade masks will, most likely, only protect against the most common gases used in chemical warfare. Against smoke, some other gases and carbon monoxide, they will be ineffective. Moreover, homemade masks will only be as effective as they are airtight. Your homemade mask must fit securely around the head so that air is unable to slip inside (except through the breathing canister) or else chemical agents can also get through.
So here are two possible homemade gas masks you can try.
Cross-stitch together two 12-inch squares of bed sheets or similar fabric. Put a layer of baking soda between the two sheets before sewing them together. When you need the mask, simply dampen it and hold it firmly over your face while exiting the area contaminated by gases. This provides temporary protection and is not intended for any lengthy use.
Use a swimming cap, oriented backwards and upside down, for the face covering. You’ll cut holes in the cap for both an eyepiece and for the breathing canister apparatus. Secure these pieces with tape. For the eyepiece, use a see-through, celluloid box, the sort used in women’s facial powder boxes. For a snug fit, the cut hole should be slightly smaller than the box. For the breathing canister use a can with both the top and bottom cut out. Over both ends of the open can you’ll fit wire screen mesh. Old fashioned, wire-screen flyswatters will work, but you can also use screen door material. Inside the canister you’ll need the actual gas mask filter. For this, use handkerchiefs stuffed with charcoal (you can get at pet supply store or make your own by burning coconut husks) and soda lime (old fashioned mom and pop drug store). With elastic, create straps across the back of the mask to hold it onto your head.
Although the masks are to be used for a very short period of time, it will give you enough time to escape to a better place. You may even want to try making one now. Having said that, I still recommend you go buy one. I hear Canada has a bunch that they can’t sell….. really!