Just saw this video, and it is quite disturbing. I'll warn you that you may get a feeling of disgust as it goes on (and it goes on a while) at what these animals do.
- Edited with new link due to YouTube removing video for violent content
A few things popped out at me, the major one being something that seems to be consistent with victims of violent exchanges. They don't believe what is happening. It seems going beyond knowing what to do, but failure to even comprehend the amount of danger they are in. The poor kid doesn't seem to fathom that he is in an alley getting the his a$$ kicked and beaten by thugs. He eventually gets to his feet, and believes he can try to reason with a bunch of dudes in masks that have been relentlessly pounding on him even after he has completely submitted.
Only after more than three minutes of this does he get the bright idea to use the Nike defense and haul a$$ out of there at top speed. Up until that point, he seems to be in complete denial of the situation.
While I have every faith that none of us would respond the way this poor kid does, it pays to see up close just what disbelief can result in. For example, trying to reason with animals who have proven they are beyond listening and are only interested in the joy ride of beating you to a pulp. That kid is lucky his attackers lacked competence or he'd be toast.
A few minor points that I noticed:
- This kid takes what looks like a serious beating, but can still get up and run. He got some cuts and probably some bruises, but he is still able to move after an extended beating. The attackers are obviously amateurs, but still. Know that you can take some shots and you can (and SHOULD) keep going.
- Make your decision to get out quickly, as in as soon as things look like they MAY go South. There is nothing to be gained by delaying your departure. I'll grant you that the video does not show the setup. How long do you look at a group of guys in masks and wonder if this is a situation you should be far away from? If the victim's naivety is any indication, then this kid probably had no alarm bells going off when he saw masks, nor when he was led or coerced into an alley, or starting to get pushed, etc. It may have been a quick ambush instead. In either case, he didn't make the decision to beat feet until far too late.
- The attackers lost ambition to chase very quickly. Not sure other attackers would lose the will to chase so soon. After all, the thugs spent a good amount of time venting their anger and beating on the kid. Perhaps they would have been more motivated to chase if they lacked getting at least some satisfaction. However, is it wiser to take to running before getting a five minute beating or after? That is, if you can get up at all.
Tragic video Trist. I saw this too and it was horrendous. You bring up a lot of good points. One that I wanted to point out is the improvised weapons... Oh you didn't see them? Check out the Ice Chunks! At first I thought it was a snowball, then I paused it and really took a good look. These ass-hats were using Ice to bludgeon this poor kid.
ReplyDeleteWith that in mind, pretend you are a Karate Black Belt (or some other silly art). An Ice Chunk comes at your head. Do you treat it like a fist? A club? a knife? You have drilled these different defenses for years, and now you have a weapon coming at you that you have NEVER trained for.
I think this is one of the places our system excels. No mater the weapon, the defense is the same.
What sort of force do you think would be appropriate for this victim to use? Does he have enough of a threat to use deadly force?