A Whole New World 2023-2024- Family Safety Strategies
There used to be acceptable norms in our society that have seemed to go by the wayside with the current generation. As parents and grandparents, our job at this point is to keep our families as safe as we can and teach them how to do the same for theirs. I'm not going to make this article a political statement on "the ruination of modern civilization", "the Government's inability to control gun violence", "Middle Eastern conflict", "failures in today's education system", "the psychological issues stemming from single parent households and the absence of the father", or even "the destruction of faith based freedoms and the attempt to take God out of society", etc.... Instead, this is a story about how to keep yourself and your family safe during 2023-2024, while continuing to live a happy and productive lifestyle relatively fear free!
As we learned this past Thanksgiving Holiday weekend, even the most wholesome of family events, a Holiday Tree Lighting Ceremony in a heavily protected environment like Public Square in Downtown Cleveland, Ohio is not exempt from the risk of violence and the risk of danger to you and your family. If you would have asked me the question "Do you feel safe taking your family to outdoor Holiday celebrations?", 20-years ago when my children were babies; I would have told you, ABSOLUTELY! It was a different time. Our society was recovering from the terrorist attacks of September 11th, our security forces were properly staffed and supported, the community as a whole looked out for each other, and as human beings we showed a little more love towards one another. But as we get further away from an event that changed our landscape, we get closer to a newer greater set of challenges that can affect our lives profoundly. This is not a time to surrender to what lurks around the corner, but rather become more aware, strategic, and brave in how you continue to live and enjoy your life!
Below, are some simple strategies you can implement to help ensure your preparedness for emergencies/crisis situations while enjoying the Holidays. "Fearless is not the absence of fear. Fearless is living in spite of those things that scare you."- Taylor Swift
When planning to go to an event, have a plan. if you are not familiar with the area open your favorite mapping APP and look at a satellite view of the area. Know the points of entry into the area, exits, public access areas nearby where you can shelter, or even identify friends, co-workers, and relatives that may live nearby who would be willing to offer you a safe rally point should you need it. Also, evaluate the parking situation to determine if there is a spot that seems well lit, secured, and easily accessible to an exit route that you can easily and quickly get to should you need. Many of you right now might be saying to yourself "I'm not a Navy Seal", you're right! You're not, that's why being prepared with easy information for your family is important. Discuss this information with your spouse, significant other, friend attending with you, or oldest child attending (preferably someone over the age of 14), and determine what makes sense for your circumstances. Also, keep in mind (if you have a disabled individual traveling with you), what are the mobility challenges we might encounter? I have a son who is in a motorized wheelchair, when attending events, we have to plan for power issues, geographical issues, parking access, sidewalk or street access, shelter access if needed due to climate weather, and other comfort concerns before heading out. Keep a Go-Bag of essential supplies in your vehicle at all times: bandages, sterilizer, water, snacks and canned pre-cooked food (beans, sardines, spam, cocktail wieners, beef jerky, smokies, etc..), thermal or regular blankets, a mobile charging device/jump starter, pen/paper (to jot down immediately any relevant facts observed/witnessed during a crisis while fresh). The immediate call to action should a situation arise is to get to immediate safety and secondary, is to get to your vehicle to flee to longer term safety (home, hospital, fire station, police station, military base, etc.). If you are able to flee, contact a law enforcement agency immediately to report your location and safety status. Also, make sure that you notify friends or family of your intent to attend and allow them access to your location VIA your cell phone. Almost all major carriers either have software or your manufacturer has the ability to allow/disallow location sharing internally from the device. Should a crisis arise, it is always nice for a concerned individual to see your location should you need them to call authorities.
Keep your group intact and those old enough to understand your plan for the day, KEEP THEM INFORMED! A crisis/emergency is never planned, but you can be. Work with those in your family/friend group who are attending and mature enough to understand inherent risks associated with public gatherings, informed and prepared on your plan.
Make sure that everyone old enough has a specific job (having a job to complete in most, will delay the effect of shock and keep them focused on the task at hand), work together as a team and embrace your personal safety as a group effort. Once you have arrived, look in all directions to size up the crowd, street closures, police/security presence, medical support services and their locations. Also, evaluate any day of changes to your rabbit hole (escape route) preparation pre-event. Local law enforcement most definitely will put up some sort of physical barriers the day of, that you may not have expected in your planning. This is typically done to deter the assumed "Bad Guys" but may as well affect you. Evaluate who is around you in the crowd. If there are people who may take this event as an opportunity to protest or rally for some political cause, move away from them. Look for the higher concentration areas of law enforcement/security presence and get near them, you can make a fairly good bet, that those with nefarious intentions will not culminate around them. Plus, Cops are usually great equalizers to reduce stress and fear with young ones. Don't conduct yourself as being overly zealous or terrified, but rather understand your mental preparations have provided you with a tool to be safe and to enjoy the celebrations.
As a boy growing up in the late sixties and seventies, the as I like to call it "Kid Leash", was probably one of the most popular tools available to moms at the time. You saw them everywhere, the grocery store, the park, the mall, any outdoor experiences, amusement parks, etc..... At some point the predominant opinion of American's became that it felt like people were treating their children like dogs. Child Safety Restraints are a tool, no less important than having your child in a safety seat in the car. It's a cheap and effective tool to keep young ones within reach at all times, while still affording them the ability to walk and experience the world from their viewpoint. Also, should the chaos of a situation arise, its one less hurdle to clear when trying to keep all the members of your party together and safe. Forget what others may think and their opinions with regard to it being cruel to the psyche of the child. Think about it through the prism of what would be worse, in mass chaos or even just a large crowd, my child wonders off and goes through the trauma of being lost from Mommy and Daddy, or worse yet, becomes a tragic statistic of the abduction and human trafficking industry. I don't mean to be condescending, but we need to move past looks and feeling about our family's safety and become tactically effective in keeping our family whole. The days of kids riding their bikes through the neighborhood until the streetlights come on is over, we live in a much different society with different parameters.
I am a true proponent in one's right to protect themself, but as a reasonable and respectful firearms owner, there is a time and a place for everything. Many of these events that we are talking about spend a substantial amount of money on perimeter and crowd enforcement measures. DON'T DO SOMETHING THAT TAKES AWAY RESOURCES FROM PROTECTING THE WHOLE! Expect that your ability to conceal your firearm for your personal protection is directly contradictory to law enforcement's requirement to keep everyone safe. The above tactics in this article are meant to prepare you to react quickly to protect your family and loved ones, without creating an additional threat to yourselves or others, in what could be unrecognizable intent and therefore putting you and others in jeopardy when you pull a weapon and are assumed to be a physical threat to others. When going to large PUBLIC gatherings and events, your best weapon is a well thought out defense and strategy to exit an area quickly and effectively. Remember, what you see as a means to protect you and your family, will undoubtedly hinder and delay the ability to remediate the actual threat!
As someone who spends a tremendous amount of time practicing my marksmanship, active shooter protocols, unarmed self-defense and several other skills, the first piece of an effective active shooter protocol is to: know when to run, know when to hide and know when to fight. But to keep everything real, if it comes down to having to fight, understand that someone in your group will most likely be a casualty. Get those you love and care about moving to a safe location first, then make the much-needed sacrifice to secure them time to escape. Remember in an emergency/crisis situation your safety plan should be to create distance and time from the threat. Communication is key with your group; be precise about what is needed in as few clear words as possible to not create additional confusion.
If you are interested in additional safety training in the Northeast Ohio area, below I have listed some resources:
Action Defense, LLC- Advanced Civilian Firearms Training- 440-218-2029 or visit their website: actiondefense.com
Cleveland Corporate Protection Services, LLC- Our Training Commanders are former Federal Air Marshals and Law Enforcement Academy instructors to help provide you with a perspective from what law enforcement will be doing during crisis and how you can help without being a distraction or obstacle. - 216-307-1870 or visit their website: clevelandcorporatesecurity.com