Flash mobs strike again

Back in 2011 I wrote about the changing urban self-defense environment.  In that article, I highlighted the increasing prevalence of so-called 'flash mobs' - not the artistic, expressionist variety, but made up of criminals and opportunists.  The situation hasn't improved since then.

Last week, the latest incident of this type happened in Chicago, where hundreds of Black youths went on the rampage in an upmarket shopping district.  It was a lot more violent and criminal than most media reports made out.  Here are a few accurate, truthful accounts.  From Points and Figures:

Saturday, a pack of approximately 500 young people invaded the Michigan Avenue shopping district of Chicago. They were almost all African-American kids that took public transportation.

I use the word “invade” with a purpose. This wasn’t random. This was plotted with the care a commander uses when they send platoons into battle.

The gangbangers organized using social media. They knew exactly where they were going and they knew their battle plan. Not unlike an invading army when they go to take over a city.

This isn’t a one off thing. It happens every spring. Recall, last May they shut down the beach because it was full of thugs.  It’s not shocking to me at all.  That’s sad.

When I lived in the Gold Coast, Chicago‘s most expensive neighborhood, every spring we could count on being overrun. Many residents were assaulted. Down the street from where I lived, there was a knife fight on the corner. Imagine this happening in Bel Air or the Upper East Side.

It was unsafe to walk from my parking garage to my apartment building late at night.  The walk was two blocks.  I know of a few people that were relieved of their watches, wallets, and phones on that walk.

In the past two years, it’s become unsafe to walk down Michigan Avenue. Chicago police are always parked in the median. Seems like a police state.  If you pull a cell phone out on the street, there is a likelihood that it might be taken from you.  It won’t be one on one either, since the gangbangers hunt in packs.  Both young men and women.

The gangbangers have no respect for human decency and should be dealt with accordingly. Fortunately for them, America has a Bill of Rights. They abuse it at every opportunity. In Russia, they’d be sent to Siberia, never to be heard from again.

More at the link.

From Bob Owens:

What actually happened was that a mob of black thugs took part in an apparently pre-planned attack on mostly white shoppers in a mostly white and wealthy neighborhood.

Let’s be perfectly clear; as far as riots go, this wasn’t the most violent, and the injuries, property destruction and looting reported appears to have been comparatively minimal by Chicago standards (no one died, nothing was burned out/down, stores weren’t cleaned out, arrests were generally misdemeanors, etc). Those facts allowed, it was a race riot, and it was intentionally downplayed by the fig leaf of a black reporter, working for a liberal new organization, attempting to cover for a liberal mayor, who is reaping the whirlwind of decades of liberal misrule, neglect, and failed social engineering.

Chicago Democrats have created (and continue to increase the volatility of) a toxic stew of racialism, hopelessness, entitlement, and anger.

Again, more at the link.

Chicago police aren't exactly covering themselves with glory in investigating crime in general in the Windy City, as Chicagomag.com recently noted.  The blog Second City Cop, reflecting the views of the 'cop on the beat' rather than their political masters, wasn't very complimentary about the latest developments either.  Suffice it to say that police can only clean up the mess resulting from such incidents.  They can't prevent them happening - nor can they protect you while they're going down.  Remember the old saying:  "When seconds count, the police are only minutes away."

Friends, if you live in or near a city where such criminal 'flash mobs' or 'wilding' events have occurred, and/or are likely to occur, it's time you thought about moving.  If you can't move, for whatever reason(s), you need to rethink your daily routines, your commute, etc., and steer clear of areas where such crimes are more likely to occur.  Finally, unless you live in a place like Chicago that's determined to disarm law-abiding citizens (while police ineffectiveness turns the equivalent of a blind eye to criminal possession of firearms), you need to arm yourself and get some effective training in the use of your chosen defensive weapon(s).  This problem isn't about to go away.

I think the late, great Col. Jeff Cooper had it right.  Writing about terrorism in 1975, he said:

Still we hear, over and over again, that we should not be armed, that we should not resist, that we should rely on the police for our personal safety—that our best answer to violence is to give up. Such drivel demands a stronger stomach than mine.

One bleeding-heart type asked me in a recent interview if I did not agree that "violence begets violence." I told him that it is my earnest endeavor to see that it does. I would like very much to ensure—and in some cases I have—that any man who offers violence to his fellow citizen begets a whole lot more in return than he can enjoy.

. . .

Laws are not the answer. We have laws against murder. We have laws against kidnapping. We have laws against extortion. And murder, kidnapping, and extortion are on the rise. The answer, it seems to me, is wrath. Let the thug take his chances with an alert, prepared, and angry citizenry. It may very well spoil his whole career.

This is not a call for vigilantism: It is a call for self-reliance. For those who feel short on self-reliance, I have a suggestion. Take up practical pistol shooting as a recreation. It is a good game. It is fun. It is "relevant." And it does wonders for your self-reliance.

Your best protector is—as it always has been—you!

Read the rest of his article at the link.  It's worth it - and it applies to criminal flash mobs and 'wilding' as much as it does to terrorism.

Peter