SOTG 286 - Team Honey Badger

[Photo Source: Paul Markel]

The wait is finally over…

We are done teasing you, the Team Honey Badger book is completed and ready. Go to the Student of the Gun Radio site and learn more about this exciting project. If the United States of America is going to be preserved as a Republic, our kids must be fearless.

The SWAT Fuel Warrior of the Week wants to talk about introducing kids to both firearms safety and the concept of using a firearm to fight. Professor Paul has been working with young people for decades and has some thoroughly considered advice on the subject.

SOURCES:

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SOTG Radio 043 – “You Can’t Sterilize the World“: www.studentofthegunradio.com/043

From beforeitsnews.com:
“(Excerpted originally published April ’08 Officer.com and Paulmarkel.com)

Nobody likes a Monday morning quarterback. I know I don’t. However, sometimes we must examine a tragedy to determine what when wrong. The FAA investigator at the scene of an airplane crash is not a Monday morning QB; he is there to try and prevent whatever happened from happening again.

1. An Armed Bad Guy Enters a School.

But, didn’t he realize that schools are “No Gun Zones”? Didn’t he understand the increased penalties for having a gun within 100ft, 500ft, or 1000ft of a school? Didn’t he read the school’s policy forbidding the carrying of “any weapon” on property?

Society’s well meaning, but totally deluded sheep, are obsessed with their little white signs and placards declaring this building or that to be a “No Gun Zone” or “No Weapons Permitted”. (Unless of course you are a homicidal maniac and don’t give a damn about the sign, then feel free.) Ask any cop how effective a civil protection order or restraining order is. It’s a piece of paper, nothing more.

Shiny placards, clever little signs, and policy papers don’t stop crime. They might give the prosecutor one more charge to hang on the guy if he’s ever brought to trial, but they don’t stop crime. You can’t sterilize the world.
What effect do these signs really have? They tell the bad guy that he has a nearly unlimited pool of totally defenseless victims. It doesn’t have to be a gun. Do I have to remind you that nineteen fanatics killed three thousand people with box cutters? Why do crazed psycho’s hit schools? Why not police departments? Because at the PD everyone has a gun and the psycho would be dead in the first five seconds.

2. Schools are Cherries.

If you are a psychopath with a statement to make, whether you are an ordinary lunatic or a member of a political/religious fanatic cell, you need a few ingredients to terrorize the nation. First you need a ready supply of helpless victims. It used to be an airplane full of hostages, but that has become too difficult to pull off. Next you need the tools to threaten and kill. Any firearm will do, but again, knives work too. Homemade bombs are easy enough to make with household chemicals. Of course, you need a willing media to broadcast the horror into every living room in the nation — live if possible.

Over the years I have lived in several states. During the mid-1990′s my family and I settled in Florida. While we were living there the state legislature passed a mandatory helmet law for children riding bicycles. That’s right mandatory. During the year prior to the new helmet law being passed a total of twelve children were killed during accidents while riding a bike. Even though there was little evidence to establish that any of the kids would have been saved by a Styrofoam and plastic helmet, the law went through.

Don’t paint me as some kind of monster here. The loss of twelve children is sad in and of itself. But we are talking about twelve out of what, tens of thousands? A tiny percentage indeed, particularly when compared to the other causes of childhood death including fire, poison, and disease.

Fast on the tail of nationwide mandatory seat belt laws were mandatory child safety seats. If you fail to put your three year old son into a government approved safety seat you can and likely will be fined. In the State of Ohio the fine is $100. According to published child seat safety regulations, the fine in South Carolina is $150 and in Texas it’s $200!

Many state legislatures have been pushing through laws to make it a crime if a child is accidentally killed or injured with a firearm that was not equipped with a lock or stored in a safe. Of course this goes hand in hand with the “guns are inherently bad and people who own them are therefore bad” philosophy. Can you imagine someone proposing a law to make it a criminal act if a child was accidentally injured or killed in a car you were driving? It’s not that big of a leap.

OK — what’s my point and what does this have to do with school shootings? Each year new laws are proposed and many enacted to try and make the world a safe place for our children. I can only imagine the thousands of trees sacrificed to print the bills, amendments, and legislature designed to “make our children safer.” Not to mention the money spent to enact these regulations.

With all this effort put into “protecting our children” from harm, you would think that any area that is populated predominantly with kids would be safer than Fort Knox, particularly a school. After all don’t our kids spend seven to eight hours a day, perhaps longer, five days a week at school? Given the previously highlighted trend, shouldn’t schools be guarded better than a Brink’s truck?

We care so much about our kid’s safety that we put colored stickers and placards up at school entrances warning visitors that it is a crime to carry a firearm or any type of weapon on to school property. We install video surveillance cameras to cover every square inch of the grounds. We lock the doors and tell everyone to sign in at the front desk. Kids are forbidden to carry book bags or backpacks in school. Certainly these measures are more than enough to keep our kids safe in school, right?

Someone explain to me how it is that with all of this political posturing, self-congratulatory back patting and “feel good” legislation that one loan sicko with a gun can get into a school, terrorize the student body, commit unspeakable acts of depravity against children and murder them? Didn’t they read the sign?
How can this be? It’s because psychopaths and deviant sickos aren’t dissuaded by shiny signs or placards. They can’t be stopped by surveillance cameras. Any determined person can get into a public building if they try hard enough.

So, how do you stop an armed sociopath? Perhaps you stop them with a gun, wielded by a well-trained and competent good guy? Nope. Can’t do that. Guns are inherently evil and any person, though well-intentioned, with a gun cannot be trusted. We can’t turn our schools into armed camps. Just think of the psychological harm the children would endure being in the presence of an armed police officer. Why they might revert to bedwetting or thumb sucking just from the sight of an evil firearm.

I am sure you know more than one well-meaning though completely out of touch with reality person who would tell you that protecting our children with arms is a terrible idea. It’s funny how these people can’t seem to consider the psychological and physical trauma that is inflicted by a knife or gun wielding maniac who takes school children hostage and sexually molests them before turning to murder.

School Resource Officers: Guardians for Our Children? The use of the School Resource Officer or SRO is not a new idea, though it is certainly not one that is employed nationwide. Going back to my Florida days, the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office ran the SRO program where I lived. The trouble with selling the SRO program is that it only seems to be in place in densely populated areas where gangs and drugs are a problem. However, as we have touched on previously, recent school shootings and domestic terrorist incidents have not been in large metropolitan areas, they have been in places where the common thinking is “it can’t happen here.”

If your community does not have an SRO program the argument against it will likely be that A) we have never had the need for one, B) we don’t have the budget for extra officers, or C) we can’t put armed police in the schools — it will scare the children.

If you do have an SRO program, can you honestly say that the officers put in the schools are competent enough to stop an armed intruder? Don’t give me that look. Let’s be honest here. I have known jurisdictions that used the SRO program as a place to “stick” officers that could not cut it out on the road. So they can’t cut it on the road, but we expect them to stop an armed maniac who blasts their way into the school? Maybe you have good people in your SRO program. Are they forgotten about when it comes time for extra/additional training? Do you keep them up to speed on their tactical skills or will you get them some training if you have time or if you can budget it?
Do your SRO people feel that they are part of the big team or are they sent there and forgotten? Are they kept fresh or do they become burned out donut eaters?

Don’t frown and get indignant. Sometimes the truth hurts. Are we more concerned with protecting our egos or do we really want to stop homicidal maniacs from using our schools as shooting galleries or places to act out some twisted deviant fantasy?

You Tell Me.“

From www.studentofthegun.com:
“Surprised” is not really the word I would use to describe my feelings when reading the latest story about the Boy Scouts of America. I suppose “disappointment” or “chagrin” might be more apt descriptors added in with a bit of sadness or malaise.

In case you missed the dozens of different outlets that featured the story, on May 20, 2015, the NY Post published a story highlighting the new rules in the Boy Scouts of America official handbook prohibiting the use of squirt guns and strictly limiting the use of water balloons (yes, water balloons).

The story quoted the BSA manual stating:

“[P]ointing any type of firearm or simulated firearm at any individual is unauthorized”. To continue, water balloons may be used but only if they are no larger than a ping pong ball and “biodegradable”.

To be fair, it seems that pellet-guns, .22 rifles, muzzle-loading rifles and shotguns will remain in the official Boy Scout Shooting Sports curriculum. One has to ponder if boy scouts cannot be educated to tell the difference between shooting someone with a live firearm and dowsing your buddy on a hot summer day with a water-filled toy. This story is not in and of itself the disease of Vagination in modern America, but more a symptom of that malady. Folks, far too many of your fellow citizens are raising their sons to be pussies. It is not my aim to be trite or glib. As a matter of fact, I mean to be frank with you. The United States of America that your great-grandfather or grandfather fought to preserve and defend is eroding from under our feet and we are largely to blame. During the recent unpleasantness, I spent three years teaching Small Arms and Tactics to U.S. Military personnel. The vast majority of our students ranged from age 18 to 21, the age of my own son at the time. What I discovered first hand from working every day of the week with these kids was that we have largely failed to prepare them for the rigors of adulthood and civic duty. What is even more frightening is that the young people I worked with were the uppermost percentage of their peers as they had at very least graduated from Basic Training before they arrived at our Expeditionary Combat Skills School.

3 Methods to Prevent Vagination

Although this article has been rolling around in my head for quite some time, the BSA story forced me to take action. What follows is an extremely thoughtful dissertation of three methods I believe will aid our sons and help them to become men who are worthy of citizenship in the United States of America, not France.

I feel certain that most of you reading this will, by virtue of following Student of the Gun, have implemented some of these, but perhaps not. Understand that, like the Drill Instructor who takes you to the pit or quarterdeck for extra PT, I undertake this mission not with malice in my heart, but with love. Read on MacDuff.

Martial Arts Training

When I say “Martial Arts” I do not mean cardio kickboxing or what passes as Tae Kwon Do in contemporary America. Modern “kids Karate” is like soccer in white cotton uniforms. The best it serves to do is work out some of the hyper-active energy from your little crumb-crunchers.

Boys need to tussle; they need to rough it up with other boys. We know that the liberal indoctrination centers that we laughingly refer to as public schools frown upon boys being boys and tussling with each other. “Use your words little Billy”. Try using your words when a crackhead is smashing your head into the asphalt so he can take your last $20 or when Johnny Jihad has that rusty knife pressed to your throat.

No, I am not telling you that your son should be a Krav Maga black belt at age nine, but he should also not pee in his pants the first time he is physically accosted by a bully. Your son will have to deal with bullies his entire life. Bullies do not go away when you leave junior high.

Traditional collegiate-type wrestling is a great place to start. Throughout the entire history of man, societies understood this. It is only in our great modern and vaginated state that we cannot understand its value.

From a more traditional standpoint, Jiu Jitsu (Japanese or Brazilian) are both fantastic ways to teach your boys to tussle with other boys in a productive manner. Punching and kicking the air or foam filled pads is fun, but nothing instills genuine confidence in physical abilities like grappling sports. And, unlike boxing, with grappling little Billy doesn’t risk the broken nose and concussion his grandma is afraid he will get.

Farm Work

Yes, I fully understand that the vast majority of you are reading this from the confines of some metropolitan area. I was blessed and consider myself infinitely fortunate that my parents took us out of the city of Detroit and transplanted us in rural Holmes County when I was 15 years old.

Farm work, from a physical standpoint, forces a boy to exert himself like no other type of work can. We had wood burning stoves in the house and if we wanted to stay warm in the winter we needed a woodshed full of split logs before the frost came. You may be familiar with the old saying that a wood burning stove warms you twice; once when you split the wood and once when you burn it.

Taking care of animals teaches responsibility that cannot be learned from a book. The livestock needs to be fed, every single day, morning and evening. The horses and cows do not care if you are warm in your bed or tired. Don’t even get me started on dairy cows.

I recall hard winters when the water pump in the barn froze and I had to haul five-gallon buckets of water, one in each hand, from the house to the barn before high school so the animals would have something to drink.

You think your burger flipping job is tough? Try spending an entire sweltering day in July filling a hayloft with freshly baled hay and straw (P.S. round bales are for pussies. I kid, I kid, calm down). Spend an early spring weekend pitching the manure that built up all winter long into a spreader. Then come and tell me your job at Subway is soooo stressful.

Firearms

Teach your sons to respect firearms just as they would respect the dangers of power tools. Speaking of which, make your son mow the lawn. For Pete’s sake, tell your wife that it is not going to kill your son to mow the damn lawn once in a while. When I was ten years old, I pushed a lawn mower around our yard every week April to October and it was nearly a half-acre. No, I didn’t die.

Back to guns, teach your kids the 4 Universal Safety Rules as soon as they are old enough to understand fire is hot and razor blades are sharp. Make use of .22 LR rifles and pistols (either you or one of your friends is sitting on 5000 rounds of .22 rimfire, quit hoarding it and teach your kids to shoot). I have personally worked with hundreds of 4H Shooting Sports youth who are now productive adults.

When your son is physically and mentally mature enough, teach them to shoot a centerfire handgun and rifle. As they progress I highly recommend that you have them shoot reactive targets; steel is the most common type. Get your sons up and off of the shooting bench and have them hold the gun in their hands. By this time they should be responsible enough to control their actions and behave in a safe manner. If they violate safety rules, be sure that they understand what they did and why it is important not to behave that way.

Parting Thoughts

Your sons are only going to be children (little boys) for a very short period of time. It is during this time that they learn how to be men. Expecting a boy to magically become a man on his eighteenth birthday is the height of naiveté and silliness.

As I mentioned at the outset, societies throughout the entire history of the world, going all the way back to Greece and Egypt, knew that a boy is a man in training. Train them up right and they will be productive citizens, prepare them for the ugly and unfair world they are about to enter.

Coddling your sons, attempting to shield them from all that is rough, ugly, and dangerous is the greatest form of child abuse you can inflict. I’m not telling you to name the poor kid “Sue”, but stop treating your sons like fragile little babies. I am deadly serious when I tell you that the United States of America cannot survive another generation of man-boys, weak-willed little ninnies who cry and run for their momma when things don’t go their way.“

From www.okwu.edu:
“This past week, I actually had a student come forward after a university chapel service and complain because he felt “victimized” by a sermon on the topic of 1 Corinthians 13. It appears that this young scholar felt offended because a homily on love made him feel bad for not showing love! In his mind, the speaker was wrong for making him, and his peers, feel uncomfortable.

I’m not making this up. Our culture has actually taught our kids to be this self-absorbed and narcissistic! Any time their feelings are hurt, they are the victims! Anyone who dares challenge them and, thus, makes them “feel bad” about themselves, is a “hater,” a “bigot,” an “oppressor,” and a “victimizer.”

I have a message for this young man and all others who care to listen. That feeling of discomfort you have after listening to a sermon is called a conscience! An altar call is supposed to make you feel bad! It is supposed to make you feel guilty! The goal of many a good sermon is to get you to confess your sins—not coddle you in your selfishness. The primary objective of the Church and the Christian faith is your confession, not your self-actualization!

So here’s my advice:

If you want the chaplain to tell you you’re a victim rather than tell you that you need virtue, this may not be the university you’re looking for. If you want to complain about a sermon that makes you feel less than loving for not showing love, this might be the wrong place.

If you’re more interested in playing the “hater” card than you are in confessing your own hate; if you want to arrogantly lecture, rather than humbly learn; if you don’t want to feel guilt in your soul when you are guilty of sin; if you want to be enabled rather than confronted, there are many universities across the land (in Missouri and elsewhere) that will give you exactly what you want, but Oklahoma Wesleyan isn’t one of them.

At OKWU, we teach you to be selfless rather than self-centered. We are more interested in you practicing personal forgiveness than political revenge. We want you to model interpersonal reconciliation rather than foment personal conflict. We believe the content of your character is more important than the color of your skin. We don’t believe that you have been victimized every time you feel guilty and we don’t issue “trigger warnings” before altar calls.

Oklahoma Wesleyan is not a “safe place”, but rather, a place to learn: to learn that life isn’t about you, but about others; that the bad feeling you have while listening to a sermon is called guilt; that the way to address it is to repent of everything that’s wrong with you rather than blame others for everything that’s wrong with them. This is a place where you will quickly learn that you need to grow up!

This is not a day care. This is a university!”

Student of the Gun Radio airs every Monday through Thursday at 9 a.m. EST and can be found by going directly to www.StudentoftheGunRadio.com.Those using mobile devices can follow us with iTunes or Stitcher. SOTG Radio is a Think On! production. Student of the Gun is the #1 source for education, enjoyment and enlightenment of real-world firearms including: training, videos, radio, books and articles. A beginner once, a student for life. www.studentofthegun.com Being a Student of the Gun is not about being a novice or beginner. Student of the Gun represents a lifelong journey of education, enlightenment and the enjoyment of firearms. Each episode will introduce the viewer to new and interesting firearms as well as the latest gear to go with them. We will travel throughout the United States, seeking the advice and expertise of the best firearms trainers available. Sometimes deadly serious, sometimes just for fun, Student of the Gun will always strive to educate and entertain our viewers while offering them an insiders’ look at the worlds of firearms.

About the Host

Paul Markel: Host of Student of the Gun Radio

Paul G. Markel has worn many hats during his lifetime. He has been a United States Marine, police officer, professional bodyguard, and small arms and tactics instructor. Markel has been writing professionally for law enforcement and firearms periodicals for nearly 20 years, and has hundreds of articles in print. A regular guest on nationally syndicated radio talk shows, Markel is a subject matter expert in firearms training and use of force. Markel has been teaching safe and effective firearms handling to students, young and old, for decades and has also worked actively with 4H Shooting Sports programs. Markel holds numerous instructor certifications in multiple disciplines; nonetheless, he is, and will remain a dedicated Student of the Gun.

About the Co-Host

Jarrad Markel: Co-Host and Producer of Student of the Gun Radio

Not just another pretty face, Jarrad Markel has experience and training beyond his years. Jarrad has been training to be a fighter since elementary school when he first learned the art of collegiate wrestling. Now skilled in Jujitsu, Judo, Muay Thai, Sambo, the Way of the Fighting Pistol and Fighting Rifle, Jarrad is a well-rounded, tactical athlete with several professional MMA fights under his belt. More than a brute, Jarrad has brains as well. He is the lead editor and videographer for Student of the Gun and works directly for Think On! Productions creating a wide variety of video material. In addition, Markel is a skilled web & blog designer, building material for the Internet side of the house.

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Professor Paul Markel

Founder & CEO at Student of the Gun

Paul G. Markel has worn many hats during his lifetime. He has been a U.S. Marine, Police Officer, Professional Bodyguard, and Small Arms and Tactics Instructor. Mr. Markel has been writing professionally for law enforcement and firearms periodicals for nearly twenty years with hundreds and hundreds of articles in print. Paul is a regular guest on nationally syndicated radio talk shows and subject matter expert in firearms training and use of force. Mr. Markel has been teaching safe and effective firearms handling to students young and old for decades and has worked actively with the 4-H Shooting Sports program. Paul holds numerous instructor certifications in multiple disciplines and a Bachelor’s degree in conflict resolution; nonetheless, he is and will remain a dedicated Student of the Gun.