Predation
Predator: a biologic that attacks another biologic outside its species.
Unfortunately, humanity is chock-full of predators: men (see note 1) who've completely (and asocially) "othered" the whole of humanity. By "othered," I mean they no longer view other humans as human. By definition, a predator-human sees other humans as prey: "lesser biologics" that exist only to satisfy their monstrous cravings and inordinate needs. As such, a "predator-monster" (my term) attacks other humans without remorse or empathy or, even, any recognition that the person he's attacking is a human being, worthy of God-endowed dignity and respect.
If you've become the prey of another, there will be no reasoning with your attacker. Your skills of socialization will not help you. Your attacker looks upon you as a means to an end: you're prey, and you exist to feed illicitly something missing within him. Since to him you're not human, his attacks are initiated with little thought to the consequences you (and those who love you) will suffer.
Unfortunately, if you've become the prey of another, your only realistic response is to become a predator (or a "predator-responsive" [my term]) yourself. As hard as that might read, it's the truth. Becoming a predator-responsive means forgetting you're human, putting aside your reluctance to cause harm to another human being, and doing anything you can to hurt and distract the one preying upon you. This is all done, of course, to facilitate your escape and survival. In the very moment of predation, you must become the predator and prey upon that which is preying upon you. In a very real sense, you must become inhuman to effectively fight-off the inhumanity forcing itself violently upon you.
For prey to become a predator, said prey must allow its inborn survival instincts to take over. Usually, this reflex lasts for a few moments or, perhaps, a minute or two. It's intended to allow said prey to unleash its own predatory fury upon that which is preying upon it. Afterward, it relinquishes the predator energy within and returns to what it once was. The original predator, interestingly, remains who he was before and during his predatory acts: a predator. Nothing in him has changed fundamentally (unless, of course, he was killed or injured irreparably by you or someone coming to your defense). This, my friends, is what distinguishes the predator-monster from the predator-responsive. Let me be clear on this point: a predator-responsive and a predator-monster are NOT the same thing. No.
Inside you, inside me, God's placed an instinct to survive. To survive a violent attack, we must get in touch with that instinct, learn to tap into it at will, and, as strange as this might read, magnify it through intense, long-term training. Not just by practicing martial arts (the arts of warfare), but through seriously considering what you would (and could) do if attacked. Even more than that, it means deciding what you'd be willing to do if attacked. Further, it involves the practice of visualization, of "seeing" your attacker, feeling the things you might feel in the moment, and then "seeing" yourself unleash the fury within you.
Such practice can be scary. You may fear you'll lose yourself and never come back from the dark place to which you've descended. To many it will feel unloving or un-Christlike. I have good news for you: while it may be scary, it's neither unloving nor un-Christlike. In fact, it's the opposite. When you're under attack (or when someone you love is under attack), your ability to reign down fury on the attacker is a life-preserving mechanism that comes from the very Heart of God. God Himself is a Warrior; it's one of the ways He describes Himself (see Note 2). The fury within you is God's Warrior Heart beating as your own.
In the moment of attack, unleashing the fury is the most loving thing you can do: for you, for those you love, and for those who might be attacked in the future. Have you ever considered (regarding the predator-monster that wants to rape you) that you're not his first? And that you may actually be number 127 in a long line of more than thousand women he'll attempt to assault over his lifetime? In fighting back and, perhaps, killing or permanently maiming your attacker, you may not just preserve your own life but the future lives of the 873 women and children who would have been assaulted had you not fought back the way you did.
All this reminds me of something Albert Einstein once wrote (and this is a paraphrase arising from my own memory):
The world is a dangerous place. Not so much because it contains dangerous people (as that will always be a given), but because it includes so few who are willing to stand-up and say “No more!” to those who prey upon others.
This also raises issues about something Jesus once said about "turning the other cheek." I think many people grossly misunderstand what Jesus said and meant by that statement. In His command, Jesus was referring to how we're to continually turn a loving and fresh face of openness toward someone who's insulted us. He most certainly did NOT mean, "Oh, and by the way, if someone rapes you, after he's done, offer him your daughter so he can rape her, too." No.
So, there you go! Now you have my definitive thoughts on how necessary (loving and life-preserving) it is to fight back when attacked. And how in order to overcome a predator-monster you must become a predator-responsive yourself. Go, my friends, and seek ways to get in touch with your survival instincts. I guarantee, not only will it begin to change you in some very positive ways (if you take it seriously), but you'll begin to make the world a safer place for the rest of us. And, quite frankly, I'm over the moon about that!
Peace...
Notes:
1. While women can also be predators, I’ve chosen to use the "he" pronoun exclusively in this post. If this causes you offense, my apologies.
2. See Ex 15:3 and Isa 42:13 in the Old Testament scriptures.
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