Not Being There (in the Line of Fire, that is)

In an attack situation...

Winning (or submitting/tapping/destroying your assailant) is not the aim; not being there(see Sun Tsu’s The Art of War) is.

If you can't avoid being there, deescalating the situation is the aim.

If you can't fully deescalate the situation, escaping is the aim.

If you can't escape (without first disabling the threat), disabling the threat and then escaping is the aim.

Keep this progression in mind: (1) Don't be there; (2) Deescalate; (3) Escape; (4) Disable and then Escape.

Lord-willing, following the above just might keep you from being hurt or killed, hurting or killing someone else, being hauled off to jail, or even being sued. Unfortunately, in the arenas of self-defense and life-preservation, jail and law-suits are an ever-present reality—even in situations where what happened was instigated entirely by another person. To the police, it matters little who started the altercation; 99% of the time, both parties will be hauled off to jail or, at least, sequestered individually into the back seats of a commensurate number of police cruisers. Also, psychopaths (and their family members) can sue just like everyone else. Even if what you did was totally justified (and proven to be so in a court of law), you can still be sued for lost wages, pain and suffering, loss of future income, etc. Ridiculous or not, it's the way things are.

In the final analysis, it's best to not be there (if at all possible). Pay attention to what's going on around you; if something feels off or wrong, that's because it is. Trust your instincts, and flee the situation. It just might save you and your family significant heartache (and probably a good number of other things, too).