So what are you going to do when somewhere between 20 and 50 percent of your local police force can’t come to work because they have not had the COVID-19 vaccine? Will your plans change when they have to empty the jails and prisons because jailers, prison guards, and corrections officers refused to get the jab? You won’t be able to fly somewhere safe because half the airlines are canceling flights because of pilots and aircrews that are not vaccinated. Forty percent of TSA workers also remain unvaccinated, so if they do not cancel your flight, expect long lines at the security check-in.
I hope you don’t get hurt while defending your home and family from the purge-like situation caused by a lack of law enforcement, because the 911 center isn’t answering calls. Many of EMTs and paramedics that staff your local ambulance service were sent home because they didn’t get the shot. You could drive to the hospital, but it’s probably understaffed anyway because, you guessed it, of the vax mandate.
Misguided Politicians
Politicians, mostly Governors like California’s Newsome and mayors like Chicago’s Lightfoot, seem to think it is more important to have no unvaccinated police than it is to police at all. People with common sense would call this “throwing the baby out with the bathwater,” meaning a stupid, short sighted-move. These mayors need to concede, to realize they cannot harm their entire city by allowing these important services to disappear or diminish in the name of an unconstitutional mandate. Police, fire and EMS are some of the most important services municipal governments provide.
Apparently, the ability to acquiesce to the inevitable has disappeared from society, or at least from Democratic and socialist strongholds like Los Angeles, Baltimore and Chicago, places where crime is already rampant and murders are setting records. Perhaps elected executives like mayors, governors and presidents need to remember that they are not dukes, princes and kings and the rest of us are not peasants. It is “We the People” not “we the elected few” who are ultimately in charge. We elect you to be caretakers and to execute our will, not to stretch your temporary power to excessive levels.
Yes, the economy is bad and immigration is out of control, but I think it is the vaccine mandates that will cost Democrats the most in upcoming elections, in both local and statewide races.
How to Stay Safe with a Reduced Police Presence
I doubt the vast majority of Americans are prepared for a sudden shift to a world without the rule of law (WROL). For us country folk, not much will change because we are already on our own. For example, if I call 911, in a best-case scenario, it will take 12 or 15 minutes for a deputy, fire truck, or ambulance to reach me, possibly as long as 35 or 40 minutes.
Urban and suburban residents unlucky enough to live in cities with stubborn mayors may need to raise their level of situational awareness, harden their home against assault, arm themselves, and be prepared to handle any emergency without outside support.
Here are a few things you can do of your local police department and other first responders end up under-manned and unable to respond to calls:
Stay up to date on local news
Follow your local police on Twitter or Facebook so you know what they are doing, but don’t let that be your sole source of information. Also scan for news about an uptick in crime in your area. Subscribe to any social media for your neighborhood. Base your behavior and ratchet up your awareness and defenses based in part on what you learn.
Avoid places where trouble may strike
The best advice is to stay at home or close to home. Don’t go out at night. If you need to go grocery shopping, do so about an hour after sunrise, when most of the thugs are home in bed. Don’t go to an outdoor ATM and make yourself a target. Travel in groups. Don’t look down at your phone when you are walking or in your car stopped at a red light because it makes you vulnerable. Look around, keeping your eyes open for trouble.
If your commute gets you home after dark, try changing your hours or ask to work at home. If you are at work and violence breaks out, stay at work but lock the doors. I would avoid mass transit, if possible, because it gives you no control. Have someone you trust pick you up after dawn the next morning.
Avoid high-crime areas because without the threat of cops, the crime rate will soar and it will hit these areas fast and hard. Gang warfare may break out as one faction moves on another. Expect reprisals and revenge killing to take place. If you live in or near one of a high-crime area, keep your head down and stay inside. You don’t want to be the innocent victim caught in the crossfire.
Avoid dangerous activities
This may not be the best time to burn that leaf pile, or to get up on the ladder and clean your gutters. Yes, the chances of setting your yard on fire or falling off the ladder are slim, but they are not zero. Consider holding off on all those weekend warrior activities that could cause a sports injury, a heart attack, or a broken bone or bashed head.
Don’t make it easy on the bad guys
Home invasion robberies could increase, so don’t open the door just because someone knocked or rang the bell. (Make sure your kids know this, too.) Don’t leave your car running and run into the convenience store. If you are in your car, avoid pedestrians at red lights. It’s better to make an illegal turn or run a light than to be carjacked at gunpoint. Don’t allow yourself to fall victim to someone with a sad story; they could try to get you to unlock the door so their three big friends can swarm you.
Likewise, don’t look like a target. Act aware rather than distracted. Don’t wear expensive jewelry or carry something that would be desirable to a mugger. Don’t look like a victim; look like a predator.
Go armed
Some of us go armed every day. It might be time to join us. I know that if I were in that situation, I’d not only be wearing a pistol but have a 12-gauge shotgun next to me and a loaded rifle in a room nearby. If someone kicks in your door, it’s too late for words; you want to meet them with lead in the air.
If you don’t own a gun, then arm yourself with something else. A hammer. A sturdy wooden hiking stick. Even a golf club wielded correctly is better than nothing. (See why we like guns?)
Remember, guns are not a magic talisman whose presence keeps you safe. You also need training, knowledge of self-defense laws, and common sense.
Secure Your Home
Lock your door, even if you live in a “safe” neighborhood where people don’t lock their doors. Lock your car too, and get it off the street, if you can. Back the car into the garage or park it behind your house.
Pull the shades so a casual observer cannot see what you are doing inside. Leave some lights on at night. If you can hear gunfire nearby, consider sleeping in shifts so someone is awake and can respond to a threat. Take a position at an upstairs window so you can observe the street and see anyone approaching your house. Also check the back occasionally.
If you know and trust your neighbors, form an ad hoc neighborhood watch. Consider having people stationed at the main entrance to your development stopping cars and/or on a roving patrol. This may not be legal, but if there are no police, then there is no one who can arrest you. In many cases, a show of force may be all you need to encourage criminals to go elsewhere.
A Long-Term Trend
We may be near the end of the level of police protection to which we have grown accustomed. This might be a short-term problem because of the mandates or a lasting problem run because of a host of issues, including the defund the police movement. Policing has changed, and some cops may not want to risk their lives for an ungrateful, disrespectful public, because of a lack of liability protection and the threat of antagonistic prosecuting attorneys. Cities may not have the money to pay the next generation of cops.
Tomorrow’s “high-security” buildings may have armed guards rather than video cameras and electronic locks. Suburban developments may have walls and guarded gates where you have to show ID to enter. (There go the HOA fees.)
In this dystopian future, you will either have to learn how to protect yourself or you will have to hire private security. (The elites are way ahead of us here.) There are plenty of countries where well-off people drive armored cars, have bodyguards, and live in walled communities or compounds. We could be there in just a couple of years.
