On Saturday, I had to pick up a honey extractor in a city where a “No Kings” protest was scheduled to take place. Not the best day to go to the city, but I had scheduled the extractor rental well before the ICE riots broke out, and I needed to pick it up that day or I would miss the opportunity to extract my spring honey.
It is a small city in a conservative county, but it has some left-leaning tendencies. I decided going was worth the risk, but I took some steps to protect myself, just in case.
First, I researched all I could about the local protest. I learned when and where it was to be held. Because I had been to that area before, I determined could avoid the protest.
Second, I got there early, before the protest had formed. I was gone an hour before it started.
Third, I made sure my body armor was in the truck and that my first aid kit was up to date. Then I packed some extras:
- A gas mask and filter.
- My Mossberg shockwave 12-gauge shotgun. I debated bringing a full-size semi-auto shotgun, but I went with the shockwave because it would be easier to handle inside a vehicle. I also added two boxes of shells.
- Extra bottles of water.
- I also added a balaclava and a baseball cap to my EDC bag. If they are going to be masked, so am I.
Things I Didn’t Do
There were a number of additional things I could have done, but I decided not to because I didn’t want to look like an aggressor. Better not to stick out like a sore thumb. Besides, this is a small city, not Los Angeles or New York. I had never heard of a protest there becoming a riot, and I doubt the Proud Boys would show up there. My expectation was that all the people who wanted to riot would go to the bigger city an hour away.
In the end, the protest was a non-issue, at least for me. I didn’t see the protesters, but while I was in the store, we heard honking. Apparently, it was people honking at other people in cars with flags and signs. We could not tell whether the honks were to support the signs or against them.
Guns and Crowds
It was not my intent to open fire in a crowd of protesters, and I didn’t plan to be near the crowd. I wasn’t even planning to go to the places protesters would park. But I’m a prepper, and I like to be prepared. I thought the extra firepower was a reasonable precaution.
I also didn’t plan to hit anyone with my truck. My line in the sand was to resort to gunfire only if protesters broke or smashed my windows or tried to drag me out of the vehicle. I consider that a serious enough threat to warrant defense using a firearm. A pistol allows me to engage one person on the vehicle at a time or multiple people sequentially. I expect a round of buckshot would be more likely to be drop someone than a 9mm, and the sight of the shotgun might send attackers fleeing. I brought it to be a deterrent and a fight stopper.
It is far better to have a gun and never need it than it is to need a gun and not have one. Substitute something else for the word “gun,” and you have a pretty good description of my prepping philosophy. Better to have extra storage food and not need it than to go hungry. Better to refill your gas tank early than to run out of fuel in an emergency. You get the idea.
Post-Protest
Once I got clear of the city, I had breakfast on the way home and ran some errands. The highways were quiet.
After unloading the extractor, I pulled the honey off the hives in my out yard (the apiary that is not at my house). Only when I was unloading the car late that afternoon did I find the shotgun and two boxes of ammo. Oh yeah! I had already forgotten it was in there.
Hours after I returned home, my wife reported that according to Facebook posts there had been some violence at the protests resulting in injuries. No one was dragged out of their car, and unlike Utah, no one was shot.
Watching the news online and on the networks that evening, it seems coverage the protests was minimal. The Iranian bombardment of Israel was the top story, followed closely by the murder of a Minnesota democratic lawmaker and her husband by a colleague who posed as a police officer to gain to their home. (Yet another example of when being suspicious would have paid off.)
Prepping is More than Stockpiling
Many people think prepping means stockpiling food and supplies. That’s a good start, but being truly prepared includes the ability to look ahead, identify possible problems, and plan how to avoid or overcome them. In this case, I did some quick research, made an assessment and decided I could likely avoid the problem. Then, despite my planning, I made a contingency plan and I decided what I would do under specific circumstances. Because of my pre-trip investigation, none of those contingencies was necessary. Things might have been differently had I blindly gone to the city at 2 p.m. on Saturday.
If you are fully prepped with food, water and shelter, then you are to be congratulated. Your next step is to take your prepping to a higher level by setting the stage so you cab live your life and never need your preps.
