Run, Hide, Tell
December 18, 2015 8:17 AM   Subscribe

BBC: "[UK] Police have released a video telling people to "run, hide, tell" if they are caught up in a terrorist gun attack. The four-minute video advises on how to evacuate a building, where to hide, and what information to tell police. The video says people's first reaction if they hear gunshots should be to run - as long as it will not put them in greater danger - and not to let others' indecision "slow you down"."
posted by marienbad (81 comments total) 14 users marked this as a favorite
 
and not to let others' indecision "slow you down"."

This. Do not even let the instructions of your boss or your superiors slow you down.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 8:25 AM on December 18, 2015 [12 favorites]


The US version is "Run, Hide, Fight."
posted by Pater Aletheias at 8:27 AM on December 18, 2015 [9 favorites]


I saw a similar video at my work. It does have a bit more of an American bent, starting with the title: Run, Hide, Fight
posted by Badgermann at 8:28 AM on December 18, 2015 [1 favorite]


And I was a minute too slow.
posted by Badgermann at 8:29 AM on December 18, 2015 [4 favorites]


and not to let others' indecision "slow you down".

Trample that granny!
posted by Paul Slade at 8:39 AM on December 18, 2015 [10 favorites]


You don't have to be faster than the bear, just faster than the guy next to you.
posted by AndrewInDC at 8:42 AM on December 18, 2015 [15 favorites]


And I was a minute too slow.

You let others' indecision get to you, didn't you?
posted by GenjiandProust at 8:42 AM on December 18, 2015 [35 favorites]


and not to let others' indecision "slow you down".

“Because! Because, as the leader...if I die...then all hope is lost!”
posted by Fizz at 8:44 AM on December 18, 2015 [4 favorites]


...and not to let others' indecision "slow you down"."

I don't have to outrun the bear. I only have to outrun you.
posted by Thorzdad at 8:44 AM on December 18, 2015


Shudder at the initial shock, then stand on your own two feet... good fucking advice.
posted by uraniumwilly at 8:44 AM on December 18, 2015


Remember, these are dangerous times! Thank you everyone, be careful driving home on a crowded highway reading the Kindle in your lap and eating a Egg McMuffin in one hand.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 8:47 AM on December 18, 2015 [21 favorites]


Upon reading the transcript to "Run, Hide, Fight", I suddenly wanted to take the exact same script and splice it to different footage; so this
Narrator: But sometimes, bad people do bad things.

(We cut back to the sidewalk outside, as we continue to see the man in black approaching the building. As he walks, a series of facts are displayed on the screen.)

Caption: 21 killed, 19 wounded at a fast food restaurant. 32 killed, 25 wounded while attending class.

Narrator: Their motivations are different.

Caption: 6 killed, 13 wounded at a shopping center.

(The man in black starts up the steps to the glass front doors of the building.)

Caption: 13 killed, 29 wounded while at work.

Narrator: The warning signs may vary, but the devastating effects are the same.

(The man in black opens the front door of the building. As he enters, we see a notice on the glass prohibiting the carrying of concealed handguns in the building under penalty of trespass.)

Narrator: ... and unfortunately, you need to be prepared for the worst.
Would become this:
Narrator: But sometimes, bad people do bad things.

(We cut to stock footage of Congress. A series of facts are displayed on the screen.)

Caption: Assault Weapons Ban of 2013 defeated in Congress with a vote of 40 in favor to 60 against

Narrator: Their motivations are different.

(Still images of Congressmen smiling and posing with NRA members.)

Caption: Federal Congressional Candidates received a collective total of $810,462.00 from the NRA in 2014

Narrator: The warning signs may vary, but the devastating effects are the same.

(A series of clips from reportage on Sandy Hook, San Bernadino, etc..)

Narrator: ... and unfortunately, you need to be prepared for the worst.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:51 AM on December 18, 2015 [64 favorites]




curse you Fizz
posted by poffin boffin at 8:51 AM on December 18, 2015 [1 favorite]


I don't have to outrun the bear. I only have to outrun you.

Except terrorists generally aren't employing bears (unless you're talking about a rogue branch of the Russian Bear Army).
posted by filthy light thief at 8:57 AM on December 18, 2015 [2 favorites]


EmpressCallipygos: Upon reading the transcript to "Run, Hide, Fight", I suddenly wanted to take the exact same script and splice it to different footage

Do it! (Assuming you have sufficient time and skills) make this happen!
posted by filthy light thief at 8:58 AM on December 18, 2015 [3 favorites]


People know from my other comments that I'm never going to own a gun or be the Die Hard guy who saves the day WITH BULLETS, but when in public gatherings I do catch myself looking for possible cover, or heavy objects to use as improvised weapons (landscaping rocks, metal chairs, etc.) in case of an emergency. It's horrible that we've come to a place where that's a part of my mental calculus when I'm at, say, my kid's Christmas concert, but such are the times we live in. (For the record, there was a big rolling metal rack for storing folding chairs alongside the main entrance. Sprint around edge of gym behind bleachers, rush up at 90 degree angle to entrance, barrel into metal rack and slam it into the side of the shooter. Or die trying I suppose.)

I would much rather live in a culture where guns weren't all over the damn place in stores and worshiped more than Jesus, but I can't control that no matter how much I donate to anti-NRA charities.
posted by freecellwizard at 8:59 AM on December 18, 2015 [2 favorites]


Do it! (Assuming you have sufficient time and skills) make this happen!

Alas, I don't have the tools. But I can look up stuff for anyone who has film editing experience and wants facts to put into the captions...
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:00 AM on December 18, 2015 [1 favorite]


Every time I get on a plane, I look for the closest exit, like I'm told.

Then I size up the competition.

"Oh, that guy's toast, and that guy's not strong enough to open the door, so I'll have to go through him, and wow, I hope that idiot doesn't stop for their obviously expensive bag..."
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 9:00 AM on December 18, 2015 [2 favorites]


I'm going to stick with good old DUCK! And COVER!

It's never let me down.
posted by Naberius at 9:03 AM on December 18, 2015 [3 favorites]


The fire marshall who conducted evacuation drills at a job I had for a few years always wrapped things up with a "little-known way to escape an attack at a supermarket" tip - he suggested that if you were in a supermarket and someone started shooting up the place, you should flee through the employee door by the meat counter, "because most people don't think of it and that's where the freight entrance is." I heard this tip about seven times over a period of 2 years and it is now drilled into my head.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:05 AM on December 18, 2015 [15 favorites]


Eponysterical.
posted by Talez at 9:08 AM on December 18, 2015 [3 favorites]


I remember reading somewhere (might have been here) that in a situation of sudden danger people break down into three groups. The significant majority, about 7 out of 10, flee the area as quickly and efficiently as possible, usually helping others when they can do so without significant delay. About 2 out of 10 people panic and lose their judgment. And the remaining 1 out of 10 runs toward the danger and behaves helpfully or unhelpfully according to their ability. This is where people like the "I Kicked Burning Terrorist So Hard in Balls That I Tore a Tendon in My Foot" guy come from.

It's definitely possible to train people to act differently from their instinctive tendency, but it takes significant time and effort. So it's good that this focuses on helping people follow their instinct more efficiently rather than trying to nag them into intensely anti-instinctive acts of heroism and guilting them when they don't. WHY YES, BEN CARSON, I AM LOOKING AT YOU.
posted by ostro at 9:09 AM on December 18, 2015 [5 favorites]


Every time I get on a plane, I look for the closest exit, like I'm told.

Then I size up the competition.


The sizing is a little different if you're married or if you have children.
posted by uraniumwilly at 9:11 AM on December 18, 2015 [6 favorites]


People know from my other comments that I'm never going to own a gun or be the Die Hard guy who saves the day WITH BULLETS, but when in public gatherings I do catch myself looking for possible cover, or heavy objects to use as improvised weapons (landscaping rocks, metal chairs, etc.) in case of an emergency.

We see several theatre shows a month, and I do this as soon as I sit down.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 9:15 AM on December 18, 2015


he suggested that if you were in a supermarket and someone started shooting up the place, you should flee through the employee door by the meat counter

And now I wish, not for the first time, there was a meat counter at my office.
posted by Celsius1414 at 9:21 AM on December 18, 2015 [21 favorites]


Except terrorists generally aren't employing bears

Well they oughta. Bears are terrifying.
posted by Spathe Cadet at 9:31 AM on December 18, 2015 [4 favorites]


I've been mulling over all week how I hate living in a culture where even though I'm not afraid to go to the biggest movie of the year (decade?) on opening night at a late show, I've been reminded several times this week that I should be afraid or wary or whateve. That I should check the exits and watch for suspicious activity and all the rest. Seriously, fuck that! I want to get excited about a big event I can share with my fellow nerds and non-nerds alike, not have to run tactical scenario planning in my head beforehand. Not have to temper my excitement. It's all good, sensible advice, and better safe than sorry in the unlikely event of something happening, I just hate, hate, hate that it's necessary. It's becoming more and more important for me to speak up and do everything in my limited power to do something about the gun culture in the US. I'm so sick of it.
posted by TwoWordReview at 9:40 AM on December 18, 2015 [7 favorites]


People know from my other comments that I'm never going to own a gun or be the Die Hard guy who saves the day WITH BULLETS, but when in public gatherings I do catch myself looking for possible cover, or heavy objects to use as improvised weapons (landscaping rocks, metal chairs, etc.) in case of an emergency.

I'm always in the back at church, so when the gunmen storm in and go down the center aisle, I'm going to throw hymnals and Bibles at the back of their heads to knock 'em out.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 9:41 AM on December 18, 2015 [2 favorites]


Every time I get on a plane, I look for the closest exit, like I'm told.

Then I size up the competition.


I know this is a serious discussion but when I was younger (and to some extent even at my current age) I would play this game whenever I was in a classroom. I'd look at the exits and imagine what would happen if two ninjas came into the room. And how the scenario would play out?

- Who would die right away?
- Who would I consider sacrificing?
- Who is worth teaming up with based on their potential intellect, brawn, resourcefulness, etc.?
- What could be used as weapons?
- Would it be better to stay and fight or try to escape?

I still do this sometimes when I'm extremely bored. Many a 50 minute lecture during my undergrad was spent on this intellectual exercise.
posted by Fizz at 9:42 AM on December 18, 2015 [6 favorites]


The film says: "When the police arrive they will be armed. The police may be unable to distinguish you from the attacker. They may treat you firmly. Do everything they tell you to do. Don't make any sudden movements or gestures that may be perceived as a threat."

So Brits in a terrorist scenario are being advised to act like:

a) All Americans in a routine traffic stop or in the privacy of their own home if said home is thought to harbour drugs or criminals even if it doesn't. (Note: American cops may not respond as mildly as British cops)

b) Brown and black Americans in an even wider scope of situations. (Note from point a applies here, too.)

(Speaking as Canadian, I recognize that our own cops can be pretty trigger-happy, too, although they have a way to go to equal this.)
posted by maudlin at 9:44 AM on December 18, 2015 [1 favorite]


Remember seeing a documentary about survivors of various disasters relating that a significant percentage of people basically froze up and subsequently died.
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 9:44 AM on December 18, 2015 [2 favorites]


Remember, these are dangerous times! Thank you everyone, be careful driving home on a crowded highway reading the Kindle in your lap and eating a Egg McMuffin in one hand.

I get this, I do, but we also hear about a new fucking mass shooting almost every day -- and almost certainly every week. Many of them happen in places like where I spend the biggest portion of my day: Bog-standard office buildings, college campuses. I find myself in different parts of my office ruminating over the fastest exit route should someone start shooting this very second, and I find myself doing that multiple times a day.

I know a lot of the drama is manufactured by politicians or by the media, but it just makes sense to think about these things, to have a basic set of rules in your head for what to do and what not to do in an active shooter situation. You can make light of it, but this is becoming the reality we live in. It's with me every day, in any case, and I don't think I'm especially melodramatic.
posted by mudpuppie at 9:50 AM on December 18, 2015 [5 favorites]


Except terrorists generally aren't employing bears

Have you even seen some of the documentation you have to file if you want to employ bears? Much easier to just radicalize them with promises of bottomless jars of hunny.
posted by srboisvert at 10:13 AM on December 18, 2015 [9 favorites]


We had to watch the "run, hide fight" video at work, and as I commented to my boss, "This is going to get a lot of people killed." He, an ex-EMT, police officer, and civil defence guy, agreed, but as he put it, at least it should help to keep those who don't realize how bad the advice is from doing something worse, and will help relieve anxiety in those who believe the video's approach would actually protect them in such an emergency. In reality, we're in a skyscraper, if there's terrorists, they'd be in the lobby where all the elevators and staircases end up, and running would just lead you straight to them, not to mention opening the doors to the publically accessible corridor with the elevators and stairs would let any such terrorists in.
posted by Blackanvil at 10:16 AM on December 18, 2015 [1 favorite]


It's with me every day, in any case, and I don't think I'm especially melodramatic.

Comments like this confirm for me that we are living in the dystopian future that the 1980s feared. My moment of clarity about this was, after a presentation by the university police chief in an academic senate meeting, we were given handy, pocket-sized print versions of the FBI's Active Shooter Event Quick Reference Guide. (So I can, you know, have it in my wallet and handy when I need it, and because the first step in "Run, Hide, Fight" is "dig through your wallet for that little pamphlet the police chief handed out to read through what I'm supposed to do while some asshole is randomly shooting up my campus".)

I'm completely serious: that anyone, in our normal, everyday lives, is regularly thinking about escape routes and ad hoc self-defense strategies, means that we are now living in the dystopian future we feared. The dystopia is not external, it is internal: when our waking, moment-to-moment consciousness is affected to the degree that many consider the possibility of encountering random mass murder by shooting on a near-daily basis, and how to react to it if so, then this is most definitely not the world I grew up in.

These thoughts never entered my mind, ever in my whole life until now. I have never felt randomly, senselessly unsafe no matter where I might be (barring obvious stupid choices), in my home country of the U.S., ever. But now I do. So the terrorists are winning? Lunacy and emotional & spiritual sickness are epidemic? Whatever it is, the shark has been jumped, the rubicon has been crossed, the whatever other metaphor you might want to use to best illustrate the tipping point we have passed, has been passed: we have lived into a nightmare future. Our individual, internal worlds are being invaded, and basic ideas and feelings and assumptions that allow us to have civilized, free societies are disappearing. I don't fear so much the U.S. government becoming literally fascist, or other external oppression: I'm really fearful that I'm looking at people in line at Target and thinking 'that guy looks like he'd be a mass shooter. Better stay wary of that guy.'*

It used to be said that you can take everything from a person except their thoughts, that the inside of your head is your own (THERE ARE FOUR LIGHTS). Well, I still have all of my stuff and most of my freedoms but my thoughts and feelings have been hijacked and invaded and I'm really angry about it, but have no idea what to do.

* This seems to me a necessary precondition for the other, external bad things to happen, and the more pervasively this precondition spreads, the more likely we will tip over into something externally awful, too (paging President-elect Trump or Cruz....).
posted by LooseFilter at 10:24 AM on December 18, 2015 [29 favorites]


Comments like this confirm for me that we are living in the dystopian future that the 1980s feared.

Last week a 3 year old child fell from a second story window at a school during a lockdown drill. Think about that for a moment. When I was three I practiced and executed napping and nose-picking.
posted by srboisvert at 10:30 AM on December 18, 2015 [5 favorites]


Except terrorists generally aren't employing bears

Thanks to the USA WE HATE TERRORIST BEARS Act. Also this rock.
posted by AndrewInDC at 10:37 AM on December 18, 2015 [1 favorite]


Remember seeing a documentary about survivors of various disasters relating that a significant percentage of people basically froze up and subsequently died.

Deep Survival is an excellent book about this subject. "They are the ones who can perceive their situation clearly; they can plan and take correct action."
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 10:38 AM on December 18, 2015 [5 favorites]


This sort of video should be part of a series of educational videos about things that are just as likely to happen:
"Sit, Squish, Float: What to Expect if You're Chosen to Be An Astronaut"
"You Ought to Get Different Friends: How to Survive a Fireworks Accident"
"Dun Dun Dun Dun Dun Dun: Shark Attacks and You"
"Isn't She Lovely: How to Suck Up to Mary Ellen Carter After She Wins the Big Lotto Prize"
posted by Mary Ellen Carter at 10:42 AM on December 18, 2015 [16 favorites]


Is it really terrible that I was sort of surprised there were no shootings at the Star Wars premiere last night?
posted by desjardins at 10:48 AM on December 18, 2015 [1 favorite]


we are living in the dystopian future that the 1980s feared

. . . foreshadowed.
 
posted by Herodios at 10:49 AM on December 18, 2015 [2 favorites]


This sort of video should be part of a series of educational videos about things that are just as likely to happen:

“Hi, I'm Troy McClure. You might remember me from such self-help videos as "The Exit, It's Right There, But Are You Fast Enough?", and "Can I use Deborah as shield?”
posted by Fizz at 10:50 AM on December 18, 2015 [32 favorites]


They held a lock down drill at my son's school. He's 12. He's in the autism classroom. They realized that these kids do not hide or be quiet during stressful situations well. That if these kids were in an active shooter situation, they and everyone with them is in danger.

I really hate that I had to look up strategies thought up by other special needs parents after drills like this and consulting with paramedics I know.

Here's what I had to email the school back with:
1. Replace classroom doors of special needs rooms from doors with windows to solid wood.
2. Provide hard wood wedge doorstops to barricade the door.
3. Stock the rooms with tourniquets because they save lives after gun shots.

I feel super gross and angry now.
posted by 80 Cats in a Dog Suit at 10:55 AM on December 18, 2015 [10 favorites]


Metafilter: Weaponized semi-automatic armor-piercing Bears.
posted by blue_beetle at 10:59 AM on December 18, 2015 [1 favorite]


I know one person who was in a bar when a man with a shotgun opened fire, killing one and wounding dozens, and I knew a woman who was killed on an assault on a Jewish center. I feel like that's a lot of people to know who were in mass shootings, and it makes me feel like it is common enough that I should know what to do when the moment comes that I start hearing the shots. And yet ...

And yet I wish it wasn't my responsibility to keep myself safe from the fact that it's unbelievably easy to get tools of mass death in this country. And I don't really feel like this video was all that helpful, because, for instance, Sandy Hook took five minutes. It feels like it's more about dumb luck, about just not being in the room when the guy pulls out the guns.

I don't want to be responsible for making sure that someone doesn't indiscriminately shoot me down. I want to be in a world that makes it harder for that to happen.
posted by maxsparber at 11:04 AM on December 18, 2015 [7 favorites]


I should add that I know this video is British and about terrorism, but those thoughts were boiling around in my head because this is the closest thing I have seen to advice on how not to get killed in a mass shooting.
posted by maxsparber at 11:06 AM on December 18, 2015 [2 favorites]


I went a concert the other day and I spent a good 5 minutes zoning out and thinking about this big crowd of people and how it would go down/how it went down at Bataclan. They'd come in through the back. Start shooting.

Would I run for it? Hide under the chairs? Remember to put my phone on silent because, in Paris, they were shooting people who's phones rang.

I never mentioned it to anyone there, but they are these crazy intrusive thoughts that, for better or for worse, and no matter how irrational and unlikely such an event is, are in my brain. It's like a terrible form of advertising.

It's fucking awful.
posted by cacofonie at 11:38 AM on December 18, 2015 [3 favorites]


The comments here about people feeling like they always need to be aware of escape plans and using nearby items for self-defense and how horrible and unfair this is sound a lot like the everyday experiences of women. The sense of vulnerability and trying to mitigate that vulnerability is awful and I'm sorry that anyone has to feel it. At the same time, I wonder if I can use this example to explain my experiences as a woman to the men in my life.
posted by mcduff at 11:48 AM on December 18, 2015 [11 favorites]


As a six-foot-tall dude, I'm calling on every other 6'+ dude to join me in throwing away their firearm fantasies and embrace the Hug Hero Fantasy. (you are still more likely to choke to death on a strip of bacon than be involved in a terrorist incident)

As a racial minority, I am more freaked the fuck out by the every day violence inflicted upon us white men than I am about the remote possibility of terrorism. If big burly white dudes were approaching me and hugging me regularly, you can be sure I would be having lots of public panic attacks.
posted by Conspire at 11:51 AM on December 18, 2015 [2 favorites]


Kids of the 80's undoubtedly had this flashback to the Emmanuel Lewis anti-molestation PSA, which takes a very similar approach.
posted by dr_dank at 11:55 AM on December 18, 2015


The comments here about people feeling like they always need to be aware of escape plans and using nearby items for self-defense and how horrible and unfair this is sound a lot like the everyday experiences of women. The sense of vulnerability and trying to mitigate that vulnerability is awful and I'm sorry that anyone has to feel it. At the same time, I wonder if I can use this example to explain my experiences as a woman to the men in my life.
posted by mcduff at 11:48 AM on December 18 [3 favorites −] Favorite added! [!]

As a Domestic Violence survivor who lived for years with the threat my children would be kidnapped and taken to another country, I lived this life for years, in addition to the 'normal' fear/vigilance faced by women and girls.

Adjusting to the reality of terrorism for me was greatly helped by having seen 'The Battle of Algiers'.

Very glassy, open, minimalist architecture scares me.
posted by Katjusa Roquette at 12:03 PM on December 18, 2015 [2 favorites]


Comments like this confirm for me that we are living in the dystopian future that the 1980s feared.

The first time I caught myself feeling all dystopia-terrorized as an adult it was in a movie theater after 9/11. "Now now, don't get melodramatic, people aren't going to shoot up a movie theater, stop trying to make your life seem more exciting..."
posted by aydeejones at 12:08 PM on December 18, 2015


activeshooter.lasd.org is the Los Angeles Sheriff's information site, with a similar video. I watched the video a few weeks ago, and it's pretty intense--but, sadly, it's probably helpful.
posted by jjwiseman at 12:45 PM on December 18, 2015


Comments like this confirm for me that we are living in the dystopian future that the 1980s feared.

Absolutely this. Where is the video about accidentally drowning in your own bath? Or death from a bee sting? Both of these things kill more people in Britain than terrorists on average. The purpose is to instil fear, specifically fear of each other, and - by extension - unquestioning support for endless bombing campaigns that create more terrorists than they kill. Only the government can protect you from the threats that are lurking around each and every corner.

I thought Scarfolk was supposed to be satire.
posted by Acey at 12:48 PM on December 18, 2015 [5 favorites]


I have never felt randomly, senselessly unsafe no matter where I might be (barring obvious stupid choices), in my home country of the U.S., ever.

Respectfully, this is a pretty significant marker of privilege, and your experience that 'fear is new' may not be as broadly generalizable as you think.
posted by telegraph at 12:49 PM on December 18, 2015 [3 favorites]


This sort of video should be part of a series of educational videos about things that are just as likely to happen:

It occurred to me, that maybe I have a slightly distorted viewpoint, because it's been a whole two months since the last time my workplace has had a "shelter in place" alert while the police talked down the guy who maybe had a gun in front of the building where my wife works.

I was fine- my building is a secure facility, so I could keep working comfortably while watching for text alerts. My wife was the one who had to huddle in an inside room with the other office staff, waiting for gunshots.

It turned out well, this time. Nobody got shot this time, just like the earlier SIH incidents in the Spring. It barely made the news. There's always next time of course- Spring gets stressful.

So anyway, I'm so glad you work and live in a place where you don't have to worry about things like that, where you think it's all a joke. Forgive me for not seeing how witty you were in your comment.
posted by happyroach at 1:13 PM on December 18, 2015


Respectfully, this is a pretty significant marker of privilege, and your experience that 'fear is new' may not be as broadly generalizable as you think.

I absolutely recognize it as a privileged position, but thank you for pointing out the blindingly obvious (I'll be sure to wear my Badge of Privilege more prominently, just so everyone always knows, in every comment I make, that I recognize the unearned advantages I have had and continue to enjoy).

But my privileged position is shared by millions and millions of Americans who have never lived in this reality, and those who have suffered with this as their regular lives would likely agree that we are not aspiring to the worst possible society for everyone. We SHOULD be worried and angry about this loss of privilege, and instead redouble efforts to extend this privilege of peace and security more widely.
posted by LooseFilter at 1:43 PM on December 18, 2015 [5 favorites]


I'm so glad you work and live in a place where you don't have to worry about things like that, where you think it's all a joke. Forgive me for not seeing how witty you were in your comment.

While a fair criticism of a joke in perhaps poor taste, that comment read much more to me like someone laughing to keep from screaming. Humor helps us deal with dark shit, yo.

Also, I hesitate to say this because it wasn't my comment and the response wasn't directed at me, but good god, the passive-aggressive tone there is grating--if you find someone's humor offensive, just say so directly.
posted by LooseFilter at 1:47 PM on December 18, 2015 [1 favorite]


I absolutely recognize it as a privileged position, but thank you for pointing out the blindingly obvious

In the meanwhile, it was a bit of an a-ha! moment for me, and one that I found useful.
posted by maxsparber at 1:56 PM on December 18, 2015 [1 favorite]


I'll be sure to wear my Badge of Privilege more prominently, just so everyone always knows, in every comment I make, that I recognize the unearned advantages I have had and continue to enjoy

I mean, you don't have to acknowledge this in like every comment, but when we're talking about fear there's nothing wrong with someone pointing out that this kind of fear of violence has been reality for a lot of people for a long time. People in the US, people in other countries, some people who frequent Metafilter, etc.

It's not a way of shaming me/you/whoever else this didn't immediately occur to, it's just pointing out that we're not experiencing a new reality, we've joined what is already reality for many people. It should absolutely change, for everyone, and we should be angry about it, but I thought it was a useful reframing.
posted by Solon and Thanks at 2:10 PM on December 18, 2015 [3 favorites]


when in public gatherings I do catch myself looking for possible cover, or heavy objects to use as improvised weapons (landscaping rocks, metal chairs, etc.) in case of an emergency

Same here. For me, it's often more like "suppose this plane crashed on a desert island. How would I organize the group?" or "suppose our church got surrounded by hostage takers. What would our best strategy be?" It's an interesting way to stay entertained and polish up people-observation skills.
posted by salvia at 2:21 PM on December 18, 2015


I thought it was a useful reframing.

I suppose I tire of having my privilege pointed out to me all the time whenever I don't explicitly mention it. It seems to happen a lot here lately, and I am very much not a person who speaks from privilege ignorantly, nor assumes that my experience of the world scales to everyone. Of any website I read, this one seems to take this as read too, given how well-informed most conversations are, and I'm surprised to see a couple of comments that find it useful, actually.
posted by LooseFilter at 2:22 PM on December 18, 2015


I would just like to hop in to express my supernova-hot rage at the fact that my kid's school has lockdown drills and that this fact is usually met with "Well, what can you do?" instead of "FUCK THAT LET'S MARCH ON THE NRA WITH PITCHFORKS AND TORCHES 'CAUSE WE'RE TIRED OF THIS SHIT."
posted by RakDaddy at 2:44 PM on December 18, 2015 [9 favorites]


...they are these crazy intrusive thoughts that, for better or for worse, and no matter how irrational and unlikely such an event is, are in my brain. It's like a terrible form of advertising. It's like a terrible form of advertising.

Or collective PTSD.
posted by mudpuppie at 4:44 PM on December 18, 2015 [1 favorite]


This is unreal. I mean, I cannot wrap my head around a world where I just watched videos like these.

Do any of the rest of you just feel like you are living in some kind of action movie? Or a parody of one?
posted by St. Alia of the Bunnies at 5:44 PM on December 18, 2015 [2 favorites]


As someone who lived in London through the 1980s and 1990s I find it odd that we're suddenly supposed to fold when faced by the usually quite vague threat of Islamists. Given the kind of terrorist attacks that regularly arose then. We didn't change our lives that much in the face of the dedicated psychopaths of the IRA,* who were regularly murdering people around the country, so why now?

*Litter bins on the tube and Sinn Fein spokesmen on the TV excepted, of course.
posted by Grangousier at 6:05 PM on December 18, 2015 [10 favorites]


"Run, Hide, Tell" versus "Run, Hide, Fight" is one of those small but rather telling cultural differences. I'm sure both would claim to be evidence-based, though I am guessing telling probably proves effective more often than fighting in real world examples.
posted by Dip Flash at 6:32 PM on December 18, 2015


As someone who lived in London through the 1980s and 1990s


The threats haven't changed, the government strategy towards its own citizens has
posted by Reasonably Everything Happens at 6:47 PM on December 18, 2015 [1 favorite]


The tonal difference between the videos is remarkable.
posted by tavegyl at 7:26 PM on December 18, 2015


These things that have come up on Metafilter or generally part of the zietgeist recently:

-don't eat the shrimp it was made by slaves
-the police will lie about their illegal surveillance when making up the story of how they caught you
-be ready, attackers might be here any moment

They all really do signal the end of civilization, if you think about it. Our collective ability as citizens to protect and regulate ourselves such that we can enjoy a higher quality of life. Watch, that solidarity and security is falling away in front of our eyes.
posted by Meatbomb at 7:27 PM on December 18, 2015 [4 favorites]


We've learned to weaponize anger at someone encouraging hugs though, so it can't be all bad?
posted by Divine_Wino at 9:41 PM on December 18, 2015 [1 favorite]


The members of The Eagles of Death Metal said a few times that the reason so many people at their concert died wasn't because they froze up but that they refused to abandon wounded friends.
posted by bonobothegreat at 10:57 PM on December 18, 2015 [1 favorite]


I see the news. I know about the shootings, mass and otherwise. I see my nation devolving ever further into panic and the hatred of the Other that fear brings. We arm ourselves and dream of being heroes, or we continually update our mental maps showing the nearest bolt-hole. And mine is one of the few states with unregistered concealed carry -- and a proud Wild West history.

But I can’t participate in our national dread. I’m going with Garrison Keillor’s advice: “Sometimes you have to look reality in the eye, and deny it.” Or, for fellow Douglas Adams fans, all of this is Somebody Else’s Problem.

I’m not saying I’m being smart. The refusal to adapt to changing circumstances is a good way to become extinct. But I don’t have enough spoons to be concerned for my life regarding people with guns. Looking out for bad drivers and not falling in the shower takes everything I’ve got. So I’m opting out of the dystopia and will simply hope it notices I’m a neutral.

To paraphrase Thomas Jefferson, I am resolved to die a free man rather than live slave to the culture of fear.
posted by bryon at 2:54 AM on December 19, 2015 [11 favorites]


As a high school teacher, we have these lockdown drills.

Responding to a code and I can't tell you what it is, but you wouldn't know it's an emergency code and it's not the code we use in the drill. Let's just say that over the school loudspeakers there would be an announcement like, "Mrs. Green please go to the gym," (but that's not it) which means LOCKDOWN.

We hear this, and teachers are supposed to:

1. immediately find our attendance and see who is in the room and who is missing while simultaneously
2. shut off the lights, lock the door if we can (we can't), tell the kids to get in a corner where they can't be seen by the windows OR the corridor (this area does not exist in my classroom),
3. tell the kids to SHUT OFF THEIR CELL PHONES AND BE QUIET AS FUCK
4. slip a green card under the door and into the hall that means all the kids are present and accounted for or a red card which means we're MISSING A KID
5. sit quietly until we get a specific CODED message giving us the all clear.

So. You know what would really happen if there was an active shooting at my school? We would all be shot.
posted by kinetic at 5:49 AM on December 19, 2015 [4 favorites]


Yah, "paging Mr. Red" (or Dr. Red at a hospital) has been around forever.
 
posted by Herodios at 6:09 AM on December 19, 2015


Yeah, kinetic. I am a substitute teacher, and some schools don't give you keys to the rooms you're in. For years, I've been telling them after lockdown drills that since I don't have a key, they should consider all the students in my classroom to be dead. One time I quickly herded my kids into another classroom that had a staff member with a key and got serious attitude from him. Like it was my fault I wanted to treat the drill like it was the real deal.

One rural school in my district--I'm not sure they *ever* lock the classroom doors, since I've never seen anyone use a key there at all. The whole thing is stupid. I do think about it a lot though, since drills happen—usually without warning for me as a sub—and herding a bunch of kindergartners into the class bathroom, since it has a locked door, is the only option a lot of times.

Also, I cannot believe that so many new schools still use the design requiring windows either in the doors or next to them, since we're all instructed to cover them up with paper and tape during a drill. Most teachers just keep them covered all the time, so why do they exist in the first place?
posted by RedEmma at 10:33 AM on December 19, 2015 [1 favorite]


Ha, Dexter music. Season 9: Dex snopes out serial terror planners and does the Dex deed. It could segue right along with the end of season 8 beard.
posted by buzzman at 10:48 AM on December 19, 2015


My friend's mother died in a mass shooting. My roommate was right there when someone opened fire in Clackamas Town Center a couple of years ago (he was working). When I saw Star Wars the other night there were cops everywhere, telling people to get in line and corralling people into the theater. When the previews played I got a sudden fear of someone opening fire in the theater and what I'd do in that situation.

The fear is real.
posted by gucci mane at 7:21 PM on December 19, 2015


Also, in a shooting situation I wouldn't leave my wounded friends either. I don't want to die alone, that's now how I want to go out. Shot in the back, crying, thinking about my loved ones. Fuck that.
posted by gucci mane at 7:23 PM on December 19, 2015


I found the "run/hide/fight" versus "run/hide/tell" difference notable, too, but to be fair when I recieved the former training the point wasn't to encourage fighting. It was to emphasize that fighting is the very last resort, and should only be considered after you've tried and failed to both run and hide.
posted by Solon and Thanks at 1:53 PM on December 22, 2015


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