The July 30, 2012
Denver Post has an article in which they describe how an instructor at the American Military University in DC has trained his children:
Even now that his daughter is in her 20s, Jeffrey Hawkins still springs a familiar quiz on her when the two are out together in a restaurant.
"We'll be chatting about this or that," said Hawkins, "and then I'll stop. I'll say, 'OK, what's your plan?' And she'll know exactly what I'm talking about. She'll say, 'Dad there are three exits... One behind you. One to our left, and one through the kitchen.' "
" 'OK, and what if that doesn't work? What would you do?' "
" 'I would take this chair, throw it through the window and run.'"
It's not about being paranoid, said Hawkins, a public safety and security industry veteran. It is about realizing that "things can happen," even in public places once deemed safe.
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Amazingly enough, when I was young, this would have been a sign of paranoia--to worry about something as unlikely as a random act of mass murder. Now, it's just commonsense.
People should do that anyways regardless of mass killings. Fire, earthquake, etc are also other reasons to know where things are and how to get out.
ReplyDeleteI don't do this with my daughter nearly as often as I should, and I don't interrupt any conversation, but I nonetheless do this every so often with my 7-year-old daughter.
ReplyDeleteAnd, while murder or robbery is usually on my mind, the *biggest* threat I imagine is usually fire blocking the doors.
Life is dangerous, and murderers are only one factor of that danger. We should regularly go through these exercises every so often, just to make sure that we're prepared for the worst. (I actually didn't start doing this until I took CERT training, where I was taught that I should know where every fire extinguisher is in every building I happen to be in.)