Saturday, September 19, 2009

Survival Lessons from the News

I came across many news stories today that practically jumped off the page as a warning to others. Among them:
  • Escaped Killer on Run in Washington State. Whoever had the bright idea to take a PSYCHOTIC KILLER to the fair for a day of fun needs to be fired. At the minimum. Lesson learned: even at the family friendly fair, a psychotic killer can be wandering around unrestrained and unsupervised thus becoming a threat to the public. Lessons learned: you must always be on your guard, even when the purpose of your activities is to have fun. You never know what kind of people you will be around when you are out in public so you need to be both wary and aware in order to keep yourself and your family safe.
  • Alleged Terror Plot Suspect Arrested. I don't know if this guy is a terrorist or not. Hopefully not but if he is, good going FBI. Anyway, this story caught my eye over the past couple of days because the guy kept going in for interviews with the FBI...for three days. Why he didn't refuse to meet with them and get a lawyer is beyond me. Lessons learned: even if you are innocent, your own words can bury you legally. If you are a suspect in any case, it is always a good idea to refuse to answer questions without a lawyer present.
  • Annie Le Murder. This girl was in a secure building and had even written an article on safety for the school's newspaper and she still ended up murdered. Lessons learned: workplace safety threats should not be overlooked. Even if you work in a secure facility and only come in contact with people you know, that still doesn't mean you are 100% safe. Always take personal safety seriously.
  • Debt Collector Harassment Contributed to Man's Death. Stress is a major contributor to many of the top ten health problems that Americans face. To have major life stressors such as health problems, financial problems, marriage problems, etc. exacerbated by harassing phone calls makes it even worse. Lessons learned: get out of debt, stay out of debt, and never become the victim of creditors again. Ever.
  • Plan to Ban Guns in Places Where Kids Go. The Mayor in this article is trying to ban guns in places around the city where kids may go. Fortunately he has run up against the law and it looks like this plan won't fly. Thank God. Lessons learned: if you don't stand up for your gun rights against people who are continually trying to chip away at them, you may wake up one day and you won't have any.

Reading the newspaper each day should be a lesson in scenario-based survival planning. When you read these articles, think: what happened? what was the negative outcome? how could the outcome have been prevented? what steps will I take in my own life to avoid becoming a victim of such an incident?

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