Do you think, if you were in a situation where your best strategy is to play dead, that you'd be any good at it? It probably will never happen to you, but if it does, it will be too late to look up how to do it. I'm seeing articles directed at actors who need to do death scenes:
Make sure to position your body in a way that looks dead instead of just asleep. Some ways to do this are to position your body in an unnatural way, bend your limbs so that they look broken, or twist your torso so that it looks like your back is broken.Breathing seems to be the hardest part. One choice is to hold your breath:
Holding your breath is a useful technique, because you will have no body movement at all. Most people can learn to hold their breath for 30 seconds to 1 minute. Practicing holding your breath for as long as possible, but do not hurt yourself. If you try holding your breath for too long, you may actually pass out....You can practice, and I would think you should practice how, after you've held your breath, to take the next breath without it being a deep breath. So it might be better, especially if you think you'll need to go longer than a minute, to go with "low, shallow breaths":
Keep your breaths low and shallow by slowly inhaling and exhaling small amounts of air at a time.... Visualize that you are breathing from... your neck and throat. Your lungs will still be working, but this visualization will minimize the movement of your chest cavity.... Focus only on your neck and throat. Pretend as if all of your air is coming from that area, and not from your chest or abdomen.
When you practice this technique, hold your hand on your throat area to direct your focus. Once you've directed your focus, you should be able to see and feel a difference in your body movements while breathing.
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Guy with a conceal-carry permit ran out to his car, got his gun and held it on the shooter. Hero.
I gotta say I would prefer practicing pulling out a gun and shooting back rather than playing dead. If I was going to pre-enact.
I knew commenters would say it's better to have a gun and use it. But the post offers a hypothetical in which it is provided that you are in a situation where you have determined that your best strategy is to play dead. I would like a discussion of the hypothetical, not the standard advice to arm yourself, which has been said many times in other posts. I've put this up as a new topic.
My comment was directed at the fact that this was new information. Yeah, playing dead is a good idea and it has worked many times. But tough to do.
Do you think, if you were in a situation where your best strategy is to play dead, that you'd be any good at it?
It happened to me, just this past Saturday night. And I was awesome at it! Of course, the steaks weren't quite so high ( they were actually medium rare). I was at a murder-mystery dinner, and it turned out I was the victim.
But it's the same principle.
Two suggestions-
Die face-down. The hardest part for most people to control would be facial expressions. Face-down will also help to hide the breathing.
While it is good to not look asleep, don't choose a position that requires muscle-effort to hold, nor one that is particularly painful. You don't know how long you will be in that position.
"...put my purse over my face so I couldn’t be seen... "
Made me think of an ostrich with its head in the sand.
Don't mean that as dismissive, just noting the idea that hiding one's face seems to give a hope of invisibility.
I am Laslo.
Putting an already dead and bloody body over you is the proven best strategy. Kill somebody, if you have to.
I think there's a possum gene in all of us that we don't know about because we don't have occasion to use it. In moments of extreme terror and mortal peril, it's very easy to shut your body down. I wouldn't have any trouble playing dead. I often have trouble convincing people that I exist.........This will be a one day story. The shooter was an immigrant, and the hero had a gun. Nothing to note, and nothing worthy of further discussion.
The usher did the right thing. Charge them and do a takedown. Very few handgun shooters can shoot straight.
Hildabeast says that when she plays dead, she holds one nostril closed and breaths like a Hindu.
How is it that in 2017 the prudent thing for churches is to patrol the parking lot during services? It happens in Omaha. Pretty soon the standard practice will be armed guards. I thought things were bad in the 70's when my 8 track player was stolen from my car during Mass,
Another option to "playing dead" would be to have a concealed weapon permit so you could shoot back.
Dead people don't talk. So don't talk.
I'm pretty sure I'd be a failure. A dead failure.
In Alaska you're supposed to play dead if you hike into a grizzly. I never thought I'd succeed at that one, either.
Heck, I can't even hold still if a bug lands on me.
Me, I don't know. My ex-wife, a natural.
No, I am not going to spend brain cells at my age figuring out how to play dead. Far better, in my mind, to play the hero, if it means saving some lives. Surviving is a question of prioritization in many cases, and there are dangers that seem much more probable than would require having to play dead.My Summer's accomplishment was a 3rd CCW permit (CO, AZ, MT). I am now covered for all the states that I normally travel through, except for WA, which was also planned this summer, but we just didn't make it there enough this year and the state apparently cut funding for a bit in that area, having squandered money elsewhere. Far better to spend time and effort on working for national reciprocity, which would allow us to safely travel to CA and OR. Decent chance this year in the House, and very likely, I think, to get 60 votes in the Senate, with so many Dems from states with permissive permit states up for reelection next year. Keep sending letters, etc.
The other thing that we are expecting to start doing is stockpiling food, etc. Friend over in ID is drying and storing bulk food right now. Helped out a bit last week with it, when I was over there to put his sailboat in the garage for the winter. We also moved some of the trees that fell, ultimately from a forest fire on the mountain above him a couple years ago, so that he can ultimately use his driveway. I have a winch for my pickup, which helped with the trees, and it was a bit shorter and had a lower tow hitch than the pickup that goes in the same garage. He also has better than a hundred pairs of gloves, plastic sheeting, bleach (which get rotated), etc, from the Ebola scare a couple years ago. Also, working on a couple more guns in the next year. Top priority is probably a 10 mm handgun, probably either a Glock 20 or 40. Was ready to buy a G20SF until Glock started introducing Gen 5s. 10 mm is better than 45 ACP for bear, and esp the brown bear that are having a resurgence in this county, and useful for wolves too, that are also returning here. I am far more likely here to encounter bears, even brown bears, than needing to learn to play dead, and if I needed it for them, they are apparently less discerning than human preditors this regard.
Can we please import more third world populations? The cultural diversity is a great thing, obviously.
I wonder how it works if the shooter is counting how many shots he fired, and where he shot them. Let's say that he has fired 6 rounds at the back of the church sanctuary, at the people in the back rows. As he moves farther in, will he think that all those "dead" people up front died of some other causes? Heart attacks or ?
Althouse's post is a bit absurd. Any rational person inclined to game this scenario in their head is going to come to one of two conclusions. Live life like a full blown agoraphobic or arm yourself and try to convince yourself that you're ready to fight back should the situation arise. The vast majority of people won't think about it one way or another. But anyone who sits at home thinking about the best way to appear dead in the event of an active shooter is a tad nutty.
I am a bit surprised at the number here who think active response (such as being armed), instead of the ultimate passive response - to play dead already. I think that it reflects the conservatism of many of Ann's readers. And maybe more rural than inner big city - you have to be a bit more self-reliant here in MT, with the LEO response potentially being better than an hour sometimes late at night.
One thing that bothers me about active shooter training, esp in schools, is that hiding and cowering in place is taught, over a more active response. In one school shooting after another, death tolls could probably have been reduced, maybe even significantly reduced, if the students had just started throwing their books, and whatever else, at the shooter(s). It is hard to aim and hit vital organs, when dodging flying objects, esp when not trained to do so.
Playing dead might be a good strategy for a woman, but we guys should charge the shooter. If the attacker is seven to ten yards away, as is apparently the norm, even a gimpy old man like me can cover that ground in seconds. The gun may jam (as happened with the terrorist's AK-47 on the train in France two years ago), the gunman will certainly be discombobulated (which may be why thar terrorist's gun jammed on the train in France), he may miss because he's discombobulated, he may not hit anything vital, and people brought up on TV shows don't realize how long a person can keep fighting after taking a mortal wound to, for instance, the heart. Waiting to die is stupid.
Bruce Hayden
I read article in past month or two that said passive response like playing dead or hiding in closet is worst response in active shooter situation. Fight or flight, either fight the attacker or run away as fast as you can, was best two responses according to person interviewed.
I could be misremembering but I think it was Sandy Hook that was discussed in article I read - kids were told to hide in closets while waiting for help to arrive. Some kids and teachers listened to advice while others panicked and made a run for it. Kids that ended up dead were the ones hiding in closets waiting for police to arrive. There were even a few kids who hid in closet with their classmates and when the killer opened the door to where they hiding, they made a run for it past the shooter and survived.
The gist was It aint easy to shoot people in high pressure situation if you not trained well.
Regarding concealed carry, about a year ago I read an article by a concealed carry instructor. He researched every case where a former student had been in a gunfight. I'm not sure which city he lives in, but there were a lot of them. He wanted to know how far apart the shooters were (which is where I got the seven to ten yards figure), how many rounds were expended before the fight stopped, and, above all, outcomes. He was surprised by how often the attacks were in places where you wouldn't expect it (so always be alert, even in church!). Only two of the people he'd trained lost their lives in a gun fight.
They were the two who'd left their guns at home.
At my Church, a Catholic one, I pack heat. I won't 'play dead'.
Bruce said: In one school shooting after another, death tolls could probably have been reduced, maybe even significantly reduced, if the students had just started throwing their books, and whatever else, at the shooter(s). It is hard to aim and hit vital organs, when dodging flying objects, esp when not trained to do so.
At our local school system, staff is trained using the ALICE program. The "C" stands for "Counter":
Create Noise, Movement, Distance and Distraction with the intent of reducing the shooter’s ability to shoot accurately. Counter is NOT fighting.
ALICE Training does not believe that actively confronting a violent intruder is the best method for ensuring the safety of those involved. Counter is a strategy of last resort. Counter focuses on actions that create noise, movement, distance and distraction with the intent of reducing the shooter’s ability to shoot accurately. Creating a dynamic environment decreases the shooter’s chance of hitting a target and can provide the precious seconds needed in order to evacuate.
ALICE (Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, Evacuate)
Most actors hold their breathes, but you can still see their heart beating. Method acting, my ass.
Faking death is all about relaxation. A dozen years ago I went out to collect river samples. On the forested pathway, I saw a homeless guy who looked like he was in a deep, relaxed yoga standing pose, a zen master displaying the complete embodiment of the Buddha. I yelled at him a couple times to let him know we were coming and got no response. I finally noticed a red (I'm color blind) tie-down strap around his neck going up to a tree branch. His feet were on the ground, knees slightly bent and he looked completely relaxed, truly at peace. I wish I could relax my shoulders like that. I assumed the branch and neck combined to stretch him back to earth.
Life is an exercise in risk management, which underlies organic organization.
Women and children first... and always.
Some men will stand their ground and confront the stressor. Other men, women, and children, in that order, will join the resistance when there is an existential crisis or when circumstances demand a change of order.
Etienne: Hunting pigs isn't any fun because they scream like people, even with a single death shot. It's their own damn fault by tasting so good. They blamed Ronnie Reegan for releasing all the crazies in Cali then the USA. Now, they free-range because liberal leftist do gooder human rights. Tougher than a $2 steak to get the acute, severe mentally ill committed. They have to threaten the judge to get put away. Downtown Santa Cruz is up to eyeballs with these crazy street people in but no mass murders. SC was called the murder capital of the world in the 1970's - see Keifer Sutherland in "The Lost Boys", but no more. Maybe the crazies around here have better access to enough horse and kronic to keep the violence down to a simmer. Besides, no money left over to buy a gun.
Acting dead is a viable strategy if:
1. You are physically unable or very unlikely to be able to fight back AT ALL
2. There is literally nowhere to run or even solid hiding spots.
Playing dead relies upon you being in a mass of people already shot/dead where the shooter is LIKELY to confuse you with one of the dead. It relies upon you being at the height of stress maintaining a posture, position, and composure convincing of death. This is not exactly a strong pre-planned strategy. In terms of "trained actors", have those same actors play dead while under extreme stress, with no moment's notice, and see how they do.
Playing dead is the equivalent of "I've given up hope and this is all I have left to try." - at that point, it's at least A strategy that is different than begging for your life.
In regards to distracting shooters, and most people not being trained to shoot straight under pressure...
Shooting straight under pressure is a matter of very significant training AND experience. When you look at rounds expended vs. fatalities in police and soldier scenarios, even those with extensive training and firing from a fixed position with an exposed (but moving) target, it shows that even professionals with lots of training have a very poor "hit" rate.
Guns are very poor weapons in close quarters combat when you are outnumbered because it relies entirely on the shooters skills AND the people being attacked NOT attacking back.
The injuries and fatalities of Orlando and many other mass-shootings in very close quarters are heavily reliant not on the shooter being well armed, or not having police presence, but on remaining unchallenged for a prolonged period of time.
Training should be on running/maximizing distance OR hiding/finding cover with a solid counter strategy. If a gunman has to walk through a door to get to you, then hiding AGAINST THE WALL next to the door represents a much better position than hiding in the closet across the room from the door.
Ann Althouse said...
"But the post offers a hypothetical in which it is provided that you are in a situation where you have determined that your best strategy is to play dead. I would like a discussion of the hypothetical, not the standard advice to arm yourself".
Many of us do not believe there is a situation in which we would make that determination. You would have to believe that you were facing an opponent so competent and determined that you have no chance attacking him or trying to escape, but also so half-assed that if you wait a few seconds, he is likely to get distracted and wander off, instead of just popping a few rounds into you to make sure.
Perhaps the implication here is that you are in a large group of potential victims, and you think the killer lacks the capacity to kill all of you, so you are hoping to remain in the unkilled portion by pretending to be in the killed portion. In practice, you are hoping someone else will get killed instead of you. Distasteful as I find that idea, I have to admit that this is precisely the strategy all of us follow in many aspects of our lives.
Just more Muslim-place violence. Get used to it.
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