Agency in the context of Personal Protection

Lately I’ve been thinking about the notion of agency.

In the context of personal protection, agency refers to a person’s ability and choice to take responsibility for their own safety and defense. Outsourcing this to law-enforcement is great, in theory, but not so much when you are forced to deal with an immediate threat.

Individuals have the right—and often the need—to be their own first line of defense. Remember: no one is coming to save you. You need to be prepared to be your own first responder.

Agency is not something that we can buy or outsource to others. It requires a conscious decision to invest in yourself, in advance of your time of need.

Ask yourself:

1. Am I deliberately aware of my surroundings, especially in public places like gas stations, supermarkets or transitional zones like parking lots?

2. Have I accepted the fact that there are people out there who are actively seeking to target me, right now, for victimization?

3. Assuming I become aware of a potential threat, can I do something to avoid the situation? Can I mitigate risk by increasing space, putting a physical barrier between me and the threat or buying time in some way?

4. If the situation is unavoidable, am I physically and mentally prepared to initiate self-protective action while I still have the time and space to do so?

5. After taking action, do I have a plan for dealing with the aftermath, including contacting and interacting with law-enforcement, as well as surviving our criminal and civil justice system?

Learning the skills and acquiring the tools (firearms, pepper spray, martial skills, physicality, etc.) to protect yourself is an important part of being prepared.

I believe the notion of agency is even more important. Think of agency as a commitment to being prepared to take responsibility not only your own personal protection, but for the protection of your family and those that depend on you.