How to Prepare for the Pending Race Riots

By Skip Coryell / 20 July 2013

I’ve been struggling with this article for several days now. Primarily because I didn’t want to write anything about Trayvon Martin or George Zimmerman or the racial tension we’ve been having lately. Nonetheless, I find myself compelled. I’ve never been one to ignore the elephant in the room, and to do so now would be inconsistent and dishonest on my part.

But I’m not going to talk about the guilt or innocence of George Zimmerman; I won’t discuss whether or not Trayvon was a good kid or a juvenile delinquent. Instead, I want to discuss what’s happening right now across the country and what people need to do to prepare for the onslaught, assuming they want to survive.

Now let me preface this by saying I’m speaking as much to black folks as I am to white people. Because, after all, most of the race riots played out in the past were done in black communities. It was black people burning down the homes and businesses of their fellow black neighbors. If you live in the inner city, you need to get prepared – and fast!

Just do a Google search on “racial tension” and take a look at the headlines.

America’s Racial Time Bomb is Ticking
Long Beach Residents Warned About Friday Bash Mob
Jesse Jackson: “Inclination to Treat Florida as Apartheid State
Media Inciting Race Riots in America

As a personal defense instructor, here is my best advice:

1. Get out of the city!

If you live there – move! If you don’t have to visit, then by all means stay away from places like LA, Chicago, New York City and other racially charged urban centers. There’s an old saying among self-defense enthusiasts: “When the crap hits, don’t stand in front of the fan!” I live in rural Michigan and I seldom visit Detroit or Chicago. I just won’t go there. Unless I absolutely have to, it makes zero sense for me to visit a high-crime area. So if you live in one of these places then please consider moving to a rural setting. If you have friends in the country or own a cottage, now might be a good time to go on vacation.

2. Buy a gun!

If you can legally possess a firearm, then by all means get one. For in your home a pump shotgun works pretty good. You’ve got a minimum of five rounds of double-ought buckshot, and that will put most overweight crackheads flat on their butts. If you’re expecting a riot, then my weapon of choice would be an AR15 with several loaded thirty-round magazines. (Of course, an AK47 is good as always.) For home defense away from home you’ll be needing a reliable pistol. I recommend the highest caliber you can accurately control. No one ever came out of a gunfight saying, “Oh man, I sure wish I’d had smaller bullets!” In the event of mass rioting, you may have to shoot several dozen people to stop the threat, so don’t forget spare ammo. (Because no one ever went into a gunfight saying “Oh, man, I sure wish I had fewer bullets.”)

3. Get firearms training!

Okay, so you’ve got a gun. Unfortunately, owning a gun doesn’t make you a gunfighter any more than owning a guitar makes you a rock star. You should get the best training you can afford. Start with an NRA gun safety class, but don’t stop there. There are some great national schools if you can afford them. Massad Ayoob Group, Rob Pincus and his ICE training, Front Sight for the basics, or maybe Dave Spaulding and his Handgun Combative’s class. If all you can afford is a book, then check out:

Combat Focus Shooting by Rob Pincus
Combat Shooting with Massad Ayoob
REAL Secrets of Home and Personal Defense by Matt Canovi
The Cornered Cat: A Women’s Guide to Concealed Carry by Kathy Jackson

4. Get a concealed carry permit!

Unless you’re a wall flower who never leaves your house and has your Cheetos and Mountain Dew delivered to your front door, this is a must. Most people spend the majority of their time at work or school or out on the town. Are you just going to forfeit your ability to defend yourself unless you’re in your home? Well, if you live in Chicago or New York or California, I guess you have no choice. But then again, that gives credence to my first advice “Get out of the city!” Go ahead and move to Texas. Why not? Everyone else is. I have to admit it’s crossed my mind a time or two.

5. Buy self-defense insurance!

Most people wouldn’t think of this one, but you can bet if George Zimmerman didn’t have it before, he has it now. Anyone who carries a gun for self-defense and wants to protect his or her assets as well as their freedom has a policy like this. There are many out there, so you just need to shop around. I hold two such policies:

I’m very happy with both services. They offer legal grants, legal referrals, expert witnesses as well as educational opportunities before and after a deadly force altercation has occurred.

While I was writing this article, my wife walked up behind me and started to read over my shoulder. (I hate when she does that.) And of course she had to criticize by saying my first point wasn’t valid because most people can’t afford to move out of the city. That doesn’t matter and the point is still valid and probably the most healthy piece of advice I can give you. This is a very bad time in American history to live in a large city. When the crap hits the fan, major American cities are ground zero.

Monday, July 22, 2013