Don’t Compromise Yourself
By M. Carswell
It was an awkward moment to say the least. The deliverymen who just hauled our new freezer into our mudroom noticed several BB guns standing in the corner. They were mostly hidden and all but forgotten, until the time came to remove the old freezer. I saw the men look at the guns, look at me, and then look at the guns again. They were just BB guns, so what’s the big deal, right?
Then again, these were just two 200 lb strangers with low-paying jobs with a fresh insight to exploit: that this house almost certainly has real guns.
It was a careless mistake, and my mind raced: What else were they thinking, and what else did they learn?
This home owner isn’t very tall or strong. His wife is attractive. There’s no dog. They insisted on a Saturday delivery so the house is probably vacant every weekday while they work. Mail from the NRA was on the kitchen counter. That Bible probably means the house is empty every Sunday morning.
Just five minutes in your house can yield a lot of information to compromise you:
Strategic entry points
Valuables
Location of home alarm control panel and sensors
Location of master bedroom
The fact is I compromised myself. I compromised myself even though I subscribe to the “grey man” line of thinking. I’ve made every effort to eliminate all the overt signals that I’m armed. I don’t want to be targeted and ambushed by a team of men intent on seizing my weapons.
But grey man thinking must go beyond the details of how I dress and what I carry. Situations, behaviors, and other people come into play as well.
People you agree with and trust can compromise you in social settings with just a simple question, “Going to the range this weekend?” And friends who broadcast everything on Facebook are not the friends you should go to the gun range with.
And remember that compromise can come without a single spoken word. A motivated gun thief could consult a map of permit holders. But it’s more likely that he’ll select a person leaving the gun range and follow him (or her) home. With the address confirmed, the thief will bide his time and strike when no one is home.
Be careful out there.
