Preventing and Mitigating Violence Part 2 (“What happens there, comes here”)

As Americans we often view the world as being limited to our immediate surroundings. Not always, only during waking hours!

Historically, the US has had a strong history of isolationism in international affairs. Today as in WWI and WWII there were many who opposed our entering foreign conflicts.

Perhaps we’ve perfected provincialism. We focus on ourselves rather than the world around us.

But such a view is counterproductive. It’s not objective or accurate.  It is prejudicial and so gives rise to  poor decision making: erroneous assumptions can only lead to bad decisions.

“What happens there, comes here”

Not immediately and not in exactly the same form. History does not repeat itself, it parallels itself.  Terrorism and violence elsewhere gravitates or migrates to other areas. The 1983 suicide bombing of the Marine barracks in Beirut reached America 17 years later on 9/11.  It took that long.

We knew that terrorists claiming to be Muslims were involved in suicide bombings. There were plots against airlines. And other aspects of suicide terrorism were painfully apparent: the leaders in suicide bombings – the non-Muslim Tamil Tigers – executed more suicide attacks than any other group.

Our own history in the Phillipine Insurrection against the Moros should have been a  clue. The Moros launched suicide attacks against American soldiers with swords; wrapping their bodies tightly so as to minimize the bleeding. They were hard to put down and as a result the  Model 1911 Colt .45 pistol was developed for greater stopping power.

Chechen extremism is quite virulent; perhaps the worst of the terrorists we face.  The siege at Beslan was horrible as have been other Chechen attacks. It was apparent that their brand of violence would come here and it did with the Boston Marathon bombing and related acts which followed it.

We haven’t yet seen subway bombings, but we will most likely follow Madrid and London.  At some point.  In some manner.

So-called “Workplace Violence” in America has evolved from lone assailants with handguns to adversaries carrying shoulder weapons - and multiple handguns.

School shootings since Columbine involve shoulder weapons such as rifles and shotguns as well as explosives. And some involve multiple assailants.

School violence in China has involved knife attacks as it has here. And a knife can be truly devastating due to it’s  relative silence: no one realizes what is happening until it is too late.

Where are we now?

This is difficult to say, but “Workplace Violence Plus” might be the name we give to the current era.

So what does all this mean to me?

It means that awareness of violent behavior around the world is important. Educating oneself is a logical start. Monitor the news – but read it critically and always look for corroboration.

Participate in meetings, webinars, etc., put on by professional organizations and civic groups. I’ve spoken on Terrorism in the US and Workplace Violence for  years.  Listening to myself or someone else who has ‘been around the block a few times’ and is not beholden to the news media can create awareness of the real threats we face.

It means that everyone needs to understand the fundamentals of violence prevention and mitigation. Calming techniques, proxemics,  cover, concealment, reactionary gap, etc .  Much of this can be incorporated into existing workplace learning. There are also some good instructional videos available online. The LA County Sheriff’s Department has an excellent Active Shooter video on YouTube.

It means that developing protective measures which can be readily adopted to an evolving threat are a necessity. Security planning must be systematic, not reactionary. It is a process.

It means taking a holistic look at risk management is in order. Enterprise risk management is key to preventing, mitigating, responding to and recovering from violence.