If, on the other hand, it turns out that trouble is not brewing, you simply return to Condition Yellow, abandoning the plan. Consider your effort good practice, be thankful that nothing untoward happened, and go on with your day. There is a pretty good chance that if the other guy was thinking of jumping you that he sensed your preparation and changed his mind. If, on the other hand, you become convinced that trouble truly is likely forthcoming, you will need to escalate to Condition Red.
Condition Red (Concerned). People in this condition have been confronted by a potential adversary or are in close proximity to someone who is becoming aggressive and is near enough to confront them quickly. Condition Red means that you have every reason to believe that the other guy(s) poses a clear and present danger to you or someone with you.
You must be prepared to fight, hopefully taking advantage of the plan you visualized in Condition Orange (assuming you had sufficient warning). At this point it is prudent to begin moving away toward escape routes, locations with strategic cover, or areas of concealment if you can do so. If the confrontation is immediate, it is often a good idea to try to move away from any weapons being brandished or distractions being made, while at the same time keeping well aware of them.
If you are armed and the situation warrants a lethal response, this may be the point where you draw and ready your weapon or at least make its presence known (see “Use Only as Much Force as the Situation Warrants” in Section Two to understand when lethal force may be appropriate). If you are carrying a gun, for example, this might include reaching under your jacket to grab a hold of your pistol and thumbing your holster’s safety release. A verbal challenge at this point may prove useful if time permits. De-escalation may still be an option but it can also backfire so you must be prepared in case it does not work. Every reasonable attempt should still be made to avoid a fight yet you must resign yourself to the very real possibility that it will be unsuccessful.
While a show of ability and readiness to resist with countervailing force may stop the confrontation in its tracks, it could also elevate it to the next level, open conflict. Either way, your intent should be to stop the potential assault that is forthcoming, escape to safety, or stay safe until help arrives, and doing so without harming anyone including those threatening you. You must not want to kill or hurt anyone nor teach him a lesson. Such attitudes can make you the aggressor in the eyes of the law. In addition, even if you are never charged with a crime, you will still have to live with yourself afterward.
Condition Black (Under Attack). People in Condition Black are actively being attacked. Although it is possible to skip nearly instantly from Condition Yellow all the way up to Condition Black, encounters generally escalate at a pace where you can adjust your level of awareness incrementally so long as you did not start off in Condition White. This gives observant individuals a leg up in dealing with dangerous adversaries.
In Condition Red you have been confronted by a potential adversary or are in close proximity to someone who acting aggressively.
Once you have been assaulted, verbal challenges and de-escalation attempts are no longer useful. You must flee or fight back, using any appropriate distractions and/or weapons at your disposal. If armed and confronted by an armed attacker or multiple unarmed assailants, you may decide to use your weapon in self-defense. Shooting to “wound” and firing “warning” shots are Hollywood falderal; anytime you pull the trigger, it’s very serious business. The same thing goes for knives, blunt instruments, and other impromptu weapons as well. Be sure that you are legally, ethically, and morally entitled to do so before employing potentially lethal countervailing force. Your intent must be to stop the assault that is in progress so that you can escape to safety or otherwise remain safe until help arrives. Your goal is to be safe, not to kill your attacker or teach him a lesson.
Each encounter is different; its unique characteristics will determine an appropriate response. It is important to use sufficient force to effectively control the situation and keep yourself safe without overreacting. You will, no doubt, want to treat a drunken relative at a family reunion quite differently than a homicidal street punk coming at you in a drug-induced rage. We’ll talk more about this in Section Two.
Any time you are near others, especially strangers, it pays to be vigilant so as not to be caught unawares by sudden violence. If you appear to be a tough, prepared target, most predators, bullies, and thugs will look for their victims elsewhere. You cannot walk around in a constant state of hyper-vigilance, however. It’s emotionally and physically untenable. A color code system, therefore, gives you a mental model that defines appropriate levels of situational awareness to help you strike the appropriate balance between obliviousness and paranoia. Using it can help keep you safe.
In Condition Black, you are actively being attacked. Verbal challenges and de-escalation attempts are no longer useful; you must flee or fight back.
Don’t Get Caught Up in the Escalato Follies
To begin by bluster, but afterwards to take fright at the enemy’s numbers, shows a supreme lack of intelligence.
Speed is not part of the true Way of strategy. Speed implies that things seem fast or slow, according to whether or not they are in rhythm. Whatever the Way, the master of strategy does not appear fast.
The “escalato follies” refer to the one-upmanship cycle that almost inevitably leads to physical violence unless one party backs down and breaks off the game. The term escalato was originally coined by musician, comedian, and political satirist Tom Lehrer to describe the process of irrational commitment where people continue to increase their investment in a decision despite evidence suggesting that it was the wrong thing to do. The current term in business and political circles is “escalation of commitment.” It is also very closely tied in with threat displays. Actions that you do hoping the other guy will back off, so you don’t need to use violence—sometimes they work, sometimes they make it worse.
You know the drill—you think I just ogled your girlfriend’s ass so you glare at me. I was actually minding my own business, nursing a beer and spacing out, so I don’t know what the heck you’re pissed off about and flip you the bird in response to your getting in my face for no apparent reason. Now you’re really mad ‘cuz I’m a serious dickhead so you get in my face and start spewing insults. I’m not about to let you get away with that so I toss my beer in your face. You haul back to hit me but I beat you to the draw and kick you in the ‘nads. You stumble backward, grab a pool cue, and bust it over my head.
Things go downhill from there. By the time the dust settles, one of us is carried out on a gurney while the other gets to wear a stainless steel bracelet, earns a trip to the local police department, takes out a second mortgage to cover legal expenses, and quickly discovers that he’s seriously screwed up his life.
While this example makes light of a truly significant incident, this kind of scenario plays itself out all the time in real life. Seriously, these escalato follies are a supremely dangerous game—one you really, really do not want to play. Win or lose, there’s always a cost to it, usually a big one.
One way to avoid getting caught up in the escalato game is by knowing how to respond rather than react. Responding is a planned course of action, one that leaves you in control of your emotions and actions. Reacting, on the other hand, cedes control to the opponent. If you become angry, defensive, or otherwise emotionally involved, it is easy to get caught up in the cycle.
It is supremely important that you respond to an aggressor’s actions rather than react to them. Even if the other guy is a complete ass, it is far better to lose face while remaining alive and free than fighting to prove you’re right. While violence often results only in bruises to the body and/or ego, it can easily end with someone’s disfigurement, death, or imprisonment. It is never worth such extreme consequences just to prove your point.
