It happens to be in France. And of course, we love to give it to the French. Next time, for whatever pretense, it may be in any large city with a young angry minority. Remember L.A. after the O.J. civil trial? Remember NYC during the blackouts? Detroit? Newark?

The question is, if you're there, how do get home? Is your everyday carry sufficient to get you out of trouble.

Aaaaaah, I see we´re back at typical ETS-theme : Anyone interessted in a new subject about that at the survival forum?
I´m looking forward to your postings on that there ....

Molf

Gee, I remember the last NYC blackout - crime dropped, fires, mostly due to the use of candles rose

People were amazingly polite - and I know, I got to see a LOT of them, as I was helping out in a Red Cross ERV - by midnight, they had us out on the usualy "fire duty" - going to scenes of house fires to help out - not one of which was "live" by the time we got there - The next afternoon, almost everyone had power, and we were looking for things to do

Summer 2002 blackout in lower Manhattan - no real problems - some fun evacuating the area around the power plant due to asbestos fears - but the populace was calm

1998 blackout in NE Queens - that one turned into a party, at least in MY neighborhood - we broke out the BBQ (as did neighbors) and started cooking - improptu block party in the dark (well, we did break out a coleman lantern)hoods had problems

Is your everyday carry sufficient to get you out of trouble.

Just had a thought... what if your EDC is enough to get you into trouble?

Rioting in progress. You're stopped and searched for whatever reason (block sweep, checkpoint, random search, etc). Ooooooh. Lookee here... bandana (disguise), three, count 'em three ways to start fires, plus something to light (your tinder). Flashlight (You intend to be out after dark, do you?), a knife?? You have a knife? Doesn't look like a multitool to me... looks like a burglary tool.

<img src="/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />

I'm lucky, in that I live " out in the sticks " (roughly 90 miles from Chicago, Rockford, and Peoria), so I don't see myself getting caught "in the middle", but if circumstances were to put me in the wrong place at the wrong time, I'd be willing to bet that my strategy would be to 1) get to cover, 2) get out of the effected area, and 3) go WELL around the disturbance to get home. While no one can guarranty they won't get caught up in the middle of an uprising of one kind or another, I like to think that my observations of what is going on around me would give me a LITTLE warning that it's time to get out of Dodge. As far as EDC for this type of situation goes... well, generally, firearms as weapons are best left to other forums.

Troy

Just had a thought... what if your EDC is enough to get you into trouble?

Excellent point, Groo. It's a balancing act. It helps if you look like an upstanding citizen who's just trying to make it home, instead of a revolutionary.

This is probably why all my emergency gear should not be Soldier of Fortune black, huh? I guess I will have to return my Tactical Thigh hoster (holds my granola bars) and Urban Camo BDU's with my Navy Seal/Green Beret/Special Ninja Operations and Tactics (SNOT) medals. Darn it, I did not expect it to draw attention, I was hoping the police would view me as a concered citizen. Figured they would want the help of every overweight wanna-be Rambo type and the advanced training they got from watching A-Team reruns for the last 20 years.

Marc

P.S. sorry for the sarcasism...I am just in a Smart A** mood

I'm same way... most of my stuff is black, mostly because I like black. <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> Has nothing to do with any sort of imagined association with any military outfit.

I guess we could put "Hello, Kitty" stickers on all the tactical stuff. I don't care if they laugh... in fact, I want them to laugh. The harder they laugh the less chance they'll notice that, underneath those stickers, is some fairly nice gear. <img src="/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

That is not just a thought, a few months ago there was a kidnaping suspect arrested by the police for having a knife, duct tape, and rope in his vehicle. I know none of us would ever have anything like that in our vehicle. Never did hear a follow up report to know whether or not that there was more to the story.

The Media Angle can be a Dificult Balancing Act here. On the one hand, -they've *Got* to Report it. Hopefully Adequately and ACCURATELY. On the other hand, -the prescence of cameras so often *Does* effectively egg on and fuel the riot or whatnot. Even if it be the Model of Accurate, Adequate, Reporting. The Public in such a situation, -also Needs to be so Informed for Reasons of their own Public Safety. (And I'm Not referring to the Danton/French Revolution type of Public Safety, -Frenchy! ) [color:"black"] [/color] [email]groo[/email]