Can Anger Conquer Fear?
• As this is written, there is a significant debate in the law enforcement training community about the degradation of certain skills associated with the traditional operation of a firearm in the face of a life-threatening situation. Not only is there disagreement about the extent of degradation of skill and physical ability when one experiences a “body alarm reaction,” there is also disagreement about whether this reaction is inevitable and irreversible in a compressed time frame. • It is my belief that an offensive, rather than a defensive mental attitude, once a threat has been identified, can curtail the alarm reaction. While there might still be some loss of what are called “fine motor skills,” I don’t believe that it would be to the same extent as if the quality of the reaction was fear. • In the simplest of terms, this might be expressed as, “don’t get scared, get angry.” Unfortunately, this is a simplistic view of a complex problem and it can cause you a great deal of legal tro
