I walk into a room and look for a place to dive under--but for me it is due to the pending Washington earthquake!

you would be a hero on the 6:00 news. So some would have you believe.

Situational awareness is a great skill to have.

It is not a good idea to let that creep into your mind and I don't know what good it will do. You instincts will do their best in the event of an emergency, so trusting that and living your life is best.

In the military, (I had a friend who told me about this) they tend to take a view like, there is a bullet with my name on it out there, so I won't worry about it until it hits me. In other words, they don't succumb to worrying about death in such a situation because it is totally counter-productive. Being alert and aware and mindful is best. Actually, being lost in thought all the time is one great way to succumb to any danger. Distraction can kill you.

We are all going to die and there are numerous ways for that to happen, so it is just a given. Imagine thinking about them all every day, huh? That is an exaggerated form of putting any emphasis on the potential of one type.

Take a deep breath and enjoy your meals out.

Thank you so much for these words of wisdom. My family and I will it keep this in perspective.

If only the R's would care about what the 2nd Amendment was really about, and if only the NRA didn't have so much power. The US is absolutely ridiculous in its veneration about weapons, and it is really sick.

Said as a parent and a human being.

supportive that we band together and discuss it, though. Connecting helps.

I think that the US is in a very big state of denial. This has been and still is a very violent and aggressive country, or at least much more so than it pretends to be on the surface. I think that is what is behind such an attitude towards gun rights, because that sub rosa violence is also a sign of a deeper, and very significant insecurity and deep-seated sense of vulnerability, if you see what I mean. The conditions that the R's tend to create seem to exacerbate that whenever possible and it becomes an insane feedback loop and a cause for scapegoating, etc. Be glad you are not spinning around in that kind of catch-22.

The rugged individualist myth also contributes to this sense of fear and alienation while it props up the "self made" wealthy exploiters as a refuge from their impact and drain, as well as a supply for their narcissism. Rather than knowing that "no man is an island" there is still the erroneous notion being promulgated that human beings are somehow hermetically sealed, self creating and actually separate from everything and everyone else, which a fallacy and total nonsense. Now, we see how that works out in so many ways from our culture to the environment, the piper will be paid in full. we have had over a century of that advertising-induced fantasy of the self and it is now becoming a toxic nightmare. That might induce many to imagine some form of safety or power from weapons--of course, muskets were the deal way back, and now the sophistication of weapons that governments have changes the equation and amounts to a false sense of security and distorted aggrandizement of said.

If you think about the entire US history and its conflicts and aggression and efforts towards empire, this might underscore that. The history speaks for itself. There are many factors involved in how we have come to this. Possibly, now that we have it front and center, (rather than covert and implied) we might be able to change it and emulate other, more civilized industrial nations in regards to guns and mass shootings. The problem has been there, but now it is much more difficult to ignore.

May you and your family be well and safe!

Well-stated and extremely articulate.

Thank you!

It's all the ones labeled "To Whom it May Concern" that you need to worry about.

Old Infantry humor.

I'm not that paranoid. Maybe it will be the death of me someday, but there's that old saying: “A coward dies a thousand times before his death, but the valiant taste of death but once. It seems to me most strange that men should fear, seeing that death, a necessary end, will come when it will come.”

I'm not saying that you are a coward, but the brave and the oblivious have something useful in common.

But not right now. Be aware of your surroundings all the time, it may save your life. Untill this fat bastard is out of office and the hate influence dies down, one can never be too cautious.

(one that gave me nightmares for years afterward)...

But, yeah, now I watch the people around me a lot more and I am uncomfortable if I feel any sense of "enclosure" or "entrapment" within a crowd.

I would find the manager and report a lost purse. I would not move it and I would sit far away.

ole "unattended bag" concept that gives me pause.

It would be unusual, or at least careless, for someone to leave their handbag unattended if they were not within sight of it.

What did you do? And did the owner of the handbag return?

She mentioned they had an active shooter drill at her school where someone shot a gun, so the students would know what it sounds like. After she shared this, I felt sad and nostalgic for what’s been lost in our country. Children shouldn’t have to endure these scars to their psyche. In the name of selfishness disguised as gun rights, we are slowly but surely traumatizing every single American, including our children.

I know because my kids are going to be leaving high school soon and it’s been going on since they were young to practice for what to do in the school if under attack.
This has been the school routine for that long
This doesn’t even take in to account out of school gun violence they are aware of

at school was a major event. I worried more about not being the target of a bully than being shot.

to grab a few things. I suddenly realized where I was and got panicked.

I never use the self checkout. But that day I did; to get the hell out of there fast.

At least I have some control then.

Driving is far more dangerous than flying, but people fear flying more. I think the issue is no one wants to die badly, at least when driving, most people feel that they can control a situation somewhat, not so much with a crashing plane or being in the way of a wall of bullets.

Which is not an argument saying close attention should be turned off when not driving.

I'm now boycotting, because they still sell guns. It is, unfortunately, the only place in my rural red county that has stuff.

Going to be strange when I do go there. Sad but that is our life until we route republicans out of office.

The training advises to always have a plan for how to hide or flee from any area you’re in at all times. They also say to be aware of your surroundings at all times and observant of those around you.

About 2/3 of the way through the show I saw these people with flashlights coming down the hills way behind the stage. I definitely got extremely nervous but I didn't let it affect my enjoyment of the show any. But still...

I wonder how many who have never had such thoughts (or who are dismissing them) are cis-white-males? It is something I do all the time, as a gay woman who has been targeted for sexual assault, rape, etc. And those thoughts don't go away "shortly." I've never had the luxury of NOT having such thoughts (although not specifically related to shootings).

The second is that - my natural inclinations are compounded by being required to go through active shooter training twice, as part of my job.

I was talking to my brother today about going to the state fair next week, and he said he wasn't planning to go because of the crowds, then he said, "and who knows these days if there's going to be some nut with a gun?" I don't worry about it that much because the odds of such an incident happening at a particular time and place when and where I am are extremely small. But you can't help thinking about it, I guess.

Every person that died in a mass shooting likely thought like you on the day they died. But you are right, you can't just stop living and succumb to total fear. I have to admit, I have more crowd fear today, not that I have ever liked crowds.

For example, in the case of a shooter in a store, the safest exit is into the area from which supplies come into the store,for a big grocery store there are several, same for a big box retailer. The absolute worst place is the main entrance or the parking lot just before the main entrance, I always feel so exposed when in those locations and try to get away from them ASAP.

I was at Costco on Saturday and I thought, Where would I go if someone came in and started shooting?

FUCK GUNS.

honestly I was quite worried. If the Pulse shooting had been about anti gay terrorism this festival would have been a terrific target, thousands of LGBT folks, huge open air plaza, three venues which held hundreds at a time. Fortunately nothing happened but it surely was in my thoughts.

My uncle was a fire chief on an Air Force base, and he preached that bit of wisdom at any opportunity.

More to the point of your question, I had accepted a job at the local community college about 18 months ago--just before the Parkland shooting. My college aged daughter was really blunt with me about being aware of what was going on all the time when I was in my office. She's like every other kid now, meaning she grew up after Columbine.

About a month later--just as the facts of the Parkland shooting were coming out--I was sitting in my office, editing a bunch of faculty submitted material. All at once, ALL the alarms started whooping, the lights started flashing, and the unit admin assistant came running in demanding I evacuate my office. The fire alarms were going off.

I sat there in my office with sirens blaring, and people trotting past out in the hallway. ALL I was able to think of was that I'd seen someplace that the Parkland fire alarms had been triggered by the shooter so more people would be in the halls, providing more targets. I actually thought about possibly being danger from either fire or a shooter, and I considered for a moment WTF I was doing.

I took my bag and keys with me and left for the day. I did go back in that office again, but I accepted a job offer someplace else shortly after that. (In my defense, it was a really attractive offer.) I never felt safe in that building after.


Laura

shop at Amazon.com for that reason.

Always.

sage

When driving in a parking lot, I drive slow because a short kid could come out behind a car, or an adult could walk out behind a van. I watch out for people in so many ways.

As for self preservation, I try to watch out for potential problems when on the highways. I leave sufficient room between the car in front of me and me. I know my reaction time.

I avoid bad places, dark places, and Trump rallies. But I don’t walk, drive, shop, nor eat thinking when and where do I hit the ground if a shooter arrives. Not yet anyways.

Not giving in. I'll live my life.

Was at the movies earlier and there was a loud noise from the far right side of the theater. I think it must have been an extra loud scene in the movie playing next door? Whatever it was, it was very unsettling. I couldn't help looking around for a couple minutes afterwards, imagining worst case scenarios and thinking of ways to hide, if necessary. The couple sitting next to me were nervously looking around, too.
That sort of thing had never before crossed my mind while I've been out and about, and I absolutely hate how it felt.

I can’t sit in a restaurant if I’m not facing the door. When I was in 4th grade there was a mass shooting at restaurant that terrified me. I didn’t remember the details for years, only that somebody went into a restaurant and shot a bunch of people, and I’ve had to face the door ever since. So I looked it up: San Ysidro MacDonalds in 1984. It’s so much worse now, but this has been happening in this country my whole life (see also, Luby’s in Texas in ‘91).

In McDonalds last week.
For the first time really.

last night seeing a play, What the Constitution Means to Me (which was excellent), just a week after people scattered from Times Square at the sound of a motorbike backfiring which sounded like a gunshot. I thought about it. Didn't linger as I was leaving to walk to the subway.

for him to appear. I heard something that sounded like a gun shot in the distance and immediately started looking at the cabinets for a place to hide. No idea what the noise was.

Both of the malls in my area are so deserted that it wouldn't be worth the effort for a looney gun owner to try shooting it up!

I worked in a shopping mall in the '80's and a woman who was mentally ill shot up a mall nearby before it was the thing to do. It never really hit me. As a woman I am more afraid of some deviant grabbing me and them finding my hacked up body smoldering in a drainage ditch somewhere. You'd think I'd stop watching those true crime shows where they find women's bodies hacked up and smoldering in a drainage ditch somewhere, but no. I am also afraid of fire and always check for exits. I also don't allow myself to be in super crowded places for fear of not being able to get out if something happens.

And then thought to myself: this is how our kids feel EVERY DAY going to school!