THE CITY
Survival in the Concrete Jungle


“The city is unity of the unlike” -- Aristotle



Today practically all of us, whether we like it or not, are tightly tied to City life. A city provides numerous possibilities, comforts & conveniences, but along with that, a city certainly has its reverse side. Do we know what it is? Are we ready for the confrontation with it? Let us talk a little about that.



So, what is a city? It is first a large accumulation of people in a limited space. As we know from biology, accumulation of individuals of the same species on a limited territory always increases aggression, inner tension, and inter-species struggle. People, despite their “civilization,” are not the exception. Thousands of years of civilization blanket us with a pretty and thin cover, but do not change these elements of our nature. Yes, we do hold back our instincts and keep ourselves within the frameworks of morals and law, but only the best of us people remain PEOPLE under any circumstances.



Look around… Look carefully. Often times animals, acting on their instincts, do not act as poorly as people. The actions of man often are so controversial, cruel and unexplainable. There isn’t a single live being on our planet that is more dangerous than man. This is because he uses one of his greatest gifts – intelligence – against others.



There are plenty of discussions about the criminal component of urban life. It is enough to watch the news or read any newspaper. The criminal subculture of cities is a whole world with its own structure, hierarchy, professional specializations – the world of parasites on the body of society. Most of the time respectable citizens are absolutely unprepared for direct confrontation with this world.



The criminal world is usually divided into three categories: the Victims, the Cops, and the Robbers (these names may be different based on the country and the times). A thief is the aggressor. A victim is the prey, and the thief’s means of existence. The cop is the one that tries to catch the thief (but not necessarily defend the victim). In another analogy, these three groups are the Sheep, the Wolves, and the Guard Dogs.



So you, the respectable citizens, have the unenviable role of sheep, guarded by the dogs and attacked by the wolves.



When a crime happens, a respectable citizen usually acts as a sheep – senselessly bleating, pressing close to his herd and calling the guard dogs to help (note that the guard dogs have their own interest – not to defend, but to catch).



Today’s typical city crimes are a lot scarier than the terrorism that everybody is shouting about. Brutal violence, murders, rapes, kidnappings, thefts, drugs, vandalism, etc. bring people thousands of times more grief and take away more human lives than the most vicious terrorist acts of modern time. Crime has filled the cities and become an integral part of city life. Crime and society are inseparable. This problem of interactions between the citizens and the criminals cannot be solved – neither by the allowing or banning people from carrying weapons, neither by harsh laws, nor by sophisticated technology. This information comes from experience of many countries: USA, Canada, England, France, Russia, China… Even the inevitable capital punishment does not hold the criminal back. Why? -- Because such is the psychology of a person. The psychology of a professional criminal is markedly different from a respectable society member. It is vitally important to know these differences. This gives us a chance to act rationally, minimize dangers, and choose the optimum way of reacting to a criminal who follows his own laws and thus always has the advantage.



An ancient saying goes, “If you’re warned, you’re armed.” This we will discuss and practice in detail at the upcoming camp. We will try to develop the STRATEGY OF PERSONAL SAFETY for every participant – because there is a way out of any extraordinary situation. Here is one example:



The year 1992. The month of July. The city of Tskhinvali, South Ossetia. The zone of military combat. 2 AM.



As fate would have it, I found myself alone on the edge of an unknown city. I do not speak the local language. Armed with only a pistol with silencer, 100 bullets, a hand-grenade, and a knife. That’s all. For many months now regular combat confrontations are taking place in this city and its suburbs. Gunfire continues 24 hours a day. In order to reach my unit, I have to make it across the whole city. At the first moment, I very intensely realize that my chances to make it to my destination unnoticed and unharmed are very minimal. Panic is creeping up…



I crawl into the crack between a garage and a cement fence, check my ammunition – that helps me to calm down and restore in my memory the route through. I weigh all the pros and cons and make the decision not to wait for the morning because my comrades will start searching for me with great risk to themselves. I decide to become a drunk old man and proceed through the dark sides of the streets and back alleys from house to house. I turn my uniform inside-out, roll it in the mud, put it back on and fasten it two buttons askew. I pull my pants out of my shoes to cover up the high army boots. I find an old, dirty rag and wrap it around my head. The gun with a bullet in the barrel has the safety on, and it is on my left side under my belt. The hand-grenade is inside the left sleeve under the elastic of the cuff. The knife is in my boot, against the right shin and under the pants. I listen and look around and head off, diligently depicting a very drunk and limping old man.



Three times on my way, I encountered groups of armed people. Twice I was able to sense the danger in time and hide. The third time I stumbled into an ambush. They called to me and I had to impersonate complete incoherence and idiocy. Then, as one from their group tried to approach me, I began spasms of gagging as if I were about to vomit. Following that, the group lost all interest in me.



It took me two hours to walk the distance of three kilometers. As I approached the location of my unit, the military guards almost opened fire at me, but things worked out there as well. Thus, by taking into account the local situation and mentality (respect for the elders, common leniency towards drunks, and the heavy consumption of alcohol in this region), I was able to successfully solve the given problem.



This is just one of many city survival experiences I’d like to share with you, but the rest will have to wait until I see you at camp.



That’s all for now. I wish you success!



With respect,



Konstantin Komarov

06/05

That sounds like it would have worked well, I have heard that you can also act insane and would be left alone. Hell it worked in highschool thanks for the story Mark keep em' coming.

That was a good story. Cant wait to hear the others.

The criminal subculture of cities is a whole world with its own structure, hierarchy, professional specializations – the world of parasites on the body of society.

Well now, I don't completely enjoy being referred to as a parasite, however I did commit some crimes but only against rich merchants with insurance - never the less fortunate or common man. Some may argue that striking out at the oppressors of society is a noble deed, just as Robin Hood did. Anyway, when is camp and why wasn't I invited? It's because of my criminal record isn't it? DAMN.
HAMMER

Its actually prat of a group of martial artists. I think they already had it though. There is also another one coming up all about dealing with stress and reacting quickly in situations.