Guns in your face.

I am one of those losers that frequent the twoplustwo forums "other other topics."

This is that magical place where people ponder such important topics as: "Will I die if I sleep in a tub of butter?" and "How do I fold a button down shirt properly?"

Yeah, I don't really go to the twoplustwo poker strategy forums too much. Or ever.

There was one thread posted on OOT that I thought was important to share with my readers. All four of you. Here is the link to the thread. The story is pretty frightening and the responses range from idiotic to informative. Have a look.

Basically what happened is this guy was sitting with a friend at a bus stop. A man pointed a gun on them and told them to get into a car. They did so. He stripped them of their valuables. He then drove them to ATM machines and instructed them to empty their accounts. They did so. Luckily, their accounts didn't have lots of money in them. He then left them and drove away.

The robber ended up with their wallets, keys, phones, and about $500 in cash. The victims immediately called the cops and cancelled their credit cards, cell phones, and ATM cards.

This raises the question:

What would you do if someone pointed a gun in your face and told you to get in a car?

Prior to yesterday, I probably would have gotten in the car because I have been conditioned to believe that I should do whatever someone holding a gun tells me to do. Either that or I would have kicked the gun out of his hand, showcased my martial arts skillz in a 4-minute choreographed karate fight, eventually killing the gunman with my kung fu death grip, and then have sex with Jessica Alba. Wait, hold on. Yeah, I probably would have gotten in the car.

Apparently that is the wrong thing to do.

These guys were incredibly lucky to get out alive. I couldn't find any hard data on this, but the consensus seems to be that if you get into a car with a stranger holding a gun on you, your chances of survival are about 10%, because he probably wants to do more than just take your money. I didn't know this prior to yesterday. But it makes sense when you think about it.

Do whatever you can to not get in the car. Toss your wallet and run, yell "Fire!" repeatedly and wave your arms, fake a seizure, whatever. I know a lot of this depends on what environment you are in, but don't go peacefully into the car. In the situation above, the victims were on a busy street, so I think running would have been the best option. But, as I said, if I was one of those guys, I probably would have gotten into the car, too.

Sure, if you do any of the things I suggest above, you might get shot. But, if you do get shot, chances are you would have gotten shot later anyway.

Also, I think you have a better chance at surviving a gunshot to the back while running away than you do of surviving a point blank gunshot to the head after someone rapes you in the ass. There is also a good chance the bullet will miss you completely. It's hard to shoot a moving target with a handgun. Trust me, I tried once.

I hope I am never in a situation where a firearm is in my face, but if I am, I hope the person holding said firearm just wants my money. I also hope I don't shit myself. Actually, come to think of it, shitting myself might be the best course of action. The guy would probably leave me alone, because when I take a dump, everyone within a three-house radius knows about it. Also, if the gun-pointer intended on butt-raping me, he sure as hell wouldn't want to anymore, and he sure as hell wouldn't want me getting into his car. Unless of course he was one of those poop fetishists. Then I would be screwed.

But I digress.

Now, I don't know anything about law enforcement, robbing people, guns, hand-to-hand combat, or kidnapping, so I'm not really in a position to be giving advice about such things. But reading the story was very eye-opening, because I never really considered what to do in such situations. You never know when something like that might happen.

Something to think about.