Here is a column I wrote, under the pen-name of Desiderius Erasmus an old Dutch philosopher, for a monthly Illinois newsletter on the Second Amendment. Old Desiderius’ motto was In the Land of the Blind, the One-eyed Man is King, which meant that you didn’t have to be perfect in your skillset, just better than your opponent. In Latin, the phrase is “in regione caecorum rex est luscus.”
In regione caecorum rex est luscus
In the Land of the Blind, the One-eyed Man is King
By “Desiderius Erasmus,” a GSL member
The Wolf Within
Go almost anywhere in the world and you will find legends concerning the Werewolf. Norway, Iceland, Portugal, England, Germany, Romania, Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, Ireland and even the good old USA, among the many. Depending on the story, on certain occasions a man will turn into a wolf, or return to being a wolf, depending on semantics – “returning” being much like “turn.” Sometimes they have the fancy name of lycanthropes.
Who hasn’t shivered in fun watching the classic original movie The Wolf Man, hearing the old gypsy woman saying at the end: “The way you walked was thorny through no fault of your own…”
It is my belief that almost every human has a bit of wolf in them. Sometimes a large bit. And when that gets out of control you have a serial killer/mass murderer. Even the US government uses the term “lone wolf” to describe a deadly terrorist acting on his own.
An old recruiting advertisement by the Marine Corps went something like: “The strength of the Pack is the Wolf, and the strength of the Wolf is the Pack.” Hope they paid Rudyard Kipling royalty fees, as he had used the same phrase in his poem: “The Law of the Jungle” in 1894.
Adolf Hitler often called himself “the Wolf” and his headquarters became known as the “Wolf’s Lair.” Groups of German submarines (u-boats) in World War II were known as “wolf packs.”
Wolves are killing machines, trotting along for great distances at some five miles an hour. When they close on a meal, that sprint can reach 43 miles per hour – after which they have an ability to leap 16 feet in one final bound. A wolf often seeks prey that can be taken at low risk.
When traveling in a pack, they try to isolate their target from the group. Sometimes that tactic involves an attempt to frighten a herd, so it disperses and becomes individual targets. A wolf can deliver a bite with its 2.5 inch fangs at 400 pounds per square inch; their jaws can crush bones.
What does all this have to do with you? You probably will never run into a wolf in the wild. Alaska certainly – while in an Army helicopter, I watched a pack finish off a moose (I think they thought the aircraft was a huge eagle trying to steal their kill and were snarling up at us with ill intent!) One redeeming feature of wolves is that they do not kill for pleasure.
But when the wolf emerges from a human being, it kills almost entirely for pleasure, hence the name “thrill killers.” And from what I have seen, their numbers are increasing.
These are not make-believe stories. We are seeing more and more on social media; packs of people – unfortunately now even including women – attacking individuals who do not look like them, or maybe don’t believe as they do. It isn’t just in some dark scary forest. Now it’s at Disneyland, or on cruise ships. Even an East Peoria Wal-Mart. An entire group letting the wolf out to maim or kill.
That gets on a phone video; serial killers usually don’t – except on their own phone with you as the star.
Between 2001 and 2018, at least 51 women between the ages of 18 and 58 were murdered by strangulation, with similar characteristics of the crime scene, within the city of Chicago. A year later, the CPD claimed there was no evidence that a serial killer was responsible for any of the 51 killings. Some experts beg to differ. It doesn’t matter who’s correct. The wolf is out.
So what should you do? Animal wolves and human wolves generally kill at night. Take a look at your routine. Do you really need to be out really late, especially by yourself? There’s a saying that “nothing good happens after midnight.”
Researchers from Mass General Research Institute say there’s scientific evidence to back that claim up, being that the human brain is not meant to be awake after midnight, because staying up late only leads to “more impulsive behavior and high-risk decisions, such as drinking, overeating, gambling, or criminal activity.”
Why be out alone when animal and human predators are looking for prey at night? Because you are their prey.
Stay with your herd. There is strength in numbers. Park near each other downtown or at the mall. Don’t take an Uber by yourself. If you’re an Uber driver, pay attention; your next passenger could be your last. A single human wolf is not likely to attack a group. Never, ever allow yourself to be pushed into a vehicle by an attacker. Better to die on the street than be tortured to death by inches in some killer’s basement.
Get your concealed carry, and carry if you must go out at night. When practicing self-defense shooting, see if you can hang multiple targets on your lane and practice engaging them. I leave it to the experts whether to put 2-3 rounds in each silhouette and then subsequently move to the second, etc. Or put one shot center of mass in each and then go back and hit them all a second time. Regardless, you must avoid paralysis by analysis.
Forget garlic around your neck; ditch the wolfsbane. Silver bullets are out; hollow points are in. Look a person in the eye; sometimes you can sense the wolf. Go with that feeling; it may save you. These wolves can’t spring 16 feet! But remember: “Even a man who is pure at heart and says his prayers by night…” is going to need a gun.