# On Sheep



## Baytor (Oct 21, 2004)

This article is attributed to Dave Grossman.  It's a long read, but interesting. You can see his website here.  http://www.killology.com/

ON SHEEP, WOLVES, AND SHEEPDOGS 

By LTC(RET) Dave Grossman, RANGER, Ph.D.,author of "On Killing." 

Honor never grows old, and honor rejoices the heart of age. It does so because honor is, finally, about defending those noble and worthy things that deserve defending, even if it comes at a high cost. In our time, that may mean social disapproval, public scorn, hardship, persecution, or as always,even death itself. The question remains: What is worth defending? What is worth dying for? What is worth living for? - William J. Bennett - in a lecture to the United States Naval Academy November 24, 1997 

One Vietnam veteran, an old retired colonel, once said this to me: "Most of the people in our society are sheep. They are kind, gentle, productive creatures who can only hurt one another by accident." This is true. Remember, the murder rate is six per 100,000 per year, and the aggravated assault rate is four per 1,000 per year. What this means is that the vast majority of Americans are not inclined to hurt one another. 

Some estimates say that two million Americans are victims of violent crimes every year, a tragic, staggering number, perhaps an all-time record rate of violent crime. But there are almost 300 million Americans, which means that the odds of being a victim of violent crime is considerably less than one in a hundred on any given year. Furthermore, since many violent crimes are committed by repeat offenders, the actual number of violent citizens is considerably less than two million. 

Thus there is a paradox, and we must grasp both ends of the situation: We may well be in the most violent times in history, but violence is still remarkably rare. This is because most citizens are kind, decent people who are not capable of hurting each other, except by accident or under extreme provocation. They are sheep. I mean nothing negative by calling them sheep. To me it is like the pretty, blue robin's egg. Inside it is soft and gooey but someday it will grow into something wonderful. But the egg cannot survive without its hard blue shell. Police officers, soldiers, and other warriors are like that shell, and someday the civilization they protect will grow into something wonderful.? For now, though, they need warriors to protect them from the predators. 

"Then there are the wolves," the old war veteran said, "and the wolves feed on the sheep without mercy." Do you believe there are wolves out there who will feed on the flock without mercy? You better believe it. There are evil men in this world and they are capable of evil deeds. The moment you forget that or pretend it is not so, you become a sheep. There is no safety in denial. 

"Then there are sheepdogs," he went on, "and I'm a sheepdog. I live to protect the flock and confront the wolf." If you have no capacity for violence then you are a healthy productive citizen, a sheep. If you have a capacity for violence and no empathy for your fellow citizens, then you have defined an aggressive sociopath, a wolf. But what if you have a capacity for violence, and a deep love for your fellow citizens? What do you have then? A sheepdog, a warrior, someone who is walking the hero's path. Someone who can walk into the heart of darkness, into the universal human phobia, and walk out unscathed Let me expand on this old soldier's excellent model of the sheep, wolves, and sheepdogs. We know that the sheep live in denial, that is what makes them sheep. They do not want to believe that there is evil in the world. They can accept the fact that fires can happen, which is why they want fire extinguishers, fire sprinklers, fire alarms and fire exits throughout their kids'schools. 

But many of them are outraged at the idea of putting an armed police officer in their kid's school. Our children are thousands of times more likely to be killed or seriously injured by school violence than fire, but the sheep's only response to the possibility of violence is denial. The idea of someone coming to kill or harm their child is just too hard, and so they chose the path of denial. 

The sheep generally do not like the sheepdog. He looks a lot like the wolf. He has fangs and the capacity for violence. The difference, though, is that the sheepdog must not, can not and will not ever harm the sheep. Any sheep dog who intentionally harms the lowliest little lamb will be punished and removed. The world cannot work any other way, at least not in a representative democracy or a republic such as ours. 

Still, the sheepdog disturbs the sheep. He is a constant reminder that there are wolves in the land. They would prefer that he didn't tell them where to go, or give them traffic tickets, or stand at the ready in our airports in camouflage fatigues holding an M-16. The sheep would much rather have the sheepdog cash in his fangs, spray paint himself white, and go, "Baa." Until the wolf shows up. Then the entire flock tries desperately to hide behind one lonely sheepdog. 

The students, the victims, at Columbine High School were big, tough high school students, and under ordinary circumstances they would not have had the time of day for a police officer. They were not bad kids; they just had nothing to say to a cop. When the school was under attack, however, and SWAT teams were clearing the rooms and hallways, the officers had to physically peel those clinging, sobbing kids off of them. This is how the little lambs feel about their sheepdog when the wolf is at the door. 

Look at what happened after September 11, 2001 when the wolf pounded hard on the door. Remember how America, more than ever before, felt differently about their law enforcement officers and military personnel? Remember how many times you heard the word hero? 

Understand that there is nothing morally superior about being a sheepdog; it is just what you choose to be. Also understand that a sheepdog is a funny critter: He is always sniffing around out on the perimeter, checking the breeze, barking at things that go bump in the night, and yearning for a righteous battle. That is, the young sheepdogs yearn for a righteous battle. The old sheepdogs are a little older and wiser, but they move to the sound of the guns when needed right along with the young ones. 

Here is how the sheep and the sheepdog think differently. The sheep pretend the wolf will never come, but the sheepdog lives for that day. After the attacks on September 11, 2001, most of the sheep, that is, most citizens in America said, "Thank God I wasn't on one of those planes." The sheepdogs, the warriors, said, "Dear God, I wish I could have been on one of those planes. Maybe I could have made a difference." When you are truly transformed into a warrior and have truly invested yourself into warriorhood, you want to be there. You want to be able to make a difference. 

There is nothing morally superior about the sheepdog, the warrior, but he does have one real advantage. Only one. And that is that he is able to survive and thrive in an environment that destroys 98 percent of the population. There was research conducted a few years ago with individuals convicted of violent crimes. These cons were in prison for serious, predatory crimes of violence: assaults, murders and killing law enforcement officers. The vast majority said that they specifically targeted victims by body language: slumped walk, passive behavior and lack of awareness. They chose their victims like big cats do in Africa, when they select one out of the herd that is least able to protect itself. 

Some people may be destined to be sheep and others might be genetically primed to be wolves or sheepdogs. But I believe that most people can choose which one they want to be, and I'm proud to say that more and more Americans are choosing to become sheepdogs. 

Seven months after the attack on September 11, 2001, Todd Beamer was honored in his hometown of Cranbury, New Jersey. Todd, as you recall, was the man on Flight 93 over Pennsylvania who called on his cell phone to alert an operator from United Airlines about the hijacking. When he learned of the other three passenger planes that had been used as weapons, Todd dropped his phone and uttered the words, "Let's roll," which authorities believe was a signal to the other passengers to confront the terrorist hijackers. In one hour, a transformation occurred among the passengers - athletes, business people and parents. -- from sheep to sheepdogs and together they fought the wolves, ultimately saving an unknown number of lives on the ground. 

There is no safety for honest men except by believing all possible evil of evil men. - Edmund Burke 

Here is the point I like to emphasize, especially to the thousands of police officers and soldiers I speak to each year. In nature the sheep, real sheep, are born as sheep. Sheepdogs are born that way, and so are wolves. They didn't have a choice. But you are not a critter. As a human being, you can be whatever you want to be. It is a conscious, moral decision. 

If you want to be a sheep, then you can be a sheep and that is okay, but you must understand the price you pay. When the wolf comes, you and your loved ones are going to die if there is not a sheepdog there to protect you. If you want to be a wolf, you can be one, but the sheepdogs are going to hunt you down and you will never have rest, safety, trust or love. But if you want to be a sheepdog and walk the warrior's path, then you must make a conscious and moral decision every day to dedicate, equip and prepare yourself to thrive in that toxic, corrosive moment when the wolf comes knocking at the door. 

For example, many officers carry their weapons in church.? They are well concealed in ankle holsters, shoulder holsters or inside-the-belt holsters tucked into the small of their backs.? Anytime you go to some form of religious service, there is a very good chance that a police officer in your congregation is carrying. You will never know if there is such an individual in your place of worship, until the wolf appears to massacre you and your loved ones. 

I was training a group of police officers in Texas, and during the break, one officer asked his friend if he carried his weapon in church. The other cop replied, "I will never be caught without my gun in church." I asked why he felt so strongly about this, and he told me about a cop he knew who was at a church massacre in Ft. Worth, Texas in 1999. In that incident, a mentally deranged individual came into the church and opened fire, gunning down fourteen people. He said that officer believed he could have saved every life that day if he had been carrying his gun. His own son was shot, and all he could do was throw himself on the boy's body and wait to die. That cop looked me in the eye and said, "Do you have any idea how hard it would be to live with yourself after that?" 

Some individuals would be horrified if they knew this police officer was carrying a weapon in church. They might call him paranoid and would probably scorn him. Yet these same individuals would be enraged and would call for "heads to roll" if they found out that the airbags in their cars were defective, or that the fire extinguisher and fire sprinklers in their kids' school did not work. They can accept the fact that fires and traffic accidents can happen and that there must be safeguards against them. 

Their only response to the wolf, though, is denial, and all too often their response to the sheepdog is scorn and disdain. But the sheepdog quietly asks himself, "Do you have and idea how hard it would be to live with yourself if your loved ones attacked and killed, and you had to stand there helplessly because you were unprepared for that day?" 

It is denial that turns people into sheep. Sheep are psychologically destroyed by combat because their only defense is denial, which is counterproductive and destructive, resulting in fear, helplessness and horror when the wolf shows up.  

Denial kills you twice. It kills you once, at your moment of truth when you are not physically prepared: you didn't bring your gun, you didn't train. Your only defense was wishful thinking. Hope is not a strategy. Denial kills you a second time because even if you do physically survive, you are psychologically shattered by your fear helplessness and horror at your moment of truth. 

Gavin de Becker puts it like this in Fear Less, his superb post-9/11 book, which should be required reading for anyone trying to come to terms with our current world situation: "...denial can be seductive, but it has an insidious side effect. For all the peace of mind deniers think they get by saying it isn't so, the fall they take when faced with new violence is all the more unsettling." 

Denial is a save-now-pay-later scheme, a contract written entirely in small print, for in the long run, the denying person knows the truth on some level. And so the warrior must strive to confront denial in all aspects of his life, and prepare himself for the day when evil comes. 

If you are warrior who is legally authorized to carry a weapon and you step outside without that weapon, then you become a sheep, pretending that the bad man will not come today. No one can be "on" 24/7, for a lifetime. Everyone needs down time. But if you are authorized to carry a weapon, and you walk outside without it, just take a deep breath, and say this to yourself... "Baa." This business of being a sheep or a sheep dog is not a yes-no dichotomy. It is not an all-or-nothing, either-or choice. It is a matter of degrees, a continuum. On one end is an abject, head-in-the-sand-sheep and on the other end is the ultimate warrior. Few people exist completely on one end or the other. Most of us live somewhere in between. Since 9-11 almost everyone in America took a step up that continuum, away from denial. The sheep took a few steps toward accepting and appreciating their warriors, and the warriors started taking their job more seriously. The degree to which you move up that continuum, away from sheephood and denial, is the degree to which you and your loved ones will survive, physically and psychologically at your moment of truth.


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## Ronald R. Harbers (Oct 21, 2004)

Woof!


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## KenpoTex (Oct 22, 2004)

I haven't read this in some time, thanks for posting.  While I don't necessarily agree with some of Grossman's claims (particularly some of the stuff in his book _On Killing_) his stuff is interesting "food for thought"

Woof!


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## OULobo (Oct 23, 2004)

I have to agree with the gist of it.


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## MA-Caver (Oct 23, 2004)

> If you are warrior who is legally authorized to carry a weapon and you step outside without that weapon, then you become a sheep, pretending that the bad man will not come today. No one can be "on" 24/7, for a lifetime. Everyone needs down time. But if you are authorized to carry a weapon, and you walk outside without it, just take a deep breath, and say this to yourself... "Baa." This business of being a sheep or a sheep dog is not a yes-no dichotomy. It is not an all-or-nothing, either-or choice. It is a matter of degrees, a continuum. On one end is an abject, head-in-the-sand-sheep and on the other end is the ultimate warrior. Few people exist completely on one end or the other. Most of us live somewhere in between.


Many of us here became Martial Artists (for whatever reasons) for one of the reasons that we may not always carry our "hard weapons" on us. But at least we still have our "soft weapons" which will aid in the defense of ourselves and our own. Many of us here were "sheep" but have shed the wool (that the anti-gun folks insist on keep pulling over our eyes) that blinded us. We evolved into the sheepdogs. As warm and comforting the wool (of denial) is to the sheep, the thick, long fur of the sheep dog is just as warm and comforting...even more so because we have taken the steps to break out of the wool of denial. 
Yes, I was born a sheep but I evolved because the young pup wolves at my school kept nipping at me til I got fed up with it and nipped back. My (past and continuing) MA training and subsequent firearms training help shed the confining wool coat I wore for many years. It's been a very long time since I've had a violent encounter. 
Still the sheep outnumber the dogs and the wolves and will continue to voice their majority opinion that we dogs shouldn't be as "dangerous" as the wolves who will ignore the sheep's protests anyway.  So we dogs must do what we must. Even at the cost of our own lives if that need be the case.


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## TigerWoman (Oct 23, 2004)

A sheepdog's a nice analogy but I'm more a tiger.  Grrrrr. 

I have come to know about the decidedly unpopular route to stand up to the wolf to protect a sheep. It was much easier for most to go into denial.  It definitely cost me, yet in the end the cost was small in comparison to saving the sheep.  One doesn't always need a gun to do that. But we do have to use all of our "tools at hand" even if its only to stand in the way.

But I also do appreciate the police and armed services who do put themselves in harms way and carry guns to protect the sheep. Although, I probably would train in firearms if I thought lives depended on it. TW


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## KenpoTex (Oct 24, 2004)

Something along the same lines...

The Parable of the Sheep 
By Charles Riggs

      Not so long ago and in a pasture too uncomfortably close to here, a flock of sheep lived and grazed. They were protected by a dog, who answered to the master, but despite his best efforts from time to time a nearby pack of wolves would prey upon the flock.

      One day a group of sheep, bolder than the rest, met to discuss their dilemma. "Our dog is good, and vigilant, but he is one and the wolves are many. The wolves he catches are not always killed, and the master judges and releases many to prey again upon us, for no reason we can understand. What can we do? We are sheep, but we do not wish to be food, too!"

      One sheep spoke up, saying "It is his teeth and claws that make the wolf so terrible to us. It is his nature to prey, and he would find any way to do it, but it is the tools he wields that make it possible. If we had such teeth, we could fight back, and stop this savagery." The other sheep clamored in agreement, and they went together to the old bones of the dead wolves heaped in the corner of the pasture, and gathered fang and claw and made them into weapons.

      That night, when the wolves came, the newly armed sheep sprang up with their weapons and struck at them, crying, "Begone! We are not food!" and drove off the wolves, who were astonished. When did sheep become so bold and so dangerous to wolves? When did sheep grow teeth? It was unthinkable!

      The next day, flush with victory and waving their weapons, they approached the flock to pronounce their discovery. But as they drew nigh, the flock huddled together and cried out, "Baaaaaaaadddd! Baaaaaddd things! You have bad things! We are afraid! You are not sheep!"

      The brave sheep stopped, amazed. "But we are your brethren!" they cried. "We are still sheep, but we do not wish to be food. See, our new teeth and claws protect us and have saved us from slaughter. They do not make us into wolves, they make us equal to the wolves, and safe from their viciousness!"

      "Baaaaaaad!" cried the flock, "the things are bad and will pervert you, and we fear them. You cannot bring them into the flock!" So the armed sheep resolved to conceal their weapons, for although they had no desire to panic the flock, they wished to remain in the fold. But they would not return to those nights of terror, waiting for the wolves to come.

      In time, the wolves attacked less often and sought easier prey, for they had no stomach for fighting sheep who possessed tooth and claw even as they did. Not knowing which sheep had fangs and which did not, they came to leave sheep out of their diet almost completely except for the occasional raid, from which more than one wolf did not return.

      Then came the day when, as the flock grazed beside the stream, one sheeps weapon slipped from the folds of her fleece, and the flock cried out in terror again, "Baaaaaad! You still possess these evil things! We must ban you from our presence!"

      And so they did. The great chief sheep and his council, encouraged by the words of their advisors, placed signs and totems at the edges of the pasture forbidding the presence of hidden weapons there. The armed sheep protested before the council, saying, "It is our pasture, too, and we have never harmed you! When can you say we have caused you hurt? It is the wolves, not we, who prey upon you. We are still sheep, but we are not food!" But the flock drowned them out with cries of "Baaaaaaddd! We will not hear your clever words! You and your things are evil and will harm us!"

      Saddened by this rejection, the armed sheep moved off and spent their days on the edges of the flock, trying from time to time to speak with their brethren to convince them of the wisdom of having such teeth, but meeting with little success. They found it hard to talk to those who, upon hearing their words, would roll back their eyes and flee, crying "Baaaaddd! Bad things!"

      That night, the wolves happened upon the sheeps totems and signs, and said, "Truly, these sheep are fools! They have told us they have no teeth! Brothers, let us feed!" And they set upon the flock, and horrible was the carnage in the midst of the fold. The dog fought like a demon, and often seemed to be in two places at once, but even he could not halt the slaughter.

      It was only when the other sheep arrived with their weapons that the wolves fled, only to remain on the edge of the pasture and wait for the next time they could prey, for if the sheep were so foolish once, they would be so again. This they did, and do still.

      In the morning, the armed sheep spoke to the flock, and said, "See? If the wolves know you have no teeth, they will fall upon you. Why be prey? To be a sheep does not mean to be food for wolves!" But the flock cried out, more feebly for their voices were fewer, though with no less terror, "Baaaaaaaad! These things are bad! If they were banished, the wolves would not harm us! Baaaaaaad!"

      So they resolved to retain their weapons, but to conceal them from the flock; to endure their fear and loathing, and even to protect their brethren if the need arose, until the day the flock learned to understand that as long as there were wolves in the night, sheep would need teeth to repel them.

      They would still be sheep, but they would not be food!


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## Tgace (May 16, 2005)

In light of the recent interest of this metaphor...I resurrect you!!


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## Rich Parsons (May 16, 2005)

Tgace said:
			
		

> In light of the recent interest of this metaphor...I resurrect you!!



Tom,

An honest question here. If one does not carry a gun, does this make them a SHEEP?

I have seen some refer to people who do not carry guns as SHEEPLE. I find this a problem personally.


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## Tgace (May 16, 2005)

Guns are only tools. People are the true weapons and their intent and preparation not to be victims. However, if you are in a situation or environment where a gun could save your life and you reject the idea....well....


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## Rich Parsons (May 16, 2005)

Tgace said:
			
		

> Guns are only tools. People are the true weapons and their intent and preparation not to be victims. However, if you are in a situation or environment where a gun could save your life and you reject the idea....well....




There have been times, when having a gun and firing back would have been an option if I had a gun. Yes I have been shot at. I have guns ponted at me. I have stood in front of them and looked down the barrels. I count myself very lucky to still be alive just under the odds alone. But in many of those cases, as when I did have a knife on me for the knife encounters, I would not have had time or the chance to go for a gun, as it was out and pointing at me, or being fired from a moving vehicle or ... , .  I used my brain, and my instincts and training no matter how little or formal it was.  

I enjoy shooting. I do not own a gun. I choose for a gun not to be my primary self-defense tool. I agree the tool is not the problem but the person using said tool. This does not mean Ihave not used others tools when available. Ihave useds Cars, Swords, Flash Lights, the wall, pool balls, the ground, and lots of other things including my favorite the tuna fish can.

Having been a street Sheepdog for a while, I understand the sheep and their lack of understanding the problems or danger, and the wolves and their approach, including your quotes from Aesops Fables. 

Now personally I do not believe that the sheep owe me anything at all, for you see, All that I did, I did not do for them but for myself. Because the situation required it, and I could not just walk away, and allow others to get hurt, or worse. Was it nice to receive thanks? Yes it was.  But if I did it just for the thanks, or the recognition then, I would have been doing it for the wrong reasons, in my opinion. I did it because someone had to do it, and I was the one there. Nor do I believe it that all wolves need to be hunted down and killed, just for their thoughts. I will allow the system to work at hand, and address each one in its' time. 

Thank you for your reply.
 :asian:


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## Tgace (May 16, 2005)

I follow Musashi's philosophy on weapons....



> This is the truth: when you sacrifice your life, you must make fullest use of your weaponry. It is false not to do so, and to die with a weapon yet undrawn.



I dont accept or reject any weapon per se. Its a question of survival and goal accomplishment....


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## Rich Parsons (May 17, 2005)

Tgace said:
			
		

> I follow Musashi's philosophy on weapons....
> 
> 
> 
> I dont accept or reject any weapon per se. Its a question of survival and goal accomplishment....



I actually agree, and I have been able to survive so far.


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## Tgace (May 17, 2005)

However I also subscribe to the "Better to have it and not need it then need it and not have it" theory.


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## Rich Parsons (May 17, 2005)

Tgace said:
			
		

> However I also subscribe to the "Better to have it and not need it then need it and not have it" theory.




True, and in tour case it makes lots of sense.

As a civilian, if I had a CPL for my state, I could not take it into a school or a University, which I do stop by from time to time. I would be fired, from my job for just having it in my car in the parking lot. Yet the parking lot is technically private property, and they have given fair warning to having weapons in your vehicle. This is to stop the people from going out to their car and grabbing a weapon and doing something to someone. 

So, the only place I could use it would be in my house. So, I have learned to adapt and overcome the limitations force upon me. Like I said, for some it is great, for people like me, and just is not a viable option for what I do for my day to day life.

BTW: Since the Sheep, Sheepdog and Wolf arguement, does not depend upon a gun, or firearm as you stated above, then having this thread in the armoury versus the study was to target a certain group of people or audiance?


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## dearnis.com (May 17, 2005)

Rich;
  The term "sheeple", at least as I understand it  (and, I admit, use it on occaision)  has nothing to do with any particular weapon and everything to do with mindset.  Based on that I'm afraid you don't qualify...

It is not the weapon folks, it is the user!


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## Rich Parsons (May 18, 2005)

dearnis.com said:
			
		

> Rich;
> The term "sheeple", at least as I understand it  (and, I admit, use it on occaision)  has nothing to do with any particular weapon and everything to do with mindset.  Based on that I'm afraid you don't qualify...
> 
> It is not the weapon folks, it is the user!



Chad,

I understand the use of the term, but what I am calling to attention here, is how a certain group of people are using the term to forward their agenda, about how this makes it right to carry a fire arm. When plain and simple the Second Admendmant of the U.S. Constitution allows for the owning of fires arms, and the Tenth grants back the the states all rights not reserved by the Federal. Thereby allowing the states to put into place buying waiting periods, and or back ground checks, and the request for a CPL to carry concealed.  So, once again a few people in the Fire Arms Community are making it bad for everyone.

And before anyone thinks this was an attack on Tgace, get a life, he is a mature adult, assure of himself and his choice of professions. I knew I could have a discussion with him, just like I did. So, please I was not talking about Tgace in general or in specific about this issue, only posting to better understand, and to ask about how people refer to others.

Thank you everyone and best regards


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## Cruentus (May 18, 2005)

Rich doesn't need a gun, because bullets just bounce off his skin anyways. 

Seriously,

I don't believe the analogy means that you MUST carry a gun to be a sheepdog. However, I think that wanting to limit the ethical citizens right to self-defense (gun control) is definatily more sheeplike then sheepdog like. I think that not doing what is needed to keep oneself and others safe and free from danger is very sheeplike. However, some (if not many) do not have a lifestyle where carrying a gun all the time is an option, and I can respect that. I know that this does not mean that they are "sheep" as a few of these people would help another out of danger if given the opportunity, gun or no gun.

As Chad said, it's the user, not the weapon. Hell, there are a few gun owners who wouldn't help someone else out if there was a need for it, and there are a few gun owners who are wolves.

Paul


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## Makalakumu (May 20, 2005)

I might as well stick my reply to the same article from this thread here.  Either way, interesting read... 




> This analogy screams of existentialism
> 
> *Definition*  The universe in inherently disordered. Thus we struggle to make our own meaning, if only for a little bit. Either way the human desired for logic and morality are ultimately futile. Everything changes.
> 
> ...


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## TonyM. (May 21, 2005)

Exellant!


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