de-escalation

You Don’t Get to Fight Anymore: Lessons for Armed Citizens from the Alex Pretti Incident in Minnesota

By Mitch Goerdt / January 27, 2026

I wrote You Don’t Get to Fight Anymore last summer as a reminder to armed citizens that carrying a firearm changes the rules. Not legally. Morally. Practically. Permanently. Today, that…

Lesson From a Road Rage Shooting: Pride Is Not a Self-Defense Strategy

By Mitch Goerdt / January 13, 2026

Yesterday morning, I woke up to my partner telling me she had just been sideswiped while driving the kids to school. No injuries. The car is damaged, but drivable. Everyone…

Prepared Isn’t Paranoid. It’s Love With a Plan

By Mitch Goerdt / September 30, 2025

Aisle seven, ordinary Tuesday. Fluorescent hum overhead. The checkout dings. Laura Ashley’s list is dialed for what the kids will actually eat. I push the cart. Izzy rides the front…

You Don’t Get to Fight Anymore: Lessons for the Armed Citizen

By Mitch Goerdt / July 3, 2025

Recently, a new concealed carrier asked a question on Reddit that caught my eye: It was the kind of question that’s easy to dismiss or clown on, but if we’re…

VIDEO: Fort Wayne’s Road Rage – Legal Fate Unveiled for Man Charged with Felony Recklessness in Shooting Incident

By Matthew Maruster / January 12, 2024

Greetings, readers, as we delve into a recent incident unfolding on the streets of Fort Wayne, where police charged a 42-year-old man with a felony charge of criminal recklessness involving…

VIDEO – De-escalation, Noticing Aggression, And Knowing When It’s Time to Go

By Matthew Maruster / April 13, 2022

Frequently physical fights begin with a verbal confrontation. De-escalation and avoidance are always preferable to the use of any physical force. Developing these skills is just as important, or perhaps…