Viewing a single comment thread. View all comments

DrDragun t1_j5lgcmo wrote

We all like to believe we'd do the same thing, but if you aren't expecting a situation and only have fleeting seconds to realize and act then 90% of us would choke. Hopefully this guy is treated like a hero around town for the rest of his life.

391

Dumdumgirlsbeeep t1_j5luehr wrote

I think I would freeze. And I hate that

174

bananafobe t1_j5m1esd wrote

If it helps, there are benefits to freezing during extreme circumstances, including enabling you to focus and possibly protecting against the development of PTSD related symptoms.

We often think of freezing as an inadequate response, but part of that is because we tend to consider it in situations like this (where it almost certainly wouldn't have been a helpful response), as opposed to situations wherein remaining calm enabled someone to navigate a potentially dangerous situation, and where it may not have been obvious that a "freeze" response was part of what enabled someone to remain calm.

140

Dumdumgirlsbeeep t1_j5m1yft wrote

You are so kind thanks for this. And truthfully I’m always the calm head in a crisis (the one to calm the patient, call 911 etc) so maybe that’s my gift. Hopefully if I’m ever in a situation like this there’s a Brandon Tsay around 😊

43

Millenniauld t1_j5qingv wrote

I'll be honest, as someone who has a major "fight" response to stressors, it doesn't usually mean being a hero, and it does put you in danger. I got jumped once when delivering pizzas and I got DAMN lucky that they weren't expecting a skinny delivery girl to turn into a rage filled "fire spitting" demon (I carried pepper spray.) They easily could have killed me, because I'm wired to react even if it isn't the right choice. Pretty sure they were caught off guard and squeamish about hitting a woman until it was too late and I had the upper hand.

For every Brandon Tsay out there, you have dozens of people who get themselves or even others hurt. Life isn't like the movies.

Having the ability to stay calm, call 911, and do first aid when others are injured...... That's an even rarer talent in my opinion.

3

MATlad t1_j5ntoju wrote

I think that's the point for a lot of emergency training (and 'refreshers'): so that when the alarms, or flames, or H2S sensors go off for real, or when you see an electrified coworker (grab something non-conductive instead of the coworker) or someone who's bleeding out, you don't completely freeze up, or only hesitate enough to evaluate.

Like how Gretzky (and others in that elite-amongst-elite tier of athletes) claimed they felt they could slow down time enough and make plays and analyses that the rest of us (and even many of their very-well compensated teammates) would just blink through.

And on the dark side... Before the mass murder / suicide of ~918 people at Jonestown happened, there'd been multiple "practice runs" prior with unpoisoned drink:

https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Utopian-nightmare-3060346.php

Heck, maybe his followers wouldn't have suffered as much if they weren't even told. But I guess Sunday picnics ("try the punch!"--or more insidiously, here's the "communion wine") aren't really compatible with paranoid cult leaders whose cults face apocalyptic ends to their supposed utopias.

4

keskeskes1066 t1_j5phwon wrote

Thank you for that. Now I have a response to my wife when she asks why I am "still just sitting there" after she asks me to do something.

"Just remaining calm and enabling myself to navigate a potentially dangerous situation, Babe.

3

SuicydKing t1_j5vviyy wrote

> a potentially dangerous situation

"I'll show you a potentially dangerous situation!"

-wife

2

emmywhichway t1_j5lykvm wrote

Why? There is no shame in self-preservation.

17

Whoretron8000 t1_j5lzhbj wrote

Because they want to not freeze. There is no shame for aspiring for something like that. So long it doesn't hurt self esteem/psyche.

36

Literal_star t1_j5m1662 wrote

Uhhh I don't think "freeze when you are confronted with what appears to be a mass shooter" qualifies as self preservation

6

emmywhichway t1_j5m2p66 wrote

I just meant inaction against a threat in general vs engaging with it directly.

17

keskeskes1066 t1_j5pjcdn wrote

Most of the time, the best response to a crisis is collect information before committing to action. Most of the time.

That few seconds or minutes of evaluating the threat can prevent impulsive, but deadly incorrect responses.

But be smart about it. When the fire alarm goes off, don't gawk around and ask others, "Is that for real?" Just get up an move to an exit.

Train yourself and family like the military - immediate action drills to immediate threats, (like near ambushes). Know what to do in the event of a kitchen fire, home intruder, tornado, etc. and teach yourself to collect information in less urgent situations.

2

tech_fu t1_j5oljs7 wrote

Most people do without training. In another life (not literally just many years ago) I was a Marine and heavily involved in several martial arts and MMA. There's a reason that there are so many variations of the phrase "everyone has a plan until they're punched in the face". Hand to hand combat with a gun in play is a more traumatic and stressful situation that 99.9999% of people will ever have to deal with. I wouldn't give yourself too hard of a time for hypothetically freezing in a situation like that.

3

fuck_the_fuckin_mods t1_j5mcjc7 wrote

I have extreme anxiety so I am on point when shit actually goes down. A calmness comes over me when things are seriously fucked and everyone else is frozen. I’m useless the other 99.9% of the time but I’m always ready for real shit. I honestly believe I would have done the same, as I have done similar in similar situations.

18

pheisenberg t1_j5mavhg wrote

Seems hard to say given the lack of experimental data, but an interesting question.

I once read that there’s a common mammalian threat-response neural network that generates flight behavior if the threat is far, freezing at medium distance, and fight up close. How the distances are set varies by species.

Based on that, fighting could be the expected reaction in this situation, but I think humans are a little different. A nearby human threat can generate other responses such as submission, begging, or tending. He had to realize those wouldn’t work and suppress them. Someone could appear to freeze if they were trying to decide whether to fight but having a hard time making the decision under stress. It probably helped that the killer appeared somewhat confused, therefore was not exerting any emotional dominance and was more vulnerable to counterattack.

12

bobo-the-dodo t1_j5nup5c wrote

I hope his family setup a gofundme for their dance hall. The sister indicated they had a hard time during covid and she kept it open as a promise for departed mom as place for seniors to find joy.

9

frenchfreer t1_j5o7owt wrote

I was in the infantry in the mid 00’s and I saw trained soldiers freeze under fire when confronted with real combat the first time, so I bet you meal team six is shitting their pants and hitting the road. I don’t think people understand the absolute panic that happens when someone is actively trying to kill you and how hard it is to override those emotions.

7