Kris Wilder - The Little Black Book of Violence

If you ever get the chance to ask a rancher or somebody who has raised farm animals about the phrase, “cut from the herd,” you will hear them talk about picking one animal as a target and then using a dog and horse to separate it from the group. There aren’t all that many ranchers around to interview so you are more likely to have experienced this type of behavior on television. Predators hunting in the wild do not want to tangle with tough targets that might cause them injury, so they try to cut a weak, infirm, or young animal from the herd, isolating it from the protection of the group prior to moving in for the kill. This is done to gain advantage, to make the kill as easy and efficient as possible.

This same type of behavior occurs within the human realm as well. Predators stack the deck in order to increase their odds of winning. Cutting from the herd means that the bad guy gains the advantage in numbers, determines the time, chooses the place, has the element of surprise, and is not observed by others. These points are elaborated as follows:

• Gains the advantage in numbers.No intelligent animal will pick a fight unless it believes it will win (or has far more to lose by not fighting). Changing the numbers to create an advantage is, therefore, fundamental. This means either separating the victim from a larger group to battle one-on-one without interference or working with other predators to outnumber the chosen victim before the fight. Similarly, choosing a weak opponent or making him weaker is just as fundamental. A numbers advantage makes even a strong adversary weaker.

• Determines the time.Odds are that you will not be attacked when you’re ready and raring to go. If the time of attack is determined by the aggressor, then it is by definition not chosen by the victim. In choosing the time of the attack, the aggressor is prepared while the victim is not. The predator can wait until his prey is distracted, encumbered, preoccupied, or otherwise ill prepared to fight.

• Chooses the place.When the attacker determines the place, he can take the high ground, spring from ambush, attack when the glare of the sun reduces the victim’s ability to see, or otherwise take tactical advantage of the terrain. Scouting the best site for attack means that the predator knows the environment, anticipates escape routes, identifies sources of impromptu weapons, precludes intervention from bystanders, and otherwise takes best advantage of the optimal place to fight.

• Has the element of surprise.When time and place are chosen by the aggressor, the element of surprise completes the preparation triad for the perfect attack. There is no guarantee, of course, but action being faster than reaction, surprise is a powerful advantage indeed. By the time the victim realizes what has occurred, it is already too late to escape without a fight.

Be extra cautious around banks, pawnshops, check cashing establishments, casinos, and ATM kiosks where predators may be looking to separate you from your money.

• Is not observed by others.As a general rule, the more public the situation the safer you will be insomuch as violent crime is concerned. Certainly, riots run counter to this principle and certain crimes such as pick pocketing are facilitated by the anonymity that crowds provide. Terrorist bombers also target populated areas at peak traffic times. People who are showboating to gain social status also crave attention, as exemplified by all the fight videos you can find posted on

YouTube.com. Nevertheless, the majority of violent acts are perpetrated by one attacker against one victim or among small groups. Relatively few violent acts occur in front of large numbers of witnesses unless the perpetrator is mentally deficient and/or under the influence of drugs that limit his or her inhibitions. If the predator is unobserved by witnesses or surveillance cameras, no one can testify about his actions. Similarly, there is no one hanging around who might choose to intervene. Consequently, he has a better chance of getting away with his crime.

Animals in the wild cut from the herd to single out weaker prey. Violent individuals use the same tactic in the human jungle to waylay their victims. Cutting from the herd means that the predator gains the advantage in numbers, determines the time, chooses the place, has the element of surprise, and is not observed by others. That’s a seriously unfair fight, one you are bound to lose. Don’t let yourself be cut from the herd.

Let’s review an everyday example of how “cutting from the herd” actually works. You have been drinking at the local tavern, and eventually visit the restroom. You are standing at the urinal minding your own business when suddenly a guy comes up behind you, and growls, “That’s my girl, you SOB. You need to stay away from her!”

Let’s evaluate your predicament against the predator checklist:

✓ Gains advantage in numbers: Check.By waiting for you to go to the men’s room, he is able to isolate you from your friends or anyone who may come to your aid, physically or verbally. This includes the referee of the tavern, the bouncer. If you’re really unlucky, he might have brought his friends in with him.

✓ Determines the time: Check.He waited for you to go to the men’s room, but it also took him three or four beers and twenty minutes of internal dialogue to screw up the courage to wait for you there. By the time he confronts you, he has worked himself into a frenzy, injected plenty of liquid courage, and is raring to go. You, on the other hand, are literally caught with your pants down, well unzipped anyway. Not exactly your best time to fight.

✓ Chooses the place: Check.He could have jumped you at your table, waited for you in the parking lot by your car, hung out in the hallway for you to use the phone, or selected any other location, yet the men’s room is the optimal choice. You are less likely to be prepared to fight. Furthermore, it is more confined, has better privacy, and is easier to control. He’s picked the ideal place to do you in.

✓ Has the element of surprise: Check.You are busy. In order to use the urinal, you must have your back to anybody who decides to approach you. Furthermore, you are unlikely to pay much attention to other people around you. It’s socially unacceptable to look at other guys in the men’s room, right? Similarly, you are equally unlikely to turn around quickly when you hear him come in. He intuitively knows that you expect to be left alone when going to the bathroom so this will catch you off guard.

While it is socially unacceptable to look too closely at those around you in a public restroom, it is an isolated area that can give a bad guy the privacy he needs to attack. If ambushed you may be caught with your pants down, ill prepared to fight.

✓ Is not observed by others: Check.The restroom has only one way to enter or leave. It is small, constrained by stall walls, and provides little room to maneuver. It is relatively easy to lock the door, block or jam it with something, and assure a moment of complete privacy for the attack.

In this scenario, if a fight ensues you are almost certain to lose. You may still have some tricks up your sleeve like peeing on his foot to distract him, but it’s still awful tough to fight when you’ve been taken by surprise and need to make sense of what’s happening before you can respond effectively. And it’s psychologically tough to fight with your dick hanging out…