I worked at a very large corporation once.

[LuckyCharms]

Several thousand people in one of several huge industrial buildings.

Our departments were situated in attached "opened up" trailers that were attached together, and also attached to the main building.

The corporation went through an endless series of buyouts and lay-offs over a very prolonged period. Employees in our related departments (a few hundred of us) were formally ranked as to our relative importance to both the department, and to the company as a whole.

Layoffs would trickle in, over a period of months. Everyone had a rough idea of when their number might be up, but no one knew for certain.

The stress that this caused was immeasurable. These were high paying, white collar positions.

People started getting wigged out. Employees came to work and spent their days gazing off into space, like zombies.

Resumes' were being prepared during working hours. Other jobs were very scarce in the area at the time, and several co-workers ended up competing for the same job that was available at other companies.

The notion of someone "going postal" at work was very, very real.

We used to have low key discussions of what we would do if someone came into the main entrance of the trailers and started blasting away with an automatic weapon.

Would we be able to subdue the attacker? How? From what position? How would we get the jump on him?

Those of us in exposed physical areas would develop plans on where we could hide.

Could we set up some kind of barrier? How can we get the fuck out of here if the main entrance is blocked? Can we somehow get up into the suspended ceiling quickly without being noticed? Is there anything up there we could hang on to to keep from falling? We actually removed ceiling tiles to see if that was possible.

These types of things were talked about on the downlow, daily.

As it happened, there were no mass shootings at this place by the time all of this was over, but there were several incidents of violence, as well as some suicides off-premises.

To this day, I carry that terrible environment with me. I'm hyper-vigilant when I walk into a store. I look for the exits. I look for hiding places. I think of "what if".

Yep, the chance of being involved in a mass shooting is very very low. But the probability is greater than zero, and it seems to be getting larger every day.

There are certainly things more riskier and more probable than being killed in a hail of bullets, but still...

I'm not posting this for any particular reason except to maybe spark discussion. All of these mass shootings are prompting me to think about the above situation.

[rampartc]

1. "situation awareness."

part of class warfare is dividing the working class through fear and mistrust.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

2. It's never a bad idea to have situational awareness and know what to do in an emergency.

[littlemissmartypants]

7. It's the first rule of self-defense.

That includes knowing the people around you and their intentions. It's an especially valuable concept for those who are concerned about having their drinks spiked, being kidnapped, raped, murdered or all of the above.

It gets a trickier if you need to quickly determine those things during a mass shooting.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

13. .

It gets a trickier if you need to quickly determine those things during a mass shooting.

You covered it when you mentioned “concerned about being murdered.”

[Jedi Guy]

20. "That includes knowing the people around you and their intentions."

This is what security experts refer to as the "Give It a Name Game." Be aware of what's going on around you. If you hear a sound, look towards it, note it, and mentally attach a name. Similarly, be aware of any people who are coming towards you and do the same with them. Look right at them.

Muggers and other ne'er-do-wells prefer to prey on those who are unaware or distracted. If you see them, and they know you've seen them, they will be more likely to leave you alone simply because you appear alert and aren't an easy target. If they do something, you've already noticed them and so you might fight back, run away, scream for help, etc. They'll be more likely to wait for an easier target.

It's by no means a guarantee of avoiding trouble, but it tilts the odds a little more in your favor on that score.

[Skittles]

3. I have been through buyouts / mergers six times

yup

[haele]

4. When a company/corporation is more interested in short term profit over production -

Fearful, stressed out employees competing against each other is a feature, not something to be shunned.
"Competition drives better outcomes". "Disruption creates innovation". "Got to be lean and mean and trim the fat to make better businesses."
Those were buzz-words from the Tech-bro and "Greed is Good" Financier MBA class of the 1980's through 2000's, as the impact of technology to a responsible social and production economy was not totally realized in a holistic sense.
Jobs were becoming redundant, and the financial world was just looking at replacing that pesky labor cost segment of business without understanding the interaction of labor and customer/markets interacted. Economies in general are not static, and both finance and market economies are held in a fragile balance across multiple factors - especially the top often less considered social factors. Chaos and disruption are never good when it comes to long-term economic health.

A whole generation of business management was ruined by get rich quick/quarterly profit margin MBA philosophies.

Haele

[tiredtoo]

6. Ditto

"A whole generation of business management was ruined by get rich quick/quarterly profit margin MBA philosophies."

[DENVERPOPS]

9. Agreed

Instead of a race to the top, it flipped, almost overnight into a race for the bottom....ie the bottom line.......

It really kicked into gear from minute one of the Reagan "installation" to Presidency. Actually, I call it the HWBush/Cheney/ etc administration............

I was a Corporate executive, and couldn't stomach it anymore and bailed out in 1981, figuring I would rather eat beans than to help accomplish the incredible carnage that I witnessed Corporations were implementing on both their employees and their customers......

[Joinfortmill]

5. The corporate environment is Darwinian. I was so glad when I could retire. As for being vigilant..

it's probably a good thing. I think I should do more of that. I always shop as early in the day as possible when there are the fewest people in the stores and, to my mind, the lowest chance of a shooter encounter.

[littlemissmartypants]

8. I deeply believe that we are all traumatized by these shootings.

Our collective society is under siege. If a person isn't touched by these events they are deranged and/or are manifesting antisocial personality disorder. In other words, very sick and possibly a danger to society.

How many of us here haven't started to rethink our societal interactions?

I have read at least one thread today discussing the safest times to go shopping. We consider adjusting our activities based on gun violence not just because we are fearful. We are traumatized.

Because of the frequently repeated trauma, we are unable to think critically. We're unable to conclude that it's the weapons that are the ultimate problem.

It's not the visit to the store, bar, club, synagogue, church, school, college, Post Office, restaurant, ball game, party, park, street, gas station, spa, apartment, nail salon, rest stop, deli, apartment, strip club, home or in a drive by. And that's not an entirely inclusive list of actual places where these crimes occur.

We have to start thinking critically and behave differently or this will only get worse. But how much worse can it be?

I've had enough. It's time for letters, phone calls and promises to those in power who refuse to see the need for change. They need to deeply understand that they will be voted out if they refuse to listen and act accordingly.

If we can't vote them out then they need to know that we will hound them into their graves until they do something monumental to protect the people of our society.

We can refuse to live like this and we should make our refusal known and make it loud, united and crystal clear.

Enough is enough.

❤️ pants

This is a repost from here...
https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=17408039

[Hekate]

14. I deeply believe that you are right

Very well said

[littlemissmartypants]

15. Thank you. I'm enjoying the rest of my holiday weekend and then I will start to work on my plan.

I'm not sure what it's going to be but it's going to be something. I'm determined, focused and highly motivated. Time to act. I am not afraid. I'm pissed.

Thanks for your reply, Hekate.. ❤️

[Genki Hikari]

18. The "safest" times conversations

Aren't about ignoring the guns. Far from it.

Those conversations are about facing the scary reality of living in a country where a bunch of violent, hate-fueled morons have guns--and USE THEM.

That doesn't mean we don't understand that the problem is the guns, which is a shocking, ridiculous and downright contemptible thing to accuse anyone with a brain of doing. We not only understand that guns are the problem, full well, but also that we have to somehow live with this problem as long as so many people refuse to do anything about it--or are actively making it worse, for their own twisted reasons.

Like it or not that is REALITY. Given how powerless we are to change that reality, we have to look at ways to protect ourselves as best we can.

[wnylib]

10. A few tips that might help in some settings.

Situational awareness is more than knowing hiding places and exits. It is paying attention to what is going on around you.

Reacting quickly, but not carelessly, is important. A first instinct is to duck or to run. Depending on where you are in relation to a shooter, running might draw a shooter's attention to you.

Free standing department stores like Wal-Mart have shipping and receiving rooms at the back of the store. Usually they are labelled "Employees Only" and have swinging double doors. Know where they are so you don't confuse them with the bathrooms or the employee break area. The shipping and receding area has an exit out of the building.

Mall stores often (but not always) receive their items through a back room. The exit there might not lead out of the mall. It might lead to a hallway that runs between the back entrances of stores that are back to back. But some mall stores don't have back exits. Check them out while you are there.

Supermarkets have walk in refrigerators behind the deli counter. No exit there, and pretty chilly, but the doors are usually pretty thick metal and can be locked.

Hiding in an aisle can help to keep you out of sight, but if the shooter does fire in your direction, the shelves and items on them will not shield you from bullets.

I'm not sure if this next suggestion would work, but if you need to move to a safer spot and fear being seen doing it, you might try this. Grab something from a shelf and throw it in another direction as far from you as you can. I'd be careful NOT to throw it in a direction toward other people. You don't want to set them up for being shot.

Not many people have the body size or combat experience of the hero who took down the shooter at Club Q. Don't try it unless you KNOW that you have a good chance of success.

Anyone else have suggestions?

[Butterflylady]

11. I'm going out to pick up some groceries tomorrow. To tell the truth I am

Am a little nervous. My daughter will take me and my 9 year old granddaughter will be with us. I will take note of the surroundings and a lot of 'what ifs' will cross my mind.

I know we should not let fear stop us from living our lives but my biggest fear is mass shootings are only get worse.

[BluesRunTheGame]

12. I've come to believe that most of us, in one way or another, will be affected by gun violence.

One of the recent mass shootings was in the town where I grew up. At a mall that I’ve been to many times. Another was in a town where I used to live at a grocery store where my niece shops. One of my old friends knew one of the victims very well.

[brooklynite]

16. " The notion of someone "going postal" at work was very, very real. "

But since you didn’t mention it, I’m assuming it DIDN’T ever happen.

As mentioned before, the chances of encountering a violent attack at work, while shopping, on the subway etc. is still infinitesimally small.

[LuckyCharms]

17. Yeah, that's what I fucking said.

[Genki Hikari]

19. As a former postal worker

The chances of a shooting happening at my workplace turned out to be 1:1. Because a shooting did happen at my workplace. From an employee's jealous husband who didn't believe she was at work at 3 a.m. despite months of working there overnight.

You never heard about that shooting, because, while shots were fired, only one of them hit something living--the fool's own foot.

And don't get me started on co-workers who were raped in various dark corners of a local postal facility. Or the actual physical fights that took place there. Because I was an eye-witness for at least one nasty physical fight that broke out, and one of my work partners was a victim of rape at a postal facility. i was there when she came out crying and battered from it. I was there when the police were called, both incidents. And I was there when assailants were arrested and hauled off to the county lockup.

So don't sneer at the very real fears many of us have had about workplace violence. For too many of us, they are 100% justified.

[Meowmee]

21. I think about that in stores, where would I hide if I could not escape

I have always hated large crowd events especially in enclosed spaces. I have mostly avoided them. I have never understood the desire to be crammed into a small area with large numbers of people. I am claustrophobic and avoid enclosed small spaces. I also avoid places that could be targets for shootings. I went to my friend’s funeral this summer in a synagogue and the thought crossed my mind. They have no security there. I think all targets should have guards to prevent an attacker.

[Hortensis]

22. Well, my first reaction is to find out if alarm for my wellbeing is sensible,

I check the NUMBERS. The stats. Back before vaccines, when I had to go to a hospital to be admitted to a Covid ward with already collapsed lung and painful trouble breathing, I checked the death stats for people my age (69) and condition -- they were about what I'd thought they were, no change, and I was immediately relieved: barring very bad luck, I'd be fine.

If just looking at one's own experience looking around isn't knocking down anxiety, check the stats. In this case, mass killings during normal shopping hours in normal shopping places checked against the millions of people out shopping every day. I did that once for the U.S.; don't remember the #, but it was astronomical. It'd have been more rational to worry about a plane falling out of the air on my car.

As for what IS happening for real, stoking civil unrest is a standard technique for enabling authoritarian takeovers. There's not nearly enough to be a threat to the typical person individually. BUT, right now it's not at all unrealistic to fear a coup d'etat, violent or nonviolent. We know they're trying.

Inform oneself to kill unrealistic, life-crippling fear. Some take medications for anxiety disorders.
Whatever's needed, please do it for yourself and absolutely to deny the bastards yet another victim. That is, refuse to be among those who'll be glad to have any government that promises to save them.

[LuckyCharms]

23. Well, what I'm saying in the OP is that I was in an environment for

over a year that fostered a particular type of stress, and the way this stress manifested itself in people's behavior became more apparent with each day that passed.

There were no numbers to look at, because nothing had happened yet. Except for the non-gun violence that occurred at the workplace, because of this particular type of stress. And also the suicides, which were directly tied to the stress via pre-suicide comments, and post suicide notes.

In addition, my home is exactly 4 miles away from a mass shooting in which the gunman locked people in a room and snuffed out the lives of 13 souls, and seriously injured 2 others. This did not happen at a school. This happened over a decade ago.

So yes, direct personal experience, or the personal experience of those in your immediate vicinity, will certainly inform one's perceived risk when in comes to the possibility of these types of things happening to them personally.

Edited to add: I'm not "alarmed". I've never been "crippled by fear". What I'm talking about here is reasonable vigilance based on what has happened, or has had the potential to happen, in my life experiences.

[Hortensis]

24. Trauma is a major cause of excessive, unrealistic anxiety,

and that's very unfortunate. I had an anxiety attack once and learned why many people have to go to the emergency room. It was awful.

But check some of the posts your OP generated for how RW efforts to create irrational levels of anxiety nationally may be doing. This isn't a Qnuts forum, either, but DU. WE, the Democrats, are our nation's seawall against authoritarian takeover. If too many of us become frightened into surrendering to irrational fears in order to stay safe, it's over.

There is a real increase in violent civil unrest. But those who don't suffer crippling clinical anxiety can just check the actual death stats PER CAPITA against the U.S. population to put the personal risk of death back in perspective. That's not much to ask an adult who can to do.

And then once that's put away, they can think what the fearmongers have been trying to accomplish by encouraging the nation to flood itself with guns, including military weaponry, and flooding RW media with hatemongering messages about how WE're trying to kill "them," civil war is breaking out any moment, etc, etc.

What's happening as a result will be in the history books for ever, BUT it's not nearly as violent out there as some imagine. Checking the stats showed that each of us is about as likely to fall out of the airliner next time we fly as we are to get killed in a mass shooting while out shopping. Not going to happen.

What we do need to check is our personal risk of spending the rest of our lives in a police state. Their goal is for more people to want a RW government under a strongman who'll at least make it safe to pick up a quart of milk again. Most democracies are VOTED out of existence by their own people.

And the more who don't realize picking up a quart of milk is as safe as it always was, the greater the real threat of that.