LTC Dave Grossman on the Patrick Coffin Show

Lt. Col. Dave Grossman brings expert insights to the psychology of killing, & the widespread angst we all feel during this CCP virus masking lockdown, plus the chaos that quickly arises when law enforcement is eliminated. HIGHLY recommended. https://t.co/MAdqk3i2Sc

— Patrick Coffin (@Patrick_Coffin) August 25, 2020

The Art of Manliness Continues Its Series

Are You a Sheep or Sheepdog? Part II: 8 Reasons You’re Hardwired for Sheepness
Are You a Sheep or Sheepdog? Part III: Your Roadmap to Becoming a Sheepdog

Having the Proper Mindset

Or the martial virtues...

Someone from Art of Manliness actually took a course that referenced Dave Grossman: Are You a Sheep or Sheepdog? Part I

And there is this video from Panteao: Analysis of the Survival Mindset


The Boy Scouts of America: Then and Now — A Comparison of the 1911 and Modern Handbooks and Merit Badges

Jared Diamond, The World Until Yesterday

Penguin

I read an interview with Diamond in the United Airlines in-flight magazine. He talks about the modern Western way of war, which recognizes a moral distinction between combatants and non-combatants, contrasting them with certain traditional societies which have no hesitation to kill children.

The doctrine of limited warfare arose gradually in the West and was precipiated by Christianity? Destroy an entire society was not unknown to the Jews, though it has been questioned by contemporary Christians and scholars whether this was actually ordered by God or not. It seems that one pattern was to kill all the males while females were taken captive. Does Diamond remark upon the impact of Christianity on our conduct of war? Or did this merely happen as a result of "progress" or "civilization"?

He also compares the members of "traditional" societies with our vets who suffer ptsd. The former suffer no ill effects, no hesitation to kill. How does this square with Dave Grossman's contention that we have a natural aversion to killing another human being? What sort of rituals and psychological mechanisms are present in traditional societies that facilitate the taking of human lives in war? And how is the inclination to kill developed and enhanced? Is the lack of a hesitation a sign of nature, or "second nature," habit acquired through training? Perhaps Diamond goes into greater depth in his comparison and analysis within the book.



NPR interview
UCLA Magazine
Live on Earth
On Point with Tom Ashbrook
Guardian
KUOW News
'Collapse' in Congress: Lawmakers should learn from tribal elders

More philosophy masquerading as "anthropology"? Sure, there is data - observations being reported, but what of the interpretation that is in the judgments made in observing and the subsequent interpretations made when the observations are reviewed and taken as a whole? How well can an outsider understand a different culture, without becoming a part of it, learning its language, and so on? Anthropologists do learn the language, but is this sufficient?


More of Jared Diamond:
How Societies Fail - And Sometimes Succeed
The Evolution of Religions
another interview

Lt. Col. Grossman on Glenn Beck: How do we stop the next Sandy Hook? Glenn talks with Dave Grossman about gun violence in schools


Paul Howe, Second Amendment and the Kool-Aid Drinkers

Misc:
Of course they have to include several women: Buzzfeed - 10 Modern Military Heroes You Should Know About

Dave Grossman Seminars in CA

Information

Dave Grossman, On Sheep, Wolves and Sheepdogs

On Sheep, Wolves and Sheepdogs
(From the book, On Combat, by Lt. Col. Dave Grossman)

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.