Spike TV is running a 13-part series on Saturday mornings called “Don’t Be a Victim.” This is the first time, to my knowledge, that television has devoted 26 hours to extolling the virtues of armed self-defense for ordinary citizens.
The show is put together by Orion Multimedia of Denver, a company that has done hunting and fishing shows. It is hosted by Gerald McRaney, well-known television actor who starred in “Major Dad” and co-hosted the hunting show “The World of Beretta.”
Each two-hour block runs from 8 to 10 a.m. and is divided into four parts. The fourth part, from 9:30 to 10, is called Conceal & Carry School and features our own Bill Davison putting nine non-gun people through five days of intensive training at his school Tac Pro Shooting Center in north Texas. The training took place in the spring before the weather got really hot.
Davison is assisted by several assistant instructors including the ugly old guy with the grey beard who wrote this article. Six women and three men from around the country attended the course. Most had suffered as victims of crime – one woman had been mugged and beaten in Denver; another had been raped on a cruise ship; one of the men had been beaten by six thugs and had suffered severe damage to one eye; another woman had a restraining order against a handyman she had employed and who was stalking her. The guns for the training were supplied by Ruger and the ammunition by Winchester.
The first episode of Conceal & Carry School was an overview of the training and the students. The second told Sarah’s story of being mugged and how she responded to the training. The third concentrated on Howie Drummond, a radio talk show host also from Denver who had been threatened and on one occasion followed home. Further episodes will tell the stories of the other students.
The first part of each two-hour block is called “What If?” and recreates a particular shooting incident with interviews with some of the participants. The first one was the Luby’s Cafeteria shooting in Killeen in 1991. Suzanna Gratia Hupp who saw her parents killed was interviewed extensively. The second “What If?” dealt with the shooting at Columbine High School and the third was the more recent shooting in 2007 at the New Life Church in Colorado Springs in which several people were killed before Jeanne Assam who was acting as a security guard took on the shooter and killed him.
The second part of each block is called “Because Lives Depend On It.” It explains how military and law enforcement tactics are relevant to ordinary citizens defending themselves or their families. Topics covered in the first three episodes include urban combat, clearing a house, shooting on the move, and shooting at night with flashlights.
The third block is called “Practical Tactical” It has dealt with self-defense when attacked on the street while unarmed, using a knife for self-defense, how to break through a door or window, using dogs for defense. One episode showed the ultimate safe house, an 8,000 square foot mansion in Los Angeles that had every safety device imaginable including bullet proof doors that weigh 600 pounds.
When looking for the series, don’t get confused. Spike does not use the “Don’t Be A Victim” overall title of the series in scheduling but breaks it down into the half-hour parts under the titles of What If, Because Lives Depend On It, Practical Tactical, and Conceal & Carry School. There is also a web site about the show due to be created shortly.
Despite the occasional appearance of the writer of this article, the series is excellent should provide useful information to anyone who carries a handgun concealed or is thinking of doing so.
by Chris Bird
Chris Bird is past president of TCHA and author of The Concealed Handgun Manual and Thank God I Had A Gun.