In today's episode, I'll be covering a topic that seems to have become an unfortunate trend in the last couple months--human predation. I could write an entire article and give a whole course on human violence, but I'll try to keep this manageable for everyone's time. Think of this as (hopefully) a basic, foundational summary.
Human predation, with some exception, is not entirely different than animal predation. Most often, the only main difference is the goal and complexity of the “hunt”. For instance, according to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, most predation would occur to meet only the most basic needs—i.e. the physiological needs. Even with those, humans tend to interject our “higher” level of thinking into their predation. This leads to the categorization of process predators and resource predators.
Resource predators are people who are willing to do violence to others because they (the victims) have something (resources; e.g. money, car, valuables, etc.) they (the predator) want. Often, a resource predator only exhibits the predatory behavior until they get what they’re after. With only a few exceptions, a resource predator will rarely continue the violence to the point of death or serious harm. Resource predators rely on violence or the threat of violence as a means to and end.
Process predators are far more dangerous, because the only resource they are after are victims. Examples of process predators include contract killers, criminals with antisocial personality disorder, serial killers/rapists, etc. Process predators rely on violence, not as a means to and end, but as the end itself.
Sometimes, these two will intersect. For instance, recently, I have heard of a half-dozen stories of attempted kidnappings. While trafficking is certainly a possibility, it far more likely that the kidnapper was after a more personal “resource”. However, they’re goal was directly tied into a person, which places them squarely in the process predator category.
Thankfully, regardless of the type of predator, good #situationalawareness practices will help you avoid them all, since both resource and process predators rely on actions and behaviors similar to those of animal predators. Primarily, keep yourself in the frame of mind that these people exist. Don’t help them identify yourself as a target. Don’t flash money or valuables. The richer you look, the more tempting you might be to a resource predator. Pay attention to your physical surroundings, and the people around you. Look for behaviors or characteristics that are outside the norm (anomalies) for the area. There are many, many other tips and skills to help you #commandyourspace.
If you or someone you know would like to learn more, contact us at pete.w@defensiveapplicationstraininggroup.com.
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