Is your loyalty making you a target?

Is your loyalty to a brand or organization making you a clear target? If you have bumper stickers and window decals, you might be a target. This is a divisive world where signage, stickers and hats can, with the wrong person, spell trouble.

While I am not suggesting you remove and eliminate your favorite firearm brand logos, NRA stickers, political affiliations, gun shapes, and accessory logos, I am suggesting you recognize the potential that these may present. The potential exists for you to be singled out and possibly be a target.

While I must say, I have signage you can't miss on my car. And yes, I believe that this too puts me in the 'spotlight'.

On a side note, when driving this car we almost always get a reaction. Those reactions are either excited and happy or frowning and quiet. Then again, there are a few that think the company packs your household items when you relocate.

I will not stop driving my car nor am I recommending you change your 'signage' either. What I want to point out is the possibility of what can happen so you are aware. I'm going to share a recent incident encountered by someone I know.

This incident happened in Florida on a six lane, well traveled road. A firearms trainer was driving his car in the right-hand lane. This trainer happens to have signage on the rear window advertising CCW training. Suddenly a women pulled out in front of him from a side street. The trainer slowed down and managed not hit the woman. Then continued on behind her. She drove really slow and never picked up speed to the flow of traffic. The trainer shifted lanes to pass and as he passed, the woman picked up speed and cut in front of the trainer.

The woman was yelling and doing all she could to keep the trainer from getting passed her. Shortly thereafter the police arrived and pulled over the trainer. The woman stopped also to ‘share her story’. Unbeknownst, to the trainer the woman had phoned ‘911’ during this interaction stating a guy was following her and he had flashed his gun at her.

Typically when the police get a call that a gun was ‘shown’ and the person turns out to be in possession of a gun, it’s often an automatic assumption of guilt.

This woman had a pretty good idea that a CCW trainer might be in possession of a firearm and tried to use that information against him.

What this woman didn’t know was that this trainer had a dash-cam and was immediately able to prove what the woman claimed was not true.

This story demonstrates the connections people can make based on those stickers and the need to be diligent. Both situational awareness and deference are a necessity. Not only being aware of those around you but also how your actions can be seen, interpreted or manipulated by others.