The majority of violent attacks are sadly predictable. Though rare, these events can be more or less likely depending on your life circumstances and if you roll the dice often enough with your safety, the probability of your victimization will inevitably approach 100%. The first 500 times one walks down a back alley at 3 am, they will likely get away unscathed. How likely will one get away unscathed if they repeat this risky action another 500 times?
One of the most reliable precursors to violence is competition, which is exacerbated by the scarcity of the resource motivating the contest. In a civilization, these situations are almost always solved through games, or organized, explicitly nonviolent contests in which one's prowess is demonstrated and a recipient of the contested goods is chosen by impartial judges. Examples include: promotion in the workplace based on objective workplace productivity evaluations, dating decided by family opinion of suitors, etc. These organized contests can sometimes be corrupted, which encourages savage situations where victors are chosen based on their ruthlessness, superficial charm, and willingness to cheat. Violence becomes an inevitable outcome of these dubious contests and a wise person avoids taking part in them or coveting the goods on offer. Often, simply possessing a high value good can designate one as a target of violence.
Another high probability antecedent of violence is visible weakness or timidity, known among criminals as "looking like a bitch" or "mark." Overt displays of emotional dysregulation, incapacity, inattentiveness, or vulnerability are signals of opportunity for criminals who seek to take something from someone. Usually, they will "case" a target to verify evidence of weakness. Next, they will develop a plan, usually with any number of armed accomplices who bolster their confidence. Then, they will use violence or its threat to extract some good from the victim.
Yet another antecedent of violence is looking or acting noticeably different from a normative group of thugs. Simply having a different race than a group of males can make one a "mark," regardless of one's visible indicators of awareness, will, or skill.
So, how should one avoid victimization? Here's some good ways:
1. Be aware. Know the physical location of all persons in a given area. Do not enter blind alleys whenever possible. Check corners and hiding places. Visually scan people who talk to you and look around you while talking to them. Read their body language and direction of their gaze for evidence of their intentions. Watch the hands of strange persons.
2. Gain muscle. Pound for pound, the larger a person can get while remaining lean, the less likely they will ever be targeted for violence. Do back bridges, dips, sprints, deadlifts, squats, or anything else that causes you to gain lean weight. Muscle definition is unimportant, so long as fat is not allowed to accumulate. At a lean 200 pounds or more, even a short man becomes less attractive as a target.
3. Hide your good fortune. Avoid public displays of affection with attractive partners, or even being seen commonly with that person in suspicious company (hint: anyone you don't know is suspicious). Do not display your sexual appeal, money, or resources among untrusted persons or in a public setting. Be humble for your own safety. Never allow a stranger to know where you live or see you, or your partners, enter your residence. Go elsewhere until they are gone, or utilize the authorities to scare them away.
4. Be hard to categorize/seem subtly odd. If you wear suits, select suits with an unorthodox coloration, or unbutton your shirt in sketchy areas. The author actually removes his dress shirts in bad neighborhoods and simply wears a plain undershirt with slacks. Being very odd can make one a mark. Being slightly odd can unnerve a criminal seeking a mark.
5. Do not covet any goods that are won through uncivilized conduct. Do not seek sexual contact with women who are won through violence (you can determine this by judging their choice of sex partners). Do not seek money through gambling or stocks. There is much money and sex to be attained without abandoning civilization.
6. Stand your ground. Do not be pushed, pulled, or coerced into cooperating with attackers. Be assertive about your rights. Do not fear alerting the authorities. Leaving one's home for a time is preferable to enabling perpetrators.
7. Fight first, or fight back! When attack seems inevitable, attack first and as brutally as possible. Use weapons against multiple opponents with lethal intent. Cause severe physical trauma to your first target and prepare to do the same to their backup. When struck, grabbed, or ordered, initiate overwhelming retributive violence against your assailant, no matter their size or degree of armament. Do not stop until you are incapacitated or your opponents are neutralized or fleeing. Fight hard to ensure the latter.
