Sheep, Wolves, and Sheepdogs

On Sheep, Wolves, and Sheepdogs - Dave Grossman
By LTC (RET) Dave Grossman, author of "On Killing." Honor never grows old, and honor rejoices the heart of age. It does so because honor is, finally, about defending those noble and worthy things that deserve defending, even if it comes at a high cost. In our time, that may mean social disapproval, public scorn, hardship, persecution, or as always,even death itself. The question remains: What is worth defending? What is worth dying for? What is worth living for? - William J. Bennett - in a lecture to the United States Naval Academy November 24, 1997
One Vietnam veteran, an old retired colonel, once said this to me:

"Most of the people in our society are sheep. They are kind, gentle, productive creatures who can only hurt one another by accident." This is true. Remember, the murder rate is six per 100,000 per year, and the aggravated assault rate is four per 1,000 per year. What this means is that the vast majority of Americans are not inclined to hurt one another. Some estimates say that two million Americans are victims of violent crimes every year, a tragic, staggering number, perhaps an all-time record rate of violent crime. But there are almost 300 million Americans, which means that the odds of being a victim of violent crime is considerably less than one in a hundred on any given year. Furthermore, since many violent crimes are committed by repeat offenders, the actual number of violent citizens is considerably less than two million.

Thus there is a paradox, and we must grasp both ends of the situation: We may well be in the most violent times in history, but violence is still remarkably rare. This is because most citizens are kind, decent people who are not capable of hurting each other, except by accident or under extreme provocation. They are sheep.

I mean nothing negative by calling them sheep. To me it is like the pretty, blue robin's egg. Inside it is soft and gooey but someday it will grow into something wonderful. But the egg cannot survive without its hard blue shell. Police officers, soldiers, and other warriors are like that shell, and someday the civilization they protect will grow into something wonderful.? For now, though, they need warriors to protect them from the predators.

"Then there are the wolves," the old war veteran said, "and the wolves feed on the sheep without mercy." Do you believe there are wolves out there who will feed on the flock without mercy? You better believe it. There are evil men in this world and they are capable of evil deeds. The moment you forget that or pretend it is not so, you become a sheep. There is no safety in denial.

"Then there are sheepdogs," he went on, "and I'm a sheepdog. I live to protect the flock and confront the wolf."

If you have no capacity for violence then you are a healthy productive citizen, a sheep. If you have a capacity for violence and no empathy for your fellow citizens, then you have defined an aggressive sociopath, a wolf. But what if you have a capacity for violence, and a deep love for your fellow citizens? What do you have then? A sheepdog, a warrior, someone who is walking the hero's path. Someone who can walk into the heart of darkness, into the universal human phobia, and walk out unscathed

Let me expand on this old soldier's excellent model of the sheep, wolves, and sheepdogs. We know that the sheep live in denial, that is what makes them sheep. They do not want to believe that there is evil in the world. They can accept the fact that fires can happen, which is why they want fire extinguishers, fire sprinklers, fire alarms and fire exits throughout their kids' schools.

But many of them are outraged at the idea of putting an armed police officer in their kid's school. Our children are thousands of times more likely to be killed or seriously injured by school violence than fire, but the sheep's only response to the possibility of violence is denial. The idea of someone coming to kill or harm their child is just too hard, and so they chose the path of denial.

The sheep generally do not like the sheepdog. He looks a lot like the wolf. He has fangs and the capacity for violence. The difference, though, is that the sheepdog must not, can not and will not ever harm the sheep. Any sheep dog who intentionally harms the lowliest little lamb will be punished and removed. The world cannot work any other way, at least not in a representative democracy or a republic such as ours.

Still, the sheepdog disturbs the sheep. He is a constant reminder that there are wolves in the land. They would prefer that he didn't tell them where to go, or give them traffic tickets, or stand at the ready in our airports in camouflage fatigues holding an M-16. The sheep would much rather have the sheepdog cash in his fangs, spray paint himself white, and go, "Baa."

Until the wolf shows up. Then the entire flock tries desperately to hide behind one lonely sheepdog.

The students, the victims, at Columbine High School were big, tough high school students, and under ordinary circumstances they would not have had the time of day for a police officer. They were not bad kids; they just had nothing to say to a cop. When the school was under attack, however, and SWAT teams were clearing the rooms and hallways, the officers had to physically peel those clinging, sobbing kids off of them. This is how the little lambs feel about their sheepdog when the wolf is at the door.

Look at what happened after September 11, 2001 when the wolf pounded hard on the door. Remember how America, more than ever before, felt differently about their law enforcement officers and military personnel? Remember how many times you heard the word hero?

Understand that there is nothing morally superior about being a sheepdog; it is just what you choose to be. Also understand that a sheepdog is a funny critter: He is always sniffing around out on the perimeter, checking the breeze, barking at things that go bump in the night, and yearning for a righteous battle. That is, the young sheepdogs yearn for a righteous battle. The old sheepdogs are a little older and wiser, but they move to the sound of the guns when needed right along with the young ones.

Here is how the sheep and the sheepdog think differently. The sheep pretend the wolf will never come, but the sheepdog lives for that day. After the attacks on September 11, 2001, most of the sheep, that is, most citizens in America said, "Thank God I wasn't on one of those planes." The sheepdogs, the warriors, said, "Dear God, I wish I could have been on one of those planes. Maybe I could have made a difference." When you are truly transformed into a warrior and have truly invested yourself into warriorhood, you want to be there. You want to be able to make a difference.

There is nothing morally superior about the sheepdog, the warrior, but he does have one real advantage. Only one. And that is that he is able to survive and thrive in an environment that destroys 98 percent of the population. There was research conducted a few years ago with individuals convicted of violent crimes. These cons were in prison for serious, predatory crimes of violence: assaults, murders and killing law enforcement officers. The vast majority said that they specifically targeted victims by body language: slumped walk, passive behavior and lack of awareness. They chose their victims like big cats do in Africa, when they select one out of the herd that is least able to protect itself.

Some people may be destined to be sheep and others might be genetically primed to be wolves or sheepdogs. But I believe that most people can choose which one they want to be, and I'm proud to say that more and more Americans are choosing to become sheepdogs.

Seven months after the attack on September 11, 2001, Todd Beamer was honored in his hometown of Cranbury, New Jersey. Todd, as you recall, was the man on Flight 93 over Pennsylvania who called on his cell phone to alert an operator from United Airlines about the hijacking. When he learned of the other three passenger planes that had been used as weapons, Todd dropped his phone and uttered the words, "Let's roll," which authorities believe was a signal to the other passengers to confront the terrorist hijackers. In one hour, a transformation occurred among the passengers - athletes, business people and parents. -- from sheep to sheepdogs and together they fought the wolves, ultimately saving an unknown number of lives on the ground.

There is no safety for honest men except by believing all possible evil of evil men. - Edmund Burke

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.

For example, many officers carry their weapons in church.? They are well concealed in ankle holsters, shoulder holsters or inside-the-belt holsters tucked into the small of their backs.? Anytime you go to some form of religious service, there is a very good chance that a police officer in your congregation is carrying. You will never know if there is such an individual in your place of worship, until the wolf appears to massacre you and your loved ones.

I was training a group of police officers in Texas, and during the break, one officer asked his friend if he carried his weapon in church. The other cop replied, "I will never be caught without my gun in church." I asked why he felt so strongly about this, and he told me about a cop he knew who was at a church massacre in Ft. Worth, Texas in 1999. In that incident, a mentally deranged individual came into the church and opened fire, gunning down fourteen people. He said that officer believed he could have saved every life that day if he had been carrying his gun. His own son was shot, and all he could do was throw himself on the boy's body and wait to die. That cop looked me in the eye and said, "Do you have any idea how hard it would be to live with yourself after that?"

Some individuals would be horrified if they knew this police officer was carrying a weapon in church. They might call him paranoid and would probably scorn him. Yet these same individuals would be enraged and would call for "heads to roll" if they found out that the airbags in their cars were defective, or that the fire extinguisher and fire sprinklers in their kids' school did not work. They can accept the fact that fires and traffic accidents can happen and that there must be safeguards against them.

Their only response to the wolf, though, is denial, and all too often their response to the sheepdog is scorn and disdain. But the sheepdog quietly asks himself, "Do you have and idea how hard it would be to live with yourself if your loved ones attacked and killed, and you had to stand there helplessly because you were unprepared for that day?"

It is denial that turns people into sheep. Sheep are psychologically destroyed by combat because their only defense is denial, which is counterproductive and destructive, resulting in fear, helplessness and horror when the wolf shows up.

Denial kills you twice. It kills you once, at your moment of truth when you are not physically prepared: you didn't bring your gun, you didn't train. Your only defense was wishful thinking. Hope is not a strategy. Denial kills you a second time because even if you do physically survive, you are psychologically shattered by your fear helplessness and horror at your moment of truth.

Gavin de Becker puts it like this in Fear Less, his superb post-9/11 book, which should be required reading for anyone trying to come to terms with our current world situation: "...denial can be seductive, but it has an insidious side effect. For all the peace of mind deniers think they get by saying it isn't so, the fall they take when faced with new violence is all the more unsettling."

Denial is a save-now-pay-later scheme, a contract written entirely in small print, for in the long run, the denying person knows the truth on some level.

And so the warrior must strive to confront denial in all aspects of his life, and prepare himself for the day when evil comes. If you are warrior who is legally authorized to carry a weapon and you step outside without that weapon, then you become a sheep, pretending that the bad man will not come today. No one can be "on" 24/7, for a lifetime. Everyone needs down time. But if you are authorized to carry a weapon, and you walk outside without it, just take a deep breath, and say this to yourself...

"Baa."

This business of being a sheep or a sheep dog is not a yes-no dichotomy. It is not an all-or-nothing, either-or choice. It is a matter of degrees, a continuum. On one end is an abject, head-in-the-sand-sheep and on the other end is the ultimate warrior. Few people exist completely on one end or the other. Most of us live somewhere in between. Since 9-11 almost everyone in America took a step up that continuum, away from denial. The sheep took a few steps toward accepting and appreciating their warriors, and the warriors started taking their job more seriously. The degree to which you move up that continuum, away from sheephood and denial, is the degree to which you and your loved ones will survive, physically and psychologically at your moment of truth.
 
Sorry Al, but I've never read as much bollocks before in my life.

Put down the gun....get rid of the gun....ban the fucking gun.

Why is it always guns guns guns with you guys, don't you see a correlation between your murder rate and guns????

And PLEASE don't give me the "it's not the gun that kills malarkey"...
 
As I understood the point, you are either:
- someone who goes about his business
- someone who chooses to defend the rights of the poor as a warrior
- someone who is not a nice guy

I see nothing wrong with what was said. As we have seen here in the UK, when guns are banned (note I am a licensed weapon holder), only outlaws will have guns (read illegal guns).

America was designed under a different program where people were/are trusted with arms. I see the UK as a country whose politicians and so many people are scared to death of an armed populus.

Taking the guns off the good guys will not stop the crime.
 
As I understood the point, you are either:
- someone who goes about his business
- someone who chooses to defend the rights of the poor as a warrior
- someone who is not a nice guy

Really, what about the rights of the middle class or wealthy? I didn't realise we were talking about Robin Bleedin' Hood!


I see nothing wrong with what was said. As we have seen here in the UK, when guns are banned (note I am a licensed weapon holder), only outlaws will have guns (read illegal guns).

Agree - to a point. However, this statement is disingenuous. How many deaths by shooting are there per capita in this country compared to the US? No need to answer, as we all know, it is a HAYOOOOOJ difference.
Guns only in the hands of outlaws? Hardly. We have special Police units capable of carrying fireams to deal with exactly these people. Guns in the general population for self defence simply lowers the bar to admission.

America was designed under a different program where people were/are trusted with arms. I see the UK as a country whose politicians and so many people are scared to death of an armed populus.

Damned right - I don't want me or any of my neighbours (or any civilian for that matter) to be able to bear arms in self defence - see my point above. Also, I don't think that governments are that mistrusting (although I DO think that they are nearly that bad)...
Taking the guns off the good guys will not stop the crime.

I didn't say that Domtoni.....


Domtoni, see above pal.
 
But the more guns there are in circulation, the more likely they are to end up in the wrong hands. A good guys gun can get stolen just like his car.
I wouldn't trust the general population with guns, neither would the U.K government or any other government in Europe. If you want to be a hero, there are lots of ways to help the community. If you have a capacity for violence and can direct it to good use, join the security services and get properly trained.
 
The guy who wrote the piece was an ex-military guy who has seen you know what up front, and knows what it takes to defend. In the US, all people have the right to carry weapons, whether rich, poor, young old (assuming you pass the police requirements).

Regarding shootings in the USA. I don't have these statistics to hand as I did some digging years ago. If you look at murders, it usually happens in certain ethnic communities that have broken homes. The guy who fathers one child, comes to visit his kid, and his ex is with another guy. The jealousy starts and you know how it ends. If they had knives, the same program would go on. As I see it, the problem is more broken homes etc rather than guns.
Sure the UK has special firearms units to defend the population, but what happens in the event (and this is less likely to happen in the UK precisely because people don't have guns) of a hold up of a bank. How long will it take the special police to arrive?

Do you know what it takes to get vetted by the police to have the privilege of owning a shotgun or rifle?

The bulk of the guns sold into the illegal market come from black market sources.
 
Those without guns ALWAYS become the victims of those with guns. (Before that it was swords, bows & arrows, axes, halbards, spears, knives and clubs...but what is history, other than an exercise to repeat ad infinitum into the future? :rolleyes: ) Evidently it's ok to be the victim of those you PAY to victimize you (government) but not those who do so for free ("criminals"...which means, someone who is an enemy of a government...government makes laws, laws make criminals...no laws, no criminals).

If the populace does not have guns, why would the police EVER need guns? On the off chance that the "bad" guys have guns? Well, that would mean that the sheep aren't in denial at the moment of reasoning...which means that they feign ignorance so that they don't have to take COMPLETE responsibility for every facet of their "precious" lives. If they did, they wouldn't need a police force or a military (SURROGATE WARRIORS) because they would realize that THEY are responsible for themselves and to their families and neighbors.

It's all fine and dandy for someone to exercise their freedom to bleet...er, freedom of speech. It's completely another to deny someone else the ability to defend themselves. That is the ultimate passive-aggressive bully...the anti-gunners use the surrogate warriors to use force on their "enemy" the pro-gunners...the same surrogate warriors whose salaries are paid by both sides. And they walk around with a beatific glow upon their faces because THEIR hands aren't dirty/bloody from exercising that force. They have absolutely no responsibility...and thus, deserve NO freedom. From crime, or to live their lives. They aren't sheep...they are lazy wolves who coerce others to hunt for them, protect them, give up their own precious freedom to allow the lazy wolves to do as they please individually under cover of the group.

It's time to call a spade a spade, and recognize people for what they ALL are...predators of one sort or another. It is said that Business is War...so where are all these fucking sheep?!? It doesn't matter if you live in a trailer park or in a gated community...there are child abusers, spouse abusers, and drug abusers in all of them. It is violence to take someone elses land from them for your project. It is violence to deny someone a meal or shelter because they don't fit in your "capitalistic" ideal...think about that...to deny someone the ability to LIVE, simply because you can't make a buck off them?!? If that isn't VIOLENCE, then I have no clue what is. Under threat of force (starve...or jail time) we are ALL coerced to play a game that benefits a very small minority. We all play, in hopes of someday being classified "better" than our neighbors...to become middle or upper class.

All of this nonsense over party lines, religion, guns, drugs and whatever hot-point issue is brought up, is/has/always will be about CONTROL. And control is about THREAT OF VIOLENCE. Don't ever kid yourself about that. EVERYONE is capable of violence, it just depends on the situation and the preparation.

Guns don't kill, people do. I served in the US Army for 8 years. If you honestly believe that I need a gun to kill someone, then I will shatter your beliefs if you put yourself in a position to be my enemy. People can be choked, strangled, kicked, punched, beaten, broken, bashed, smashed, blown up, set on fire, dropped, stabbed, cut, sliced, diced, crushed, torn, drowned, suffocated...how many more must I list? Nobody needs a gun to kill! But I would rather have a gun and kill at a distance so that my own life is protected, when it comes to a life and death situation. If YOU are scared of guns, put that fear to work for you and don't become MY enemy or a predator of someone I love. Otherwise, your fear isn't doing what nature intended it to do...protect you from harm. Anyone who means another harm does not deserve to be seperate from that realm...you must face that risk, if you are to exercise that nature.
 
Last edited:
Martin,

That would be a shame but understandable.

Al, not sure if you are the greatest wind up merchant of all time.

Just in case you are not, and you really believe what you post, perhaps you could pass on these words of wisdom to Mr. Grossman for me.

"I’m all in favor of keeping dangerous weapons out of the hands of fools. Let’s start with typewriters."
Frank Lloyd Wright
 
Last edited:
The piece is by a military person about the military and police that protect us from the wolves in life. All of you that are reacting to guns are doing exactly as the author said in the writing. You would also be the ones that stay close to the "sheepdog' in bad times. Interesting!
 
So Al,

Was Jesus a sheep wolf or sheepdog, and what do you think he would feel about people carring guns or using them in his "father's house".
 
Hello pot-stirrer...not that Al needs my help, but I will field this one.

Jesus was a wolf. He was a firebrand and a rebel. And if the scene in the temple with the money-lenders did in fact happen, he was a violent man himself.

How Jesus felt about a particular subject is irrelevent, other than how it affected him personally and how he chose to act personally.

And if you do believe that Jesus were of actual divine origin, (supernatural) then his "father's house" would be HEAVEN. We are talking about Earth here buddy...do try to keep up.

So Al,

Was Jesus a sheep wolf or sheepdog, and what do you think he would feel about people carring guns or using them in his "father's house".
 
Last edited:
What history are YOU reading that makes Al's posting bollocks?

I am more than willing to bet my entire annual salary that the murder rate was HIGHER percentage wise BEFORE guns were a common staple with the populace. Were any of those statistics accurately recorded back then? Likely not...us commoners weren't very important in the days of the nobility/royalty!

But you stick to your belief! As if what happens between your ears affects the world outside it.

Meanwhile...myself and other wolves (because I ain't no fucking sheepdog...I hate sheep) like me will protect you from yourself and continue to own guns...so that we can protect you from those who would do you harm.

And it's NOT guns that kill, stupid. It has always been the PERSON squeezing the trigger, wielding the knife, swinging the bat, driving the car...that kills people. ALWAYS. No possible way to argue your way out of this...we aren't talking force majeur...no hurricanes, tornadoes, or volcanoes here!


Sorry Al, but I've never read as much bollocks before in my life.

Put down the gun....get rid of the gun....ban the fucking gun.

Why is it always guns guns guns with you guys, don't you see a correlation between your murder rate and guns????

And PLEASE don't give me the "it's not the gun that kills malarkey"...
 
Last edited:
So Jim...your neighbor with a hammer couldn't brain you? A punk with a knife in the mall parking lot couldn't gut you? A harried soccer mom in her SUV couldn't T-bone you? A distracted surgeon couldn't give you an infection due to their improper sterilization?

Don't kid yourself pal. Only someone who has never engaged in critical thinking would say that People With Guns Kill. People kill, pure and simple. Guns just make it easier. We have been killing since we came down out of trees.

You got it half right, it's..... PEOPLE WITH GUNS THAT KILL
 
Hello pot-stirrer...not that Al needs my help, but I will field this one.

Jesus was a wolf. He was a firebrand and a rebel. And if the scene in the temple with the money-lenders did in fact happen, he was a violent man himself.

.

Absolutely he was a rebel, but he did it without guns or weapons.

In the temple he got angry but he did not kill anyone, Remember the soldiers ear in the Garden of Gethsemane, when Jesus was betrayed by Judas and arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane, St. Peter cut off the ear of Malchus, a servant of the high priest, who was then healed by Jesus, is that the actions of a violent man, love your enemies are those the words of a violent man.

How many more examples do you need?.
 
Back
Top