Color Code – Condition Red
You have concluded from the clues you have gathered that the threat is
real. It is time to quickly formulate a plan for your survival. Being in
Condition Red requires that you make a ‘line in the sand’. If the attacker
does this then I do that.
There is a late model Ford truck that that you have identified as a potential
threat. It has now followed you through four consecutive right-hand turns.
You have determined, through being in red, that if the driver bumps your
bumper or if the occupants get out the truck at the light, you will pull away
quickly (because you have left enough room to do so when you stopped at
the light.)
A man that has asked you to help look for his puppy and has ignored your
commands to stop walking toward you. Your plan has determined your
‘line in the sand’. If he gets within three cars you will scream for help and
run into a store.
Here are the critical elements to successfully accomplishing a Condition
Red:
That you set a mental trigger on when to go into action. A line in the sand
if you will. This line must never be adjusted or negotiated. The attacker
must not be given any more time (or distance). Your response must be
immediate, with no hesitation.
The action or plan must be set and ready to go. There will not be time to
formulate one at the time you need to execute it. It must be carried out
with resolve and completeness. It must be a 100 per cent response, not a
dipping your toe in approach and no thought must be given to what injury
may occur to the attacker.
There will be situations that Condition Red will last minutes, watching and
waiting for the line in the sand to be crossed and others that are
instantaneous, where Conditions Yellow, Orange and Red have all occurred
in seconds and you are going to Condition Black. The fight is on.
Condition Black will be the subject of our next installment of the Color Code
of Mental Awareness.