Here in Western Australia, we are blessed to live in a relatively safe and peaceful social environment. There are plenty of countries at war, and plenty of states, cities, and towns where just physically being there places you at serious risk of injury or death. There are also plenty of places, even in Western Australia, which are dangerous places to be in, whether at certain times or at any time. “Don’t go to the bad part of town” is probably a familiar phrase to anyone with even a modicum of life experience.
But what happens when you are just going about the daily course of life; when you are simply minding your own business? What if you are on your own property, or in your own home? Surely, in a well-populated public place or under your own roof, you and your family will be safe? Sadly, the answer is no—not necessarily.
The problem is that there seems to have been a general decrease in moral standards and respect for other people. I have said a few times that, from a human perspective at least, illicit drugs probably form a key causal factor: not only are drug users less likely to remain in control of themselves (though obviously different drugs have different effects, and to differing extents, for each person) and so more likely to harm others, but the drive to fund ongoing drug use may often compel drug users to resort to crime.
But what if drugs are not involved? The most serious physical assault that I have personally experienced was driven not by drugs, but by racism. How sad it is that an intelligent human being sees himself as so superior to his fellow human beings (but from another socio-ethnic group) that he feels justified in raising his fist to strike them!
But what if misguided thinking or beliefs are not involved? Anger can arise from a simple misunderstanding or miscommunication. Here again, I think a decline in moral standards is a relevant factor. (In some contexts, such an academic or legal setting, it is possible to disagree—and disagree most vehemently—with someone else, but there is no incentive or compulsion to commit a physical assault.) I think this must be a sadder situation still, where in a sense there really is no ‘good’ reason why someone should assault someone else.
One thing I have tried to teach all my students over the years is that it does not matter who you are (or who you think you are)—you can be physically assaulted, and it could be for any number of reasons. It does not matter how wealthy you are. It does not matter which suburb you live in. It does not matter how well you can debate. It does not matter how many university degrees you have, how many people you are in charge of, how much money you earn, or what your professional titles are; you can be assaulted. The people assaulting you will not care about all those things, and in all likelihood, they have nothing to lose by committing such a crime against you.
“It will never happen to me” is not a sound argument for discounting self-defence principles and practices. Health insurance, home insurance, car insurance, first aid skills, backup equipment, and many other things are precautionary measures. They might never be used. And if they are used, they do not necessarily guarantee good outcomes. But they do provide a ‘safety net’ to some degree; something that you can fall back on so that if adversity strikes you are not completely helpless or completely clueless. And yet, many people seem not to take self-defence principles and practices seriously.
You can be assaulted. The question is: what are you going to do about this possibility? This is a question that only you can soberly consider, and come to an answer on. You can investigate options, you can research various opportunities, and you may even get independent advice on your situation, but only you can truly decide what you are going to do about it. One answer is certainly to start practising a martial art or learning self-defence skills (or both), but this is not necessarily the ‘right’ answer for everyone. Regardless of your answer, unless it is to ‘do nothing,’ all the knowledge in the world will not be of help if it is never applied.
My recommendations: (1) consider your life situation, including your work, your family, and your pursuits, and think seriously about the risks to your safety (and your family’s safety); (2) come to a decision on the type, degree, and likelihood of the risks that you (and your family) may face; (3) investigate the sensible options available to you to manage those risks; (4) come to a decision on what you want to do about those risks; and (5) act on your decisions.