One of my favorite scenes from the old Indiana Jones movies is when Jones is running through a bazaar in the middle east trying to catch up with a lady who had been kidnapped.
In that bazaar, a big man with a sword confronts Jones from a distance of several yards away. The man swings the sword around in an intimidating and threatening way, and Jones, obviously tired and frustrated by the situation, simply pulls out his gun from his holster, shoots the swordsman, and continues on his chase to save the lady.
(As a side note, this scene reportedly wasn’t scripted to go this way, but Harrison Ford was getting tired of the reshoots of that scene, and after several takes, he improvised the gun draw and firing at the swordsman. Obviously, everyone liked it enough to keep it in the movie.)
In South Carolina recently, someone decided that they wanted to test the Indiana Jones gunfight rule which is: Never bring a knife to a gunfight (hat tip to here for the lead). Luke McCoy writes,
A man was shot and killed during an attempted armed robbery at Jay’s Barber Shop on Thursday morning after entering the shop with a machete and threatening those inside.
According to investigators, the incident unfolded around 10:30 a.m. when 55-year-old Curtis Scott entered through the back door of the barber shop wearing a ski mask and carrying a machete. Witnesses say Scott told those inside, “You know what this is,” as he brandished the machete.
At the time of the confrontation, customers were inside the shop. One of the barbers, fearing for the safety of those in his chair and others nearby, drew his lawfully owned firearm and shot the suspect.
Now, I’m not celebrating anyone’s death. Let’s be honest, though: Bringing a machete to commit a crime where people can be legally armed was a bad idea.
And the fact that it turned out poorly for the criminal proves the point.
It also emphasizes why you should train and carry everyday, too.
