Sunglasses in a survival situation may seem like an unneeded item for some, and a frivolous extra for others, but I think taking a pair of sunglasses, especially in your Urban Survival Kit is a good idea, and not just to block the sun.
They say the eyes are the window to the soul. While that sounds like a cliche romantic line, there is some truth to that and it might just save you in a survival situation.
For example, do you ever wonder why Law Enforcement Officers almost ALWAYS wear sunglasses? It isn’t because they have sensitive eyes. Sunglasses put you in a position of power over someone that does not have them. Being able to look into someones eyes gives you a lot of insight into what they are feeling and thinking.
Think about how much you can read from a person’s eyes. Are they scared? Are they thinking? Are they looking at what they are thinking about? Are they looking where they are going next?
Imagine yourself as a police officer for a moment. As the officer you come up on a situation you are unsure of, and are somewhat nervous. By having on sunglasses you hide an important part of your body language that might accidentally display fear to someone who does not need to see it. By covering your eyes you maintain the tactical advantage of hiding your fear.
Now imagine yourself as the civilian. The officer approaches and you cannot see his eyes. You cannot read what he is thinking but you can imagine what he is capable of. Not being able to read him creates uncertainty, which means he has the advantage.
Can you think how this might be useful in a survival scenario? Especially in an urban environment where you are likely to encounter lots of people (and you might not be able to display real firepower), any tactical advantage you can gain immediately plays to your survival possibilities. At first contact you are immediately in a position of power, if only on the subconscious level of the other person. (Which can be the most powerful way.)
A word of warning: There is a flip side to this power. Covering your eyes with sunglasses also dehumanizes you. It might make it easier for someone to justify taking advantage of you in any number of ways. I am not saying you should use sunglasses to intimate everyone you meet, in fact often you shouldn’t, but having them gives you options. You get to chose to display this body language, as well as when. You get to analyze the opposition before showing your hand.
Leave us a Comment Below
My name is Lucas and I run SurvivalCache along with the help of several great contributing authors. You can read more on the
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
another thing that will help similarly to sunglasses when dealing with people you don't know is a good brimmed hat. if you look at pictures of police officers with and with out hats, and john wayne with a hat on and with out a hat on, you will find that people with a good hat on seem more important. if you find you're self in a leadership role haviing a hat on can give you instant street cred. plus you can hide stuff in it, you could make a paracord hat band and always have some paracord on you.
Sunglasses decrease your ability to see everything. It introduces a delay in seeing and comprehending that can work against you. On the plus side blu-blockers sometimes improves the visability of some things. For example a green shirt will stand out hiding in green bushes.
I think this post brings us to a category all its own. More discussion needs to be given to interaction in bad situations. Ive been a bouncer, bodyguard, and bartender most of my adult life and can say that the skills of threat asessment, reaction, and interaction are the single greatest assets you can possess in a survival situation. Especially urban survial situations. Lets face it, most of us live in the inner-city, in-fill, or the burbs. You are immediately at a disadvantage based on the fact that you will be surrounded by the flotsam/jetsam of the inner-city, suburban commandos, newly minted cowboys, and the totally frickin unprepared. How are you going t o deal with them? Who among you think you possess skills along these lines? I'd like some dialogue. Speak up guys.
I think you have a good point Rude.
this also is in the subject of should I stay or should I go.
If this was a small WROL situation I would just stay at my home, however if this was a more permanent situation in WROL, I would def bug out of my current location, reason is this.
You will have 3 groups present during a WROL situation.
Wolves: These prey on the weak, they hunt and have basic organization. These would be the ones to roll up on you and take everything you have given the opportunity.
Sheep: These are the unprepared and weak. They will scavage and steal if they can but only to stay alive, most of this group will not fare too well with a social breakdown.
Sheep Dogs: These are the people that protect themselves and others. This group is around to help keep the peace.