Jeff Cooper Quotes
It is true that a victim who fights back may suffer for it, but one who does not almost certainly will suffer for it.
Cooper, Jeff. Principles of Personal Defense. Paladin Press, 1989, p. 20.
Malcolm was not an enthusiast of non violent, passive resistance a la Martin Luther King. He did not generally advocate general violence per se, but did preach the doctrine of the 21st century National Rifle Association: That everyone should be armed and use the weapons to thwart criminal attacks on them and their families. However at the time, many police departments commonly broke the law and attacked Blacks in many ways. If Malcolm had more followers there could easily have been armed pitched battles between blacks who had been attacked and police who even if their colleagues had violated the law, would not allow citizen armed defense. The non-violence of King and others, accomplished the objective with relatively few people killed and wounded. They were virtually all Black or white sympathizers however. The racists bore no physical casualties but their culture and way of life was destroyed.
The United States was a new, militarily weak country. Many of its leaders believed that even if our interests were attacked or some citizens abused, it was not worth the United States going to war unless the attack were existential—threatened the very existence of the country. The split was clear during the War of 1812 where in general, New England was opposed to war with Britain, the Atlantic states were not firm on either side, and the South and West (Kentucky was then the West) were the war hawks. Mrs. Madison was a hawk—an unusual expression for a woman and her role as First Lady did not inhibit her from her own independent political opinions. On the War of 1812, Mr. Madison was in favor of war, but was not so unequovical and positive as his wife was.
John Dean "Jeff" Cooper was a United States Marine, the creator of the "modern technique" of handgun shooting, and an expert on the use and history of small arms.
