Topic

PDW

Personal Defense Writing. Essays and reflections at the intersection of readiness, mutual aid, and the inner life of self-defense. Not just gear. Not just theory. This is the everyday practice of showing up prepared—in body, mind, and friendship.

The Constitutional Turducken

Or, The Right To Bear Arms And Why We Can't Have Nice Things "Unfortunately, [the academics] agree because they are all studying the same part: the anus." —David Yamane, sociologist of Gun Culture 2.0 I. Ambient You pull into the lot fifteen minutes after opening.

From Raccoon City to Your City: The Civilian Cosplay Complex Explained

Introduction: The Movie Gun Problem The KRISS Vector is a movie gun. You've seen it: angular, aggressive, unmistakably futuristic. Mila Jovovich wielding it against zombies in Resident Evil. Call of Duty players hip-firing it in multiplayer. That distinctive profile that says "tactical" louder than any other

A Field Guide to Surviving Learned Helplessness

Retraining What You Accidentally Got Good At THE PROBLEM IN FOUR SENTENCES We didn't stop acting because the world got worse; we stopped acting because we practiced not acting. Doomscrolling, precision critique, and spectator politics are all reps. We got good at them. This guide is the counter-program:

For the Horde! I Mean... For the Children! (Only When It's Convenient)

Or: What Political Discourse Reveals About Rhetorical Priorities The Battle Cry In World of Warcraft, players storm into battle screaming "For the Horde!" For that moment, you're not alone—you're part of something larger, unified by the cry itself. It doesn't matter

The Last Thing You Should Practice

A Very Practical Guide to Preparing for the Defensive Firearm Encounter You Will Absolutely Never Have (Because If You Do, It Means Everything Has Gone Very Wrong) By Someone Who Bought a Boring .380 and Has Made Peace With It There is a peculiar ritual in American gun culture where

A Farewell to a Firearm

Trading Down from an AR-9 to Something Much More Boring I didn’t own a firearm when I took my first defensive handgun class in June 2019. The range handed me an anonymous Glock 19; a month later I bought a Smith & Wesson Shield because coworkers swore by its

Let's Keep The Tin Foil Hats Off for Now

MEMORANDUM TO: Fellow Pattern-Recognizers and Historically Traumatized Observers FROM: Someone Who Also Remembers the 1980s RE: Let's Keep The Tin Foil Hats Off for Now DATE: October 24, 2025 Alrightey. A carrier group heads south, boats get struck in Caribbean waters, a Colombian president gets sanctioned, and those

Being Here When This Is Happening

"I'm not here, this isn't happening." When Radiohead released that line in October 2000, it wasn't prophecy—it was tuning fork, vibrating at a frequency already present in the cultural atmosphere. Thom Yorke's dissociative mantra, his plea to simply not

Welcome to Nosideism

Orientation Pamphlet for New Inductees Welcome, Citizen. You are receiving this pamphlet because you have indicated a preference for no tribe, no banner, and no side. This is a sensible choice. The Bureau congratulates you on your decision. In times of heightened polarization, it is natural to feel pressure to

Field Guide to Scratching Less™

The calamine lotion for those myth-driven itches When Your Wallet Itches But Your Brain Knows Better So you've read about Fear of Mything Out, nodded along with the analysis of how tools become identity proxies, and recognized yourself in the anxiety of the gun counter, boot store, or

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