You are looking at an angry and well-armed mob. How you going to handle that?
If you have ever wondered how you would react when surrounded by a bunch of gun-toting thugs, this guy delivers a stellar performance worth watching and studying. The video goes on for almost 13 minutes, but he crushed them in the first 45 seconds.
This guy is worth watching and, more importantly studying. He is masterful at how he handles the mob AND the police.
The methodology is simple. That doesn’t mean it is easy. The fact he makes it look easy is testimony to his skill. What you are watching here is the result of training. Lots of training. I offer this to those who don’t have the benefit of this sort of modeling. This is gold.
He speaks calmly. He does not provide any opening for escalation. He uses broken rhythm to knock attackers off balance. He answers their taunts with calm talking points they have to accept, and he never backs down on his basic principles. He keeps a conversational tone throughout. He never lets them see him sweat. If you listen, you can pick up on the underlying nervousness, but he pushes right through it every time. Very even keeled. Even more incredible, the guy is only 21 years old. I doubt I would have been this smooth at his age. He is calm, clear, consistent, compassionate, and committed. That’s a winning hand.
This is the difference between assertive and aggressive. This is what discipline looks like. I point out the discipline and training because his reaction time is quick and his response is not scripted. He is in the moment. He is present. He embodies the strategy Bruce Lee always championed. He is like water. Shifting, formless, nothing to grab on to, but always entering through the openings. Kids today would say his counterattack came “out the cut.” It’s beautiful to watch.
Right from the top, it’s clear this confrontation has escalated for some time. At some point the guy decided to start filming the confrontation.
A few high points with time stamps to focus the conversation:
Our Hero: [starts filming]
[0:00] Trump Supporter: Y’all keeping this going, number one, by all these white people wearing “Black Lives Matter” stuff.
[off camera]: why that camera? then what are you going to do?
Clearly the questioner sounds nervous about being filmed. He’s got good reason to worry. This isn’t going to look good for him.
[00:12] Our Hero: I have the right to film. It’s a public place. So you have no reasonable expectation of privacy in a public place according to the Supreme Court.
That totally derails that line of attack. So the next obvious response?
[00:22] Camera-shy guy: Just because you’re gay, you can say all that….
Here the crowd starts to chuckle, but here he flips them on their ear.
[00:25] Our Hero: I’m actually a pastor in the church. We can’t be gay.
[00:27] Camera-shy guy: That’s insane. [cross talk]
[00:33] Our Hero: I’m a Methodist. I don’t know if that’s what you just asked.
[00:38] Off camera voice: You’re preaching the wrong message. [cross talk]
[00:42] I preach a message of justice.
This is where the crowd begins to thin out. People start shambling away, clearly embarrassed they are on camera picking a fight with a man of the cloth. But it ain’t over. Not by a long shot. Plenty of bearded, Oakley wearing, tattooed, gun toters still want to throw down.
[00:47] Bare-chested thug: All lives matter BEFORE BLACK. [closes in on him] Now say something.
Here’s where Our Hero really shines. Faced with a 250 lb guy ready to rumble, he masterfully disarms him with his words.
[00:48] Our Hero: Uh...Black Lives Matter.
[00:50] Fuck you, you stupid bitch.
[00:51] Our Hero: Ok…..
[00:52] Bare-chested thug: Ok. I’ll beat you and your dad up.
[00:53] Our Hero: Ok….. if you do, it will be felony assault.
[00:58] Bare-chested thug: Really? You gay motherfucker.
At this point some of the women in the crowd start yelling. But Our Hero stays cool, calm, collected. He doesn’t take the bait and he doesn’t flinch an inch. Steady tone. The camera isn’t even shaking.
[01:00] Our Hero: That’s cool.
There is some more cross-talk, someone in the crowd says “[inaudible]… you walked in here, so you best walk out.” While that guy is yelling at him, women are yelling in the background, Bare-chested thug pipes up with this:
[01:04] Bare-chested thug: What if you fall? What if you fall motherfucker?
This is probably the most dangerous moment in the whole video. Multiple people are attacking him verbally, the guy closest to him is itching for an excuse to beat on him, and there are guys heckling armed with rifles and side arms. In moments like this it is easy to get locked in to one attacker and miss the others. Or worse, trigger an attacker and start a melee. Our Hero, being a master, does none of the above.
[01:07] Our Hero: I mean, this is where my ancestors are buried. Am I not allowed to be here?
This is a brilliant move. First, he pulls the rug out from the crowd claiming this as Their Land. Second, he doesn’t attack them, he asks a question. That puts them on the wrong foot.
The crowd responds with “No” and "Take off the shirt and get the fuck out.” But they aren’t closing in on him anymore. Just heckling from outside arm’s length. At this point, someone in the crowd tries a new tack.
01:17 [off camera] You’ve got a terrorist organization’s shirt on.
But the wind is taken out of their sails. They realize they are beat.
[01:24] [off camera] Let him go. We don’t want him here. Let him go.
Others join in. Again, he shows his training. They didn’t open a corridor for him so he doesn’t move. They’re not attacking. He’s not attacking. He dominates the scene by holding things in stasis, letting the dynamic tension dissipate as they trash talk for a bit. It’s clear their hearts are not in it anymore. Even loud mouth has wandered off.
Now the crowd dynamic changes. They gotta justify themselves to themselves. He’s not giving them anything to hang on to. He’s like grabbing glass. No toe holds. So they are thrown back on themselves. It’s confusing. Because they have to justify how they are better than him, or admit they are acting like thugs.
[01:40] Flag-draped guy: You know the difference, everybody, between this guy and us? If I walked in to a Black Lives Matter or Antifa rally, they’d beat the shit out of me. You’re gonna walk out of here OK.
This is where a lot of people would make the mistake of saying something stupid, letting their ego get in the way and reminding everyone what a bunch of losers they are. Or, thinking they’ve won, they might drop their guard. That’s when you get sucker punched. But not our guy. However, this is the one point where he takes a risk I wouldn’t have.
[01:53] Our Hero: I mean, I’ve gone to plenty of rallies. I never got beat up.
Here’s my critique. “Of course you didn’t get beat up. You’re on their side, motherfucker!”
Things do go south for a bit. Fortunately, he regains his footing to reassert his right to be there visiting the grave of his ancestor. This is where we learn his name, Trent Somes.
After diffusing the “why are you here” attack, Trent lets down his guard and steps back into it when challenged about why he is wearing the shirt. This is where his discipline falters. Instead of going back to his initial method of “preaching justice” and wrapping himself in the mantel of his faith, he pleads ignorance. “I didn’t know this [the gun toting crowd] was going on here.” The crowd doesn’t buy it and starts to get riled up. I thought this was where it would go bad. Fortunately, flag-draped guy is still in dialog mode and Our Hero (Trent Somes) uses the opportunity to engage him and wrap the guy up in knots, Jordan Klepper couldn’t have done a better job.
The next 6 minutes or so are Trent entering into a dialogue with several of the crowd. That’s a whole lesson on empathetic listening right there. He is gifted. But it’s not magic. Well worth listening to.
I could go on, but it’s better if you watch it yourself. Listen to him with your own ears free of my interpretation. The last portion is also worth studying. This is when the police FINALLY appear. [07:18] They tell Our Hero, how HE can de-escalate the situation. The interaction with the cop is a whole lesson in itself.
Watch, learn, take what’s useful, leave the rest, and share.
This is how we win.
Thank you, Trent Somes. You are an American Hero.
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