[tanknetter]

We need to understand that this isn't a "game". We're in a war, and this is combat

Stephen Ambrose, in "Band of Brothers" (I think), writes the following:

In "Wartime," Paul Fussell writes that men in combat go through two stages of rationalization followed by one of perception. Considering the possibility of severe wound or death, the average soldier's first rationalization is: "It can't happen to me. I am too clever/agile/well-trained/good-looking/beloved/tightly-laced, etc." The second rationalization is: It can happen to me, and I'd better be more careful. I can avoid the danger by watching more prudently the way I take cover/dig in/expose my position by firing my weapon/keep extra alert at all times, etc." Finally, the realization is "It is going to happen to me, and only my not being there is going to prevent it."

Sage and very much applicable advice. The only way to avoid the knockout game is not to be there. Stay the heck away from urban areas. If you must go there, only go when you absolutely MUST. Limit how much time you spend - don't linger, go in, do whatever it is you have to do and get the heck out.

Going into an urban for shopping or dining is simply not necessary these days. At all. So the added bonus benefit of doing the above is robbing cities of revenue streams.

[Dilbert San Diego]

we’ve all heard about “white flight” in recent decades, out of cities into suburbs. But decent middle class blacks have also moved out. They don’t want to live in a ghetto any more than the rest of us do.

Detroit may be the most extreme case, but, could be the future for many cities. Detroit has many square miles of abandoned homes and other buildings. The only solution for parts of Detroit and other cities is the bulldozer. Tear it down and start over. Or let nature take over.