De-escalation in the Face of Gun Violence

I recently had a run-in with someone experiencing a mental health crisis who was also armed and intended to carry out an act of violence. I do not believe that everyone who reads this blog should go out and attempt the same thing if a situation were to arise, but I wish to illustrate how important de-escalation is and why it should be one of the main focuses of any sort of self-defense curriculum. Self-defense should be about more than meting out violence when we feel threatened.