I know some people are going to think I’m crazy to let people pick their own price, including letting them pay nothing. This is especially true for concealed carry courses that people typically pay $100-200 for. Fellow instructors who see this may even get angry because they think I’m devaluing what they can get for their own classes. Some people may even try to make trouble for me over it.

But, these are unusual times, and I can’t feel good about myself while making everything about personal gain. People need to learn not only about personal defense, but preparedness and truly effective methods for making change without biting their neighbors heads off.

The biggest wake up call for all of us should be the increasingly bizarre violence. On top of the usual gang and drug-related violence, we’re now seeing unhinged people kill people who you’d think are on the same side. There’s also the endless blame game and hatred that floats around while overly political people try to gain from the bloodshed. This leaves people on all sides feeling like they could be next.

On top of being prepared to stay safe, we need to be working in our communities to heal rifts, keeping politics from turning us against each other, and actually defending freedom for EVERYONE. After decades of being taught to hate each other, it’s going to take learning about better strategies and putting the work in.

This knowledge is too important to hide it behind a demand for payment. While I do hope that many people pay something so that I can afford to spend time on this, it’s far more important to me that the knowledge gets out there, including for people who don’t have the spare cash.

If this mission resonates with you, please take the courses (registration required) to see if I’m offering something of value. Then, please consider spreading the word and (if you can), paying something to support the next batch of students. Thanks in advance!