The Gift of Fear: Survival Signals That Protect Us from Violence

From his experience with hundreds of threatened clients, de Becker knows how paralyzing a verbal or written threat can be. However, when a target allows fear or worry to interfere with their thinking process, their extorter has already won. De Becker insists threats should be met with impassivity, and that demands should never be met. His team is charged with evaluating the creditability of threats, as extorters rarely do so from a position of control or power. When someone threatens violence, it is because they believe there are non-violent alternatives to their core issue. Those who fail to voice violent intent are often more dangerous, because they are more likely to act without warning. In addition to practical measures such as physical boundaries and law enforcement, JACA is key to de Becker’s team—as it helps determine would-be victims’ satellites. Overall, the best course of action to take if one believes they are in imminent danger is to remove oneself from this danger.

With respect to blackmail and extortion, de Becker recommends that a person being threatened call their extorter’s bluff. The fear of a secret being revealed can make someone upheave their life more than the secret itself.