Some things you can do to protect yourself if you are afraid of being killed by terrorists:

[xiphias]

1. Wear your seatbelt. Something on the order of 30 thousand people die in auto accidents in the United States each year; most of those people aren't wearing seatbelts. We can make a reasonable conclusion that at least a few thousand of the people who died not wearing seatbelts would have lived if they were wearing seatbelts; it is virtually certain that "not wearing a seatbelt" has killed more people in the United States in the past year than terrorism has, ever, including 9/11.

2. Make sure that any firearms you own are always either under your direct control, or locked up. Accidental firearm deaths have dropped precipitously over the past several decades, but there's been a disturbing uptick recently as stupid people have decided that they want guns. If you're going to own a firearm, make sure to have good training in firearms safety and an NRA-approved firearms safe. Consider whether trigger locks are a good idea for you.

The lowest number of accidental firearms deaths in one year in the past several decades was 600. So, in any year, more people are killed by poor firearm safety than in all terrorist attacks in the United States other than 9/11. Firearms injuries are much higher; it's hard to get numbers, but it is probable than, every year, there are more people injured by poor firearms safety than in all terrorist attacks in the United States ever, INCLUDING 9/11.

Like they say, "Guns don't kill people. People who have no clue how to use guns safely kill people." For the most part, guns aren't dangerous to people because bad guys get them: guns are dangerous because STUPID people get them. The idea of common-sense gun control and licensing isn't to keep bad guys from having guns; it's to reduce incompetence, which is frankly more of a danger to most people.

3. Cut down your smoking. We all know that one.

4. Control your drinking, and eliminate binge-drinking entirely. Look. I like alcohol, a lot. It's a hobby of mine. But let's be honest -- blacking out and/or puking, that's not enjoying alcohol responsibly. That's not even enjoying alcohol AT ALL. How can you enjoy ANYTHING when you're blacked out? And any alcohol that ends up on the ground isn't something you actually got to enjoy.

5. Get a carbon monoxide detector. It's not like in the Victorian era, when entire buildings of people would be found dead from carbon monoxide poisoning from faulty heating, but it's still important -- if something blocks the air intake of your heating system, you can still get dangerous levels of carbon monoxide even today.

6. Make sure your smoke detector batteries are working. Make sure that you keep the areas around your radiators clear. Don't overload your electrical outlets.

7. If you leave dishes soaking in your sink in soapy water, DON'T PUT KNIVES IN WITH THEM. In a restaurant, putting knives in the dish sink without letting the dishwasher know about it is a "be taken into the alley and be beaten" offense. And for good reason.

8. Make sure to be active for at least a half-hour a day, every day. Go for a walk or something.

So, there are seven things to do to protect yourself, if you are afraid of terrorists. All of them will make you safer than keeping Syrian refugees out of the country will.

Edited to Add, based on observation in comments: Sunscreen. Don't forget sunscreen.

Comments

[xiphias.livejournal.com]

Okay -- to be fair -- all of these technically will INCREASE your chances of being killed by terrorists. Or by being eaten by a dinosaur that somehow falls through a time hole and ends up in your city. Because, if you add up the percentage chances of being killed by all causes, it comes out to 100%, always. And so, if you lessen the chances of one thing, it increases the chances of all of the rest.

It's just that, in the process, because each of the others is lower-probability, your life expectancy goes up overall.

[karinmollberg.livejournal.com]

But then, there are still the http://www.darwinawards.com/ for the Unbeatables!

[xiphias.livejournal.com]

My favorite subcategory of Darwin Awards is "survivor awards" -- people who manage to remove themselves from the gene pool, yet survive the process. Auto-neutering is more common among men than women, since men both tend to have more accessible reproductive organs, and tend to be more likely to do incredibly stupid things with them.

[adrian-turtle.livejournal.com]

I would add to the list: wash your hands frequently to reduce the spread of contagious disease.

[the-siobhan.livejournal.com]

And get vaccinated and vaccinate your kids.

[redbird]

10. Turn off the television news and talk radio (get a weather radio if you're worried about dangerous storms). Don't spend all your time looking at the news online, either. Hearing about terrorists over and over won't make you safer; it will increase your stress and possibly increase your risk of heart attack or stroke. If you want to watch a specific TV program—your favorite comedy, or a ballgame, or that thing a friend is sure you'll love—watch it. But if there's nothing you actively want to watch, turn the TV off instead of channel-surfing, and don't watch the ten o'clock news just because the TV is on after your previous show ended.

[xiphias.livejournal.com]

I think that it's reasonable to consume a well-chosen, not-overly-hysterical, news source once per day. I think it's a good idea to know what's going on in the world, if one wants to participate in a democracy.

Sill, unless there's an ongoing story which may require your personal active response, once per day is probably enough.

[gansje.livejournal.com]

Best response yet to the completely unwarranted and disgustingly racist hysteria.

ETA: let's not forget about tanning and melanoma risk!

[xiphias.livejournal.com]

Sunscreen. Yes, sunscreen should be part of that. I think I'll put it in.

[redknight.livejournal.com]

Great list, but a few comments

- Regarding gun safety, I don't believe the NRA certifies gun safes. Even if they did, given the NRA is effectively an industry lobbying group, I'm not sure their stamp of approval would signify much. A safe meeting the California standards [1][2] would be a better option. I can't recommend trigger locks, as they will often allow a gun to be loaded and fire[3]. If a gun safe isn't an option and/or you wish adopt a "Belt and suspenders" approach, I recommend a cable lock[4] through the action.

- Regarding carbon monoxide, unfortunately there still are a few families/households killed by carbon monoxide every year. This is why an increasing number of states require a CO detectors in private dwellings.

[1] https://oag.ca.gov/firearms/gunsafe
[2] https://oag.ca.gov/firearms/fsdcertlist/
[3] http://www.slate.com/blogs/crime/2013/07/18/trigger_locks_the_dubiously_effective_safety_measure_that_gun_control_advocates.html
[4] http://www.remington.com/products/accessories/storage-and-safety/cable-lock.aspx

[bronzed.livejournal.com]

I love this post. I wish more people were capable of independent, logical, accurate thinking right now. So happy to have you on my friends list to remind me the whole world is not gone mad. My friends on LJ are mostly handling all this maturely. Facebook not so much.

[paradoox.livejournal.com]

+1

[delerium69.livejournal.com]

I've known people who insist wearing seatbelts would killl them because they believed they were more likely to be in an accident that would trap them rather rather than throw them from the vehicle.

I believe they had a low-level cases of Being A Moron.