25: Survival Sunglasses
Pro's and Con's of reflective eye wear by John Williams
Highly reflective sunglasses (motorcycle police type) have major survival advantages. They can be obtained in both prescription and non-prescription form in any style. In fact, you can have existing glasses (not with plastic lenses) coated for about $10. (a little more today: ed.) Silver is the most popular coating but there are also blue, tan, pink, etc. The basis of this article is my own experience with reflective sunglasses and those of others I have interviewed. The following survival advantages are possible:
1. DEALING WITH UNDESIRABLES: Particularly bureaucrats and other scum. Gives the impression that you are a psychopathic killer and prevents your eyes from being read.
2. DAY TO DAY AFFAIRS: Highly reflective glasses give the impression of toughness, meanness, or authority. They keep people from reading your emotions or second guessing your next moves. Also, very important, they permit you to see behind you like wearing rear view mirrors. You can observe an impending threat and not give yourself away until you are ready to react.
3. OTHER ADVANTAGES: They provide good eye protection. They alter your appearance substantially to mislead potential witnesses. However, highly reflective glasses do have some disadvantages:
- They may be too dark for night, indoor or cloudy day use. You also lose some color perception.
- They reflect a lot of stray light from behind and above into your eyes, which can be distracting - even blinding. They may not be satisfactory where there are a lot of street lights and lighted signs. The closer to the head, the more the stray light is reduced. You definitely should practice wearing them in environments that you frequent before depending on them for a survival edge.
