There are a couple of old sayings that need to be remembered. One is, “Where there’s a will, there’s a way.” In other words, if you want to accomplish something badly enough, you’ll find a manner in which to make it work.

Reading this story earlier today, I was reminded of that one. Another was “It’s not the weapon that makes the man, it’s the man that makes the weapon.”

 [Richard] Golden told WJXT he was sitting at home in Jacksonville, FL, when he heard his glass door break. Then, a man with a rifle demanded money.

“He hit me in the head with a rifle and at the exact time, a buddy of mine happened to come up and distract him. When he distracted him, I made my move. I grabbed him and locked the gun in,” Golden told local media.

Golden put the suspect in a headlock and poked his fingers in his eyes.

“I sat on him and gouged him in his eyes until the cops got here. I was beating him with his own gun until the police got here,” Golden said.

In other words, he did what he had to do and worked with what he had on hand.

Good for him.

However, it also bears mentioning that Golden got lucky. That could have very easily turned out differently and far more tragically.

That said, fighting back is almost always preferable to getting shot. Swift, violent action in response to aggression is often sufficient to turn an engagement around, even under less than ideal circumstances. Golden did precisely that by making an aggressive move, grappling with the attacker, and then not letting up until law enforcement arrived.

As a result, the only person injured was the alleged home invader who gets to sit in jail for a little while and think about his life choices. He’s currently being held on $250,000 bail.

I’m not about to advise anyone to do what Golden did. That said, if I’m going to be shot anyway, there’s absolutely no advantage to being passive about it. The meek may inherit the Earth, but the bold are the ones most likely to survive a dicey situation like that.

Golden isn’t facing any criminal charges. There’s never been a more clear-cut Castle Doctrine case out there.

Additionally, he gets a certain amount of badass points for taking on an armed man with his bare hands and winning.

We don’t know what type of weapon was used, or if it was even loaded, but it doesn’t matter. Golden had every reason to believe his life was in danger, so he acted. In the process, he came out on top.

Again, I’m not going to say this is the best course of action. I’m not going to say it’s a wrong course of action either. I will say that while some might think this is stupid, there’s a third saying to remember. “If it’s stupid and it works, it’s not stupid.” This one definitely worked.