A.B.C.s Of Visible Invisibility

[Rex]

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This is still in the works and will become somewhat in-depth article over time.
Please feel free to comment and ask questions as this might help me to better
explain the techniques to others.

There exists an under-discussed art in the field of Nighttime Operations.
This is the art of remaining Visibly Invisible.

This art consists of a given set of talents:

1:
The ability to feel "At Home" anywhere.

2:
The sense of "Belonging" anywhere you are.

3:
The "Care Less" attitude about being seen.


Now allow me to list a few examples of Visible Invisibility:

1:
Does it look suspicious when your neighbor enters his home?
No. This is his ability to feel "At Home".

2:
Does the Mailman look suspicious walking up to a house?
No. This is his confidence of "Belonging" there.

3:
Does a cop care if anyone sees him stop you?
No. He could "Care Less" about being seen.
He (in fact) wants to be seen stopping you and will usually turn on
a bunch of bright and flashing lights in order to prove this fact.

.


"What is to be learned from the above examples?", you might ask.
My humble answer is "The basics of Visible Invisibility".

You should seek to achieve the attitude that you own the place,
along with the confidence of having every right to be there.

I am not suggesting that you ever stray from the STEALTH of the OP,
This is only an extra art to master for when STEALTH is impossible.

You should be able to display these talents at any given time
and in any given situation.

The reasoning behind Visible Invisibility is create the sense of a normal
looking dark spot or blur, rather than a suspicious one to those unseen.

It is better to be the blur that the cop drives on past rather than the
blur that he stops to investigate.

It is best to appear as a natural occurring shadow to onlooking neighbors
rather than be the suspicious shadow causing them to call the cops.

To put this as simple as possible...
Stay in the shadows, remain a blur, become a dark spot... but blend into
normal routines when you suspect you will be seen.

[CokeCanNinja]

Good post. I always say "act like your are sopossed to be there".

[Urgon]

AVE...

Fine example of this principle:
Me and my friend wanted to check out my university. He wasn't student there. I am. We got in and we walked around pretending to search for various offices and classes. I was blending in perfectly. He was questioned by guard. Why? What was the difference?
Simple answer: I belonged to the place. I had perfectly good reason to be there - I'm a student. I have my student ID. My friend however acted like he was doing something bad, deeply illegal. The same way we act in hospitals, public institutions, etc. Just observe people in those places: employees act different than guests. Those who know, what they are doing, act different. If you go to hospital to visit someone once, you act different, you feel different. But if you are visiting someone in hospital everyday for last two months, you will act "at home". Security guards and police officers are trained to see, who belongs, who just visits, and who is going to do something dangerous or illegal. They learn to seek patterns of behavior we subconsciously show...

[Xanatos]

To assist in daytime recon of places (like Urgon did with his friend) it's wise to get a hold of a map of the area and study it carefully so you know where you're going. Also, if you can, try to dress similarly to the people that work/go there regularly.

[vonunov]

I think a helpful background for this sort of thing is if you were in band/[J]ROTC/military and learned to march. Head up, chest out, lean back, nice and easy; and you'll look a lot more like you're supposed to be where you are, going where you're going, than if you're shuffling around the place with your hands in your pockets, avoiding eye contact and looking around at shit like you've never been there before.