Don't be a sheep!

[SyP]

Your right MSG, the strong, preppared, observant and cautious will always survive, history proves it. The left will always try to scramble the truth in order to get a reaction from you, it's called emotionalism, it's how the progressives lead people into believing that they know better than the common person, at least the weak minded people. Thanks for the info, some of that stuff just might save my life some day.

 

[slo18]

i would rather carry a knife then a gun in this day and age. a gun is only good if you are 8 feet away or more from the other person. ear buds are good for being left alone but only if you do not turn the music on. with them on you cant hear anything. eye contact has gotten weird lately. i dont know if anyone else has noticed this generational shift? i am boarder line millennial and i have noticed that people my age or older are more likely to make eye contact and younger people see it either as an invitation to talk or a challenge. i am not going to say i am a trained expert with knives and hand to hand combat, but my father is a military man and he taught all his children several ways to disarm someone with a hand gun, how to throw a proper punch, and the correct way to hold a knife. he also taught us to be aware at all times and its become instinctual. to the point my sister and joke about how we never see the fight because we are long gone by the time it gets to that point and dont even relies why we moved on. its good advice to always be aware and always have your head up.

 

[Andrei]

Is this topic seeding fear?
Are we living more in the vistual medium then real life?

 

[Jack]

Nope, most people are oblivious.
and happy to be so.

 

[Andrei]

And we should live in fear?

 

[MamaSheepdog]

Are we living more in the vistual medium then real life?

Vistual? :?

And we should live in fear?

No, you should not live in fear. But the point is not to DIE in fear. By being aware, you can avoid problems instead of becoming embroiled with them.

 

[Miss M]

There is a difference between living in fear and living aware.

 

[slo18]

something most people dont relise, and that women accept as normal, is that women already live in fear. but because we consider it normal we dont see it as such. how many times growing up were you told dont go there, its not safe, dont dress that way your inviting trouble, dont spend time alone with a man, dont go out alone? we see it in assult cases every day, if you read the paper, " what was she doing there?" " why did she drink so much?" " look at how she was dressed she was asking for it". if you as an indavidual man, he wont say thease things especially if he is talking to a woman, but i have heard men talking to other men say this and worse. I am not a man hatter by any stretch, but i am very aware of the culture we live in and its flaws toward women, and also know that there are worse places then this for women. also i am sorry i know this isnt a thread about violence toward women in particular but one about protecting yourself in general by being aware. i am just saying we already live in a culture of fear especially if you are a woman. I read about these lovely ladies meeting strangers to sell rabbits and i see them take a few of the precautions i take when meeting someone i dont know for the first time but i also notice some things missing. like safe calls, or texting identifying info to someone else. when i meet someone in a public place, i make sure to arrive first, if that means i show up 15 min early then i show up early, a friend calls during the meeting, there is a code phrase that i have to give, actually three, one means call the cops, one means everything is ok, and the third means call back and pretend there is an emergency so i can get the heck out of dodge. if i can i text a discription of there car and there tag number to my friend, and i call them when i leave, i drive around a little to make sure no one is following me home, and if i dont call them when i get home, they call the police. i know this is a little parinoid sounding but how many times do we hear about someone just disapearing? they went out for coffee and never came home.

 

[AnnClaire]

Slo18, I agree that there are many generations of women that still live in the type of fear that you mention. That is why I got training and my SD weapon ... I refuse to live in that kind of fear. I do practice situational awareness, especially when we travel to the VA hospital at the state capitol ... not in a good area with weekly violence at times.

After the outcome of the last hostage situation, I am also not sure that I want to depend on law enforcement sharp shooting skills :/

As for effective range of a Self Defense firearm, search YouTube for "Tueller Drill" ... effective range by law is 0'-21' ...

As for trying to spot who is a Bad Guy or not, well, I always remember a comment from an EMT ... he said that BGs generally don't carry their pistols in a holster but that is a bit up close and personal ... Otherwise, try to be aware of other people's behavior (gut feeling is very accurate in this situation.)

 

[slo18]

I said 8 feet, because that is the distance i know, i need to be with in, in order to disarm some one with a drawn gun. i have never heard of the tueller drill or the 21 foot rule. all of my training has been though my father, or other military/ former military people i know with hand to hand skils.

 

[Jack]

21 feet is the charge distance, as for self defense distance.... um depends on the situation...
my best advice is to contact a reputable CCW instructor for your area, as there are over 50 jurisdictions and what is OK in one state isn't in another.

 

[dragonladyleanne]

:!: When politics were first brought up, I thought, ok, read no further, it will just raise your blood pressure - but of course I did return, and glad I did. Everyone has remained civil (though a little biased, but no worse than a high school debate), so I am going to throw my opinions and experiences in - be forewarned, I am a *gasp* "liberal" registered Democrat (I have been called other things, but those are the only 2 labels I accept, and the quotes are because my definition of liberal may differ vastly from yours). This is also a warning that the end of my 2 cents worth may be unsettling, so skip it if you have a weak stomach.

I am also the daughter of a lifetime member of the NRA, who used to vote Republican until the Ross Perot years, who was told by a cop in my college years that I "probably never had to worry about rape". I laughingly said, what, I am too ugly? because I am obviously not hugely intimidating, though not small either (5'8" and 125 pounds at the time - a bit heavier now *sigh*), and he said, "NO - I have watched you and you go forth with a NON VICTIM attitude". This is why I agree a little with Zab (having a checklist with expectations of assault from everyone is no way to live) but also with MSD (in everything but her saying "the left" fosters this problem) that too many people live unaware of their surroundings. That can get you killed in ANY environment, not just from "criminal elements" (which do NOT always advertise themselves with gang colors or other outward things - those are just the stupid criminals), but from nature - Zab is Swedish, someone else responded from Canada, that they find the "checklist" to be paranoid, but I imagine they'd be the first to shake their heads over someone going alone into one of their wilderness areas, or even just their worst (but normal for them) weather - just as I shake my head over people who want to surf in a hurricane, or go walking in the swamp in sandals. In short, there's nothing wrong with posting suggested precautions, as long as you realize they do not apply SPECIFICALLY to every place in the world, and yours may also not be complete ENOUGH (so read OTHER people's suggestions, too) for every place or situation. And finally, have that attitude the cop described to me, that he called NON VICTIM: know where you are going, why, and how before you leave; keep your head up and eyes open, with an alert countenance, neither fearful nor engrossed in yourself; be prepared (this one is tricky, it works best if taught when you are a kid) to defend yourself WITH WHATEVER IS AT HAND, but never be obvious about it.

Here's the part which may be unsettling to some: I know how to use a gun, since I was 7 years old, but I do not carry one shopping because they frown on that at Walmart, and besides, my temper has taken 50 years to tame and I really don't want to go to jail over road rage. But if you grab me? You had best be aiming to kill me with the first blow, because I am prepared to dismember you with my teeth. Touch someone I love and I will serve you up as rabbit pie. I also know how to use a sword, a bow, a crossbow, knives (and I *have* taken belt knives into Walmart, no one has ever stopped me, they likely assume they are "costume") and have considered the lethal useage of pottery tools. :twisted:

It is not about politics, or weapons or clothing, it is all attitude. Which is taught at home, IMO. Ok, rant over, please feel free to send the folks with the white coats - just warn them about my teeth, ok? :roll:

 

[Jack]

Ok, technique is EVERYTHING

I could walk unmolested through Harlem, as a Lily White Dude...
How, well, just be what they expect NOT to mess with (cop on a UC bust etc.)

as for Criminal... no not every criminal telegraph, HOWEVER most situations you see coming
I could post Denis Raiders (BTK) confession, worth a read, something to note, except for the one who escaped THEY NEVER RESISTED
here is another example

Many will read the description of this terrible event and focus on the obvious – a young woman targeted and victimized by a sexual deviant. A large knife. A sexual assault in, of all places, a church parking lot. I never take a single news item and accept it as anything close to a full disclosure of fact, but if this played out as described, then there is an element to the sequence of events that I regard to be extremely disquieting for reasons that transcend concern for the traumatic lifelong effects such an incident will have on the victim, and relief that her assailant released her rather than disposing of the presumably only witness to his crime. My problem lies in her compliance under threat even before a weapon became visible and while her assailant was sitting behind the wheel of his car in broad daylight. If this is indeed what happened, it highlights something all parents must study and teach their children about, for the fault lies not with the actions of the poor young woman in question. Those are an outcome of something far more problematic – her reasons for passive compliance.

read the rest, it's in reply to a news article where a girl got into a car based on THREATS, and the knife wasn't displayed till he was going to rape her.
http://randy.whynacht.ca/archives/10143

Read the Gift Of Fear http://www.amazon.com/dp/0440226198
I could go on, the truth is, little is random, and much is about how to NOT be there (don't go stupid places) NOT associate with the wrong crowd (be with stupid people) or do acts that place you in grave danger (do stupid *stuff*)

Funny, that was advice my mom gave me as a teen
then there's techniques on how to be stupid places, how to be around stupid people (if you must) or do stupid thing (yeah, pin a rose, done mine and probably some of you alls, SURF STORM SURGE - used to do it all the time, esp if was hitting on the weekend, but this was HUNDREDS of miles from the storm, sky dived, bridge jumped.... its about doing it CORRECTLY so you don't die)

 

[Mountain Spice]

because I am prepared to dismember you with my teeth. :

Just remember, spit it out and Dont Swallow !! You don't know where "they" have been!!!

 

[MaggieJ]

I agree, Leanne, about the importance of that non-victim stance and the importance of being willing to fight back. I learned when I was about seven or eight (back in the days when boys were not supposed to hit girls but sometimes did anyway) that you respond with fists not tears.

I lived in east-end Toronto for about eight years back in the 1990's, right on The Danforth. I wasn't out often on my own late in the evening, but sometimes if I was taking a night class I'd have to walk a block or so from the bus stop. That bus stop was badly placed; the bus turned onto a quieter road and the stop was maybe twenty feet from the corner.

Once a man followed me off the bus and came up at my side and made some very dubious suggestions. He was definitely in my space and trying to intimidate me and the street was deserted. I faced him and bellowed "GET LOST!!!" in his face. It was almost funny to see him scuttle away.

You don't want to hear my bellow. :lol: I think if I had screamed and tried to run, it would have triggered his "prey drive". Oddly enough, I don't remember being scared. Just furious.

I was more vigilant after that little incident. Keys threaded through my fingers (right to the eyes, if needed) and keep away from the buildings and near the curb.

(And yes, Mountain Spice, if I'd had my hammer he'd have been sorry! :bash: )

The only other time I felt even remotely threatened was at my own entrance. The doorway was recessed and I went to unlock the door that led to our third floor walk-up. A street person, obviously out of it, stopped and asked me what was wrong. He appeared more concerned than threatening but he was blocking me in and kept saying things like "What's wrong? Why are you crying?" I wasn't crying and the only thing wrong was his presence. I didn't want to turn my back on him to unlock the door so again, one step toward him and my famous bellow: "Just go away!!!" which he did, although a bit reluctantly, as though puzzled by my reaction. He may have been high on something. Since it was afternoon, the street had constant foot traffic and the whole thing was more creepy than frightening.

 

[skysthelimit]

I am happy for those of you who can walk around without feeling the need to check everything around you.

That's not me. I live in an urban environment, where 3 girls were kidnapped, raped and held hostage for 10 years, half a mile from where I live, in a city that has one of the highest occurrences of reported rape in the US, where home invasions have become popular, where all points of travel lead me through the "projects" and of a racial minority where going into certain "nice" neighborhoods can cause serious issues. Every drive out of the hood is as potentially dangerous as driving in the hood. Nothing like having SWAT fly over your house and an officer walking through your back yard with gun drawn, finger on lips, to drive that point home. Yes, I've been with people who have walked into robberies, thank G-d I was in the car and had the sense to say down.

I check my car before I get in, generally travel with dogs when it's not too hot, I don't care to drive in the night, keep my phone charged, tell people where I am going and map out my intended route, never give out personal information... and the list goes on.

I don't carry a gun or a knife, but I am trained in hand to hand combat, I am a proven skilled martial artist, and basically I've been fighting most of my life (had a brother with a big mouth). I know how to handle myself and I can turn pretty much anything into a weapon.

Paranoid? Perhaps, but better paranoid than dead.
This world is full of dangers, not all of them people. Most people die because they were stupid, scared or didn't know what to do. I am none of those.

 

[MaggieJ]

I don't think you are being paranoid, Sky... Some areas are very dangerous and you need to be prepared. I remember reading about those women being held hostage for all those years. Truly shocking. It all depends on where you live, work, shop etc.

I didn't find Toronto scary - as cities go, it was pretty safe although it has its bad areas too - but since moving to the country a hundred miles from the city, I feel very safe, even when I go to town.

 

[Jack]

Sky, if you want to, I can ask for some good instructors close to you, so you can get your CCW
and sorry, but on another board, the running joke is that Ohio is trying for Florida's title of weirdo captitol of the US

 

[Miss M]

on another board, the running joke is that Ohio is trying for Florida's title of weirdo captitol of the US

I've lived in Florida. Surely Ohio doesn't have a chance! opcorn:

 

[dayna]

I am always aware of whats going on around me. My husband has taught me that.

ALWAYS be prepared.

We once ended up in the hood in DC to find a place to eat. We had no idea we'd end up there. We were perfectly safe however. No one gave us a second look.

My husband lived in a gang infested, crack house neighborhood in NE Portland back in the early 90's. He never had problems. He would go over to the crack house when they were being too loud or blocking his driveway...

I currently live nextdoor to a meth house. I have made it a point to get to know them. I feel safe. I live in a not that safe area but I KNOW all my neighbors. I think that makes a difference.

Be aware of your surroundings. Know your neighbors. Have a plan if someone is following you (I had someone CHASE my daughter and I in their car, we were in our car in my neighborhood) call 911 and drive to the nearest police station. KNOW where these stations are.

Know the cars that normally drive down your street.

I'm a little bit different though. I have a bucket off emergency food. I have guns. I have Iostat in case of radiation. I'm weird, but normal. Just prepared. I have traveled on airlines on dates I know are unsafe due to terrorist chatter. I choose to live my life not in fear, but prepared for the worst.