[lit-ideas] Re: Didn't I tell you so?

>My primary concern right now, though, is that I am temporarily 
>>transportationless  and do a great deal of walking.
  ck: Try your best to walk only during the day, and stay on busy streets--one 
with other pedestrians.  Walk quickly and speed up if any cars slow down near 
you. I do suggest you take a quickie self-defense-for-women class, the type 
they give at YMCAs, as soon as possible. If nothing else, learn how to give a 
quick kick in the right place. If you're unable to run, consider getting a gun 
for self-protection on your walks, but only if you're willing to take lessons. 
A gun toter who can't use a gun properly is no safer than a person with a thumb 
on that dumb mace can.  And no, I don't think mace or pepper spray is worth 
buying or trying to use. The stuff is worse than worthless--it's false 
protection, which is harmful.
  pax,
  xena




  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: JimKandJulieB@xxxxxxx 
  To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx 
  Sent: Tuesday, May 30, 2006 6:16 PM
  Subject: [lit-ideas] Re: Didn't I tell you so?


    If it's Krav Maga with a shiv in your heel when out and a 12-gauge at home
  huh?  Kray Maga?  Shiv?  Is a 12-gauge a pistol or a rifle?

  I used to have a large very property protective dog - I never bothered to 
lock my doors.  He bit 3 different people (including myself) and had to be put 
down.

  I live across the street from a transitional neighborhood which is 
essentially filled with drugs, alcohol, and guns.  Cops run through there a 
dozen times a day.  On my side of the street are 4 very respectable 
middle-class homes (of which one is mine).  The land across the street used to 
be open field I rode gottland ponies through.  Then some shmuck decided to put 
up dozens of the most poorly and cheaply built apartments possible.   I have 
deadbolts on my doors, but the window locks are not very secure -- can be 
pushed with a stick.  I've had bikes and trash cans stolen from my driveway 
right up against the garage door.  No one has attempted to break in yet.  
But....

  My primary concern right now, though, is that I am temporarily 
transportationless  and do a great deal of walking.  Past some not too great 
neighborhoods.  Hence my thought of portable mace or pepper spray.  How hard 
can it be to point the nozzle in the right direction?   And how far away does 
one have to be for it to take effect, giving the macer or pepper-sprayer time 
to run to a place of safety?  I've also thought about guns that shoot rubber 
bullets.

  Julie Krueger
  w/ bigger problems than self-protection at the moment

  ========Original Message======== Subj: [lit-ideas] Re: Didn't I tell you so? 
        Date: 5/30/06 8:06:26 P.M. Central Daylight Time 
        From: carolkir@xxxxxxxx 
        To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx 
        Sent on:     


  Julie wrote:
   >I prefer either mace or pepper spray, depending on which does least lasting 
>damage (something I keep putting off investigating).
    ck: Don't use either of these unless you're pretty adept at some form of 
the martial arts.  You have to get close to your attacker for the sprays to be 
helpful, and if you're that close, you're in serious jeopardy--in a position of 
self-defense, you vs. your attacker. Disabling the attacker is your best bet. 
Or, if you're a very fast runner, that's an option.

     Holding a can of mace (illegal most places; it's really pepper spray they 
talk about) may make you feel more protected than you actually are. People who 
don't know self-defense tactics often mistakenly point the nozzle at 
themselves. (Same as with guns.)  

    I think a woman needs to figure out what she feels comfortable with, 
self-defensively, and follow through with the plan. If it's Krav Maga with a 
shiv in your heel when out and a 12-gauge at home, that's what it's gotta be. 
Personally, I don't want guns in my house, but I'm now living in such a 
dangerous area (the neighborhood and the town) that I'm sick of it all. 

    Unfortunately, loads of the gunshot deaths in these parts are drive-by 
shootings (not necessarily gang-on-gang!), and stupid scattershot gunplay, for 
the hell of it. Carjackings aren't uncommon, though, but by the time you reach 
for a gun in your glove compartment, it's all over, one way or another. 

    Btw, can anyone here stand watching those CSI shows on TV? Isn't there 
enough violence on the news to satisfy even the hungriest bloodthirsty person? 
Or are these TV shows (and news) feeding the hunger, as that experiment implied.

    Carol

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