Spondylitis Association of America Forums General Discussion Men Only Message Board Defense of self and family

Tadao, since you aren't up to some good debating just yet, I dug through my cheesy joke archives and found a favorite.

What do you call Belgian children?
Brussels sprouts!

"Spenser, do you believe you can avoid violence 99% of the time by walking away or giving the attacker what they want?"


Well Crusty, it all depends on how fast you can walk away ... and how much of what they want you have to give them.

As for your joke; cheese begins to smell after a day in the sun. So it must have been great weather in Crusty's neck of the woods today.


Spenser23

LOL, good answer. I'm wearing a jet boots so I don't have to depend on my body for my escape.

Nothing smells better than fine, aged cheese.

I think people that can't physically defend themselves need to have good situational awareness.

Always know your surroundings. Know who's around you.

When walking out to your car (at night or anytime) be alert. Don't be in a daze or "in your own world".


I remember one time many many years ago I was out in Rochester, NY. I got lost and was driving a rather nice car with nice rims. - And was in a bad part.

Well, I'm at a light waiting and a big SUV pulls up with four big dudes. All staring at my wheels. And pointing in my direction.

Man, that light took forever.

My point is I should have been better prepared. I didn't even have a cell phone. No map to where I was headed and a half a tank of gas.

I learned from this.

Avoid the situation.


- Storm

ps...yes, I have thought about buying a pistol for some time now. But, if someone is close enough to me to be a threat to my life, it may be too late to use a gun.

Storm,
You may want to consider some alternatives to a gun that are easier to obtain and carry legally such as a stun gun or tazer. I personally recommend the later due to the increased range, but the stun gun is great in case things get up close and personal. Due to various jobs I have had in the past (but no way could do now), I have carried varieties of all 3 at different times and have had some really good successs with the stun gun and tazer, other than one time when I went to stick a stun gun in my jacket pocket and caught the button on the edge of the pocket. Zapp, down I went, lol.

I am not looking for more drama in my life and the pain I carry keeps me on edge and makes me a bit more aggressive and intolerant of any BS -- to put it bluntly. But stop and ask yourself how your pain may be making you more aggressive. I have little patience for harassment even on good days, but know it is in my best interest to avoid a scene at all costs. Therefore I am learning to be more like Tadao. I no longer own a gun and I am accepting that self-control is about the only thing that I can control. Or at least I hope.

Say what you will about guns, my Walther P99 Compact makes me feel a lot more safe at home. So far I've only used it to shoot targets and beer cans, but you just never know, do you?



Ok, ok, you got me - it's a bb gun. But the bad guys don't know that, do they? And bb's hurt!! Just ask my friend Mark! LOL

http://www.pyramydair.com:80/walther-cp99.shtml

Check out this link - there's a video at the end that shows the real 'blowback' action - it actually recoils after every shot, and it feels very real - it weighs almost 30 oz! It's a ton of fun, but reloading it is a spam. I've got some spare magazines on the way, that should make it even more fun.

Rob

If you are looking for a weapon, my son (5 years police experience) is a great proponent of pepper spray. If you get the "good stuff", it is hard to ignore..or resist and rarely lethal.

Personally, although I have had 30+ years of martial arts experience and am still exceptionally strong due to ongoing weight training, I have decided that even if I gave some "bad guy" a real 'ass kicking" it would probably literally "hurt me more that it would him". My option is for awareness, avoidance and "cell phone - 911".

I have a gun by my nightstand but feel that anyone that comes in to my house is fair game. I refuse to put it in my car for fear that I would be tempted to use it in Atlanta traffic.
uncle mikey

(ps) "cell phone" works. I had an experience last year, literally the Friday before my spinal surgery the following Monday so was a bit fragil.

I was in the local Krogers and accidentally bumped into a very large "home boy", "do rag", saggy pants..the whole works. He proceeded to get in my face and start calling me names..finally I reacted by telling him that he was acting like a real "asshloe" at which point he told me what he was going to do when I walked out of the store.

Rather than follow my impulse and just follow him outside, I for once let common sense rule and replied that when I walked out there was going to be a policeman waiting there also to which he replied that I better get on the phone. Much to his surprise, I hauled out my "trusty cell" and called 911...he couldn't get out of the store..and parking lot fast enough..with absolutly no more jive-ass retoric.

Boys, although 60 years old, I am 5'8" and 220 lbs, mostly muscle due to 45 years of working out so have the tools to be "macho"..just hopefully more sense now that when a "youngster"...it just ain't worth it, win, lose or draw !!!
uncle mikey

Wow, there are some great posts on this. I'm glad I started this thread. There is no doubt that awareness, words, reasoning, non lethal tools, calling 911 are all the preferred way to go. It's that one percent that worries me, and I'm not so concerned about myself. I'm more concerned about my loved ones. Being male means, to me anyway (yes, I know it's old fashioned), that I am responsible for protecting my family from aggression.

There used to be, maybe still is, a biker gang called the Midwest One-percenters. They fancied themselves as being that one percent. When I was like ten years old one of them chased me down an alley with a knife. He was probably just trying to scare me. It worked.

toby