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Where legal, women should get their concealed carry permits, and TRAINING to enable self defense against bigger, stronger, and possible multiple male assailants.
These kinds of discussions often get very, very heated, but as someone with a pretty broad perspective on the subject...here goes...
We've got to separate out the concept of RESPONSIBILITY from the concept of FAULT/BLAME/LIABILITY. They are not the same thing and we use them far too interchangeably.
In a certain sense, to the extent that one is capable of making decisions (for instance, excluding children and those with severe mental disabilities) and to the extent that one is informed/risk-aware (they are aware of the possible cause-and-effect chain of consequence that could occur) then yes, one has a certain degree of responsibility for each of one's choices and everything in one's life. The result of the many things we could always have done differently. But there is a chaos factor, too. You sit down at a restaurant, your first thought is to order what you always do, you know you love that dish. But for some reason that day, you talk yourself into trying something new. It arrives, and damn! It's nasty! You hate it. Is it your fault that it doesn't taste good? No. Are you responsible for the fact that it's sitting in front of you? Yeah. Are you thinking, "If only I'd gone with my first choice..." Yeah, probably. But you had no way of knowing, so you took the risk and there was a chance the result would be good, and a chance it would be bad. If you wanted a guaranteed good result, you would not have taken the risk.
That's how risk works. The results of a risky choice can be good, or bad. While we may not bear fault, we bear some responsibility when we make a risky choice.
Excellent point. I didn't think of it that way. We lock our doors when we leave our homes. Why? We don't want our house broken into, our belongings stolen, and our home to be damaged. If we did not lock our home while away and someone broke in and stole everything, would it be our fault? No. We are not to blame for the burglar's actions. But we should take responsibility to attempt to protect our home each time we leave by locking the door.
There seems to be a lot of controversy around this issue. Although there is little debate that women are not responsible for sexual assaults, do they have a duty to protect themselves? If so, how? Avoiding being alone? Not drinking to excess, avoiding skimpy clothing, what? Many individuals of both genders have expressed this opinion. And if she doesn't protect herself in whatever way is deemed necessary or fitting, is the perpetrator less at fault if an assault happens?
She should carry a straight razor and gut any sonofabitch who lays his hands on her without permission like a catfish.
Excellent point. I didn't think of it that way. We lock our doors when we leave our homes. Why? We don't want our house broken into, our belongings stolen, and our home to be damaged. If we did not lock our home while away and someone broke in and stole everything, would it be our fault? No. We are not to blame for the burglar's actions. But we should take responsibility to attempt to protect our home each time we leave by locking the door.
Does a person have a "duty" to protect themselves from being murdered, kidnapped, burglarized or any other crime, fill in the blanks? Duty? Strange idea. Ask all the crime victims of these types of crime if they failed their "duty" to protect themselves. WTH???
when I was a sophomore in college the brother of a female acquaintance who lived in my dorm invited me to a house party of his friend who attended another school.
when we got to this party everyone was drunk, high and it was early in the evening. a couple of the boys were scaring me with their talk and sexual demeanor. You know that feeling don't ya, girls. I didn't have time for a drink as I told my date we were leaving the party right then. he refused, but I forcibly took his car keys and emphatically told him he was coming with me or walking home. He decided to leave with me. this experience taught me a valuable lesson at 19. don't ever go to a remote place where there isn't a single person you know with a male you don't know.
women have to use common sense and listen to their gut feelings. the importance of making good smart choices and personal responsibility can't be underestimated.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Nanny Goat
Does a person have a "duty" to protect themselves from being murdered, kidnapped, burglarized or any other crime, fill in the blanks? Duty? Strange idea. Ask all the crime victims of these types of crime if they failed their "duty" to protect themselves. WTH???
I think we'd all agree that you DO have a duty to yourself to protect yourself from crime. That's why we scoff when people's cars get stolen when they've left the key in the ignition, if they mail large amounts of cash, if they leave their bike parked in public but not chained, etc.
Wait, what, you left the front door wide open when you went for a walk????
That sort of thing.
I think maybe the difference here, vs. sexual assault is that the robbers and the community aren't whining when they are arrested that of course they stole the bike, who wouldn't?
I wonder if you know, there are those who regret their decisions than re-classify it as assault against their will.
Do you wonder about the larger number of women who don't report being raped?
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