Portland has a high amount of rapes per capita (Detroit: neighborhoods, movies)

[philwithbeard]

TDNY:

Just asking: About a decade or so ago, I remember NYC was pushing women to carry a loud whistle they could blow in case of an assault. The whistle of choice was more of a British 'bobby's' police whistle Here is a link to an example, The Acme British Metropolitan Police Whistle:
ACME Whistles

Is this loud whistle still being recommended to ladies in NYC? I had heard the Acme whistle has a different sound from the normal NYC police whistle, so it would be obvious that a citizen in trouble was calling for help.

Thanks

Phil

[turbodiesel4x4]

Originally Posted by dejo44

Mr. Smith and Wesson with all do respect, you have the nerve to call someone paranoid? I got a belly laugh out of that one! I don't feel suspicious or have a sense that others are out to get me or do me harm. In all of my 44 years alive as a woman, I can say that I have "never" felt the need to be armed in any situation I was ever in. A person packing a gun for a casual stroll or a trip to the mall in my eyes is not thinking rationally. Almost everything you type screams paranoia, anxiety and fear.

Find yourself in the wrong place at the wrong time and tell us if you still feel the same way.

[Salal]

Mr.SmithW: I would ask that you please "check yourself" before accusing a black woman of being paranoid and judgmental after charitably describing an experience in Idaho (which is not a white neighborhood I walked into but a state in my country). Also appreciated would be your taking care not to misrepresent or distort my messages; I never implied that the unfriendly and mute folks I encountered throughout Idaho stared with any malicious intentions (I can't effectively assess intention nor can you), but I am confidently able to distinguish curiosity from dread.

Pass, also, on the date at the firing range.

[Metlakatla]

Originally Posted by Mr.SmithW

If interested, I will introduce you to what many consider the most effective anti-rape kit available. A variety of different calibers and accessories .

Many may consider them so...my guess is that these "many" that you speak of are primarily men.

One more time, the element of surprise is the common denominator in almost all rapes/sexual assaults.

A gun would be effective in the rarest of all rape scenarios...where someone breaks in, if you are aware that they are doing so and have time to get your weapon.

But it's more likely that it will happen when you're jogging.walking etc. on a wooded trail.

[TDNY]

Originally Posted by philwithbeard

TDNY:

Just asking: About a decade or so ago, I remember NYC was pushing women to carry a loud whistle they could blow in case of an assault. The whistle of choice was more of a British 'bobby's' police whistle Here is a link to an example, The Acme British Metropolitan Police Whistle:
ACME Whistles

Is this loud whistle still being recommended to ladies in NYC? I had heard the Acme whistle has a different sound from the normal NYC police whistle, so it would be obvious that a citizen in trouble was calling for help.

Thanks

Phil

I've never heard of the whistle Phil, sorry.

[Leisesturm]

Originally Posted by philwithbeard

TDNY:

Just asking: About a decade or so ago, I remember NYC was pushing women to carry a loud whistle they could blow in case of an assault. The whistle of choice was more of a British 'bobby's' police whistle Here is a link to an example, The Acme British Metropolitan Police Whistle:
ACME Whistles

Is this loud whistle still being recommended to ladies in NYC? I had heard the Acme whistle has a different sound from the normal NYC police whistle, so it would be obvious that a citizen in trouble was calling for help.

Neither the police nor women in trouble use whistles to signal for help in NYC. A good scream is far more likely to bring help than some whistle. In Queens, NY a serial rapist has operated without capture for the full extent of my adult life... we are talking over 25 years. This amounts to many hundreds of attacks. I imagine he has mastered the art of silencing his victims quickly and effectively. Would a gun be useful in ridding society of this menace? Yes, if the 'victim' were prescient and somehow knew to turn and fire a killing shot well before being accosted. Then she might have some explaining to do. I mean... not a mark on her... hair not even mussed... sure there was the fact that he was wearing a stocking cap and had twine in his pocket....

Hmmm. if that mode of self-defense were to become popular, black men would have to stay indoors after 9:00pm (earlier in winter) or risk getting shot, just because. I can't agree with much hamelir said in his last post but the essential point is: it isn't guns that make us safe. The people that are safe are safe because they live and/or work in safe areas. They are safe areas because, for the most part, the people there are reasonably happy and socialized. There are areas in NYC where people are reasonably happy and socialized but their communities abut some real pits of jusrisdictional neglect. There will be issues of personal safety. I wonder though, how are we going to "bring the poor out of poverty" when we willingly pass up the opportunity to end tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans?

Make no mistake, hamelir is onto something. If we are to get a handle on violent crime it will not be by letting Joe and Julia Public arm themselves to a fare thee well with military grade ordnance. The old American West was a very dangerous place despite very lax gun laws. If you get from that that I remain unconvinced about the passionate pleas and angry rhetoric by gun owners to continue futility as usual you would be right.

H

[Mr.SmithW]

I don't got time to write a long response. I just want to say that a majority of rapes do not occur with some psychopath hiding in the bushes. Yes, there is always a chance some crazy person will jump from bushes and grab you. As for as Leisesturm's advice about becoming a martial artist, well I will say that is great advice if you want to dedicate years and years to training. Contrary, to what Leisesturm says about how easy it is for a 120lb woman to disable a 250lb deranged, and possibly, drugged-out man, I would think that would pose a much greater challenge. It takes years of training to be able to confidently disable an attacker who is twice your size, who may also have some fighting skills.

For those people who cannot devote years to martial art and physical training (yes you will need to condition yourself as well), a firearm is a much more viable option. This is also especially true for older people and others who just don't have the ability to do extensive martial art training.

Believe me, if you spend 2 hours a week training with a firearm, you will be proficient enough to take out even the largest attacker. It's all about training. If martial arts were so much more effective then firearms, then why don't our police use martial arts to take out a majority of the violent felons who attack them? If they know their lives are threatened, they go for their firearm. Hand-to-hand combat is great in the movies but much more difficult in real life.

NYC has the lowest number of rapes?? Please rape statistics are the biggest crock of dogcrap I have ever heard. NYC also has one of the highest rates of knifings and strong-armed robberies in the country. Any connection with the fact that people there are unarmed? Hamellr, I want to correct you about one thing. Most people in NYC cannot own a handgun or carry one. Last I heard, handguns are illegal in NYC, but are legal in NEw York state. Bloomberg and his mentor Giuliani both said that people should not own guns.

Oh yeah , the rape whistle thing gave me a great laugh!!

[Metlakatla]

Originally Posted by Mr.SmithW

Believe me, if you spend 2 hours a week training with a firearm, you will be proficient enough to take out even the largest attacker. It's all about training. If martial arts were so much more effective then firearms, then why don't our police use martial arts to take out a majority of the violent felons who attack them? If they know their lives are threatened, they go for their firearm. Hand-to-hand combat is great in the movies but much more difficult in real life.

Believe me..I already am proficient.

[Mr.SmithW]

Ok, since your proficient, I guess all the other women in the world are safe.. I also love people who say they are proficient, yet never actually been in a real fight with a rabid and violent person twice their size. You can train and train, but it only takes one mistake in a fight to get killed if you are going up against someone who is a lot larger and stronger than yourself.

More power to those who are skilled in martial arts.. My grandfather was 8th degree black belt in Kung Fu San Soo. At 5,6 and 130lbs he could tear me to pieces.. I am 240lbs, mostly muscle and quite fast.

Regardless, for the rest of the world who cannot devote so much time to martial art training, a firearm is both a great deterrent and an even more effective form of defending yourself against a violent attacker, who may be armed himself. If people trained even 10% as much with a firearm as they would have to do with martial arts, they would make a much more formidable opponent. Believe it or not, 9 out of 10 times, just pulling out a firearm will make the bad guy freak out and run away. I have heard time and time again of people having to pull a firearm and the perpetrator just freaking out and running. Try your best martial art stance and see how quick they run.

[Leisesturm]

Originally Posted by Mr.SmithW

Regardless, for the rest of the world who cannot devote so much time to martial art training, a firearm is both a great deterrent and an even more effective form of defending yourself against a violent attacker, who may be armed himself. If people trained even 10% as much with a firearm as they would have to do with martial arts, they would make a much more formidable opponent. Believe it or not, 9 out of 10 times, just pulling out a firearm will make the bad guy freak out and run away. I have heard time and time again of people having to pull a firearm and the perpetrator just freaking out and running. Try your best martial art stance and see how quick they run.

You're not listening. Of course pulling out a firearm will freak out most baddies and make them turn tail. You are talking about muggings though, not rapes. Muggers confront their victims, rapists surprise them. Against a surprise attack guns are almost useless. Please don't try to argue that point it will force me to rehash all the embarassing stories recently in the news about the spectacular failure of armed people to protect themselves. Trained, armed people. I don't want to live in a world where I have to do a 360 scan every 8 seconds. I don't want to have to practice diving into a defensive fire position at the mere sound of clothes rustling behind me.

Neither do most normal people which is why despite the ridiculous proliferation of firearms among the masses, when spit happens.... its usually messy. Also, and maybe its me.. I think Metlakatla is saying that she can shoot.

H