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luvyrself
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Default Apr 12, 2019 at 05:04 PM
  #1
I may need to drive across the desert alone from Phoenix to LA. I lived in LA for 30 yrs, so I know a lot about it. Should I get some pepper spray? I guess I should carry it in my purse so the 110 degree heat here doesn’t make it leak in the car. But I could forget it’s in my huge carryall purse and I have grandkids ages 5 and 8.
What are you ladies using for self defense these days?

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Default Apr 12, 2019 at 05:13 PM
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I was carrying pepper spray. I’m glad I didn’t have to use it. Plus, I kept getting it taken away whenever I went through security.

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Default Apr 13, 2019 at 09:54 AM
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I've thought about pepper spray, but I take some comfort that I use a cane and might hit somebody with it if necessary.
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Default Apr 21, 2019 at 04:04 AM
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I have a "neck knife". It this necklas with a blade attached and all I have to do is reach under my shirt and pull it out if I need it, and its really small.

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Default Apr 21, 2019 at 04:08 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sarahsweets View Post
I have a "neck knife". It this necklas with a blade attached and all I have to do is reach under my shirt and pull it out if I need it, and its really small.
I used to wear a necklace that looked like a pen, but you could pull off the cap and it was a little blade. I wore that and carried a key chain that had a metal ball on the end when I used to go out to clubs by myself back in the day.

Luckily, I never had to use them.

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Default Nov 03, 2019 at 07:13 PM
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What I've learned in the USMC, anything can be used as a "weapon of opportunity." Because I don't know whether pepper spray is legal or not, and because I don't want anything illegal on my record, I prepare by having a pen or a pencil on my person.

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Other "weapons" that can be used is really anything in the room or on your person, like a belt, the straps of your purse, your keys between your knuckles. Anything.

But, if you're like me, it doesn't matter what training I've had or what is on my person, I'd freeze, dissociate, flee, or use some sort of psychology to persuade the offender to leave me alone - such as acting really crazy and not worth his or her time, or siding with the offender and acting all friendly until I could get a shot in or flee, etc.

My hypervigilence is high, so I play scenarios in my mind whenever I feel like I'm walking in or around dangerous territory. I think ahead, but I mostly spend time indoors to feel safe. It's exhausting thinking like this.

And this notion that they send r*p* victims to self-defense is absurd. Those in the military had self-defense and offense fighting training, and still, their MST (military s**ual trauma) was too much for them to fight against. Same thing with civilian women, disabled persons, etc. Some may learn to fight, but that's sending a message that victims are to blame for their lack of training, or lack of capable guardianship. B*****t! Even if you're a parapalegic, or a child, or a wrestling champion, it's never your fault when you're attacked; it's the offender's fault for attacking you.

So yeah, I have defensive strategies, but I first consider the offender culpability in all this.
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Default Nov 04, 2019 at 07:31 PM
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Nothing. I don't use anything to defend myself, and I've never been attacked. Now, to be perfectly clear, I'm not saying it never happens, and I personally might deflect a lot of would be attackers because I give off a vibe like I'm looking for a fight. On the other hand, I used to walk around by myself in shady parts of town during the wee hours of the morning on a nightly basis, and I never even got so much as a vague threat. I feel that, if stranger attacks on women were as common as so many people seem to believe, I at least would've had one challenger. Not so. I had exactly zero.

Again, not to minimize anyone's experience in case I'm abnormal in this regard, but I feel like this "need for self defense" is kinda overblown, and perhaps even deliberately overblown in an attempt to sell "defense classes" to people who would otherwise have no interest in martial arts or weird "defense" weapons that can be hidden in purses and bras.
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Default Nov 04, 2019 at 08:45 PM
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I used to drive from Texas to Minnesota alone without a phone. I had two large flashlights I carried with me when I stopped at rest areas. They are legal and powerful. I had two cause they balanced me when I did jumping jacks to wake up and get energized up for driving. I normally drove straight though only stopping for gas and bathroom breaks. Remember any weapons can be taken away and used against you.

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Default Nov 04, 2019 at 09:20 PM
  #9
Personal alarm clipped to my bag.

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