[Wolfman]

Putting tissue paper inside the wallet was a mistake. A mugger is risking jail time whenever he mugs someone, so if he gets nothing he's going to be very angry. This is a bad thing, for obvious reasons. It's better to leave $10 or $20 inside the wallet but keep the rest of your money in a money clip or in your belt. Let the mugger take something. Also, if he finds money in your wallet, he's not going to think that you're hiding any more money, since most people keep all their money in their wallet.

A better idea is to carry a decoy wallet. Put in an old id, the credit card fakes they send you in the mail, put in some old buisness cards, and a handful of ones. Put that where most people carry there wallet, and put all the real cards, your id, and money in a real wallet that you carry somewhere else. Which for me is in my jacket.

[Huntster]

That only works when you are a really good draw and better shot than the guy who got the drop on you. As i said before, criminals are bad shots, in general.

That is true. What's more, very, very few criminals have had either the opportunity or have the intelligence for top quality defensive (or offensive, for that matter) firearms training, good quality firearms practice, and usually pick up all kinds of poor firearms habits from TV.

Go for your gun while one is against your head and they'll get your wallet and your gun.

If you have a gun against your head, you give them the wallet. You might even let them walk away. But if the opportunity presents itself, you shoot them dead.

How do you feel about mandatory armament?

I fully oppose it. I want everybody unarmed except myself.

[Watermoon]

I fully oppose it. I want everybody unarmed except myself.

Huntster, then you would be the one and only terrorist.

[Huntster]

I fully oppose it. I want everybody unarmed except myself.

Huntster, then you would be the one and only terrorist.

No, because I won't use my weapons to coerce others to bend to my will. I don't care what they do as long as they leave me alone.

(That's another example of my appreciation for Chinese isolationism).

[Jackal]

I believe in Self Defense because our world is not a Utopia and bad things have chances of happening. If someone comes after you, you should have the right to defend yourself. I think Self Defense is different from Gun Freedom because it is an alternative to those who are scared of using a gun, afraid of guns, don't want guns in the home due to children, etc. I do support Gun freedom though and the right to defend yourself with a gun if you are threatened (or if someone else is threatened). Also, I believe self defense would be useful for gun carriers because there may be a time where someone comes at you with a knife or whatever and you don't have time to reach for your gun, draw it, point, and shoot. Thus, disarming or avoiding getting hurt (then shooting him/her afterwards) would prove very effective.

[Huntster]

I believe in Self Defense because our world is not a Utopia and bad things have chances of happening. If someone comes after you, you should have the right to defend yourself.

Self-defense can go beyond a right. It can be a grave duty if others are dependent on you:

Legitimate defense can be not only a right but a grave duty for one who is responsible for the lives of others. The defense of the common good requires that an unjust aggressor be rendered unable to cause harm. For this reason, those who legitimately hold authority also have the right to use arms to repel aggressors against the civil community entrusted to their responsibility.

[Jackal]

Oh yes of course, Huntster. If I see a woman getting raped, I am going to do all I can to stop it. Just like if I am in a convenience store, carrying a concealed weapon, and a man/woman tries to hold up the store, I will shoot him.

[Huntster]

Actually, my point and the point of the citation I linked was that, for example, if you're a husband, father, and provider for a family, you have a grave duty to defend yourself from harm so that you can continue to care for those under your charge.

While that also extends to other innocents, it is much more personalized when focused on those you are primarily responsible for.

While I would certainly intervene instantly during a rape, a robbery might be a different circumstance if I believed the robber was not going to indulge in bodily violence.

[Jackal]

Its all a matter of interpretation I think but yeah I understand where you are coming from. But understand my stance on shotting the robber is that I don't really care about wrongdoers in the world, so I would have no problem putting some lead into one.

[Huntster]

But understand my stance on shotting the robber is that I don't really care about wrongdoers in the world, so I would have no problem putting some lead into one.

I very much understand your feelings. I agree in most respects, and I might very well violate my own ideal.

But I'd be afraid of the lawyers. If the robber had a gun, I think we'd be okay shooting him/her. If a knife?

I'm not so sure. I wouldn't be surprised of a scumbag lawyer got you or I imprisoned for shooting the scumbag.

[Watermoon]

We are studying 92 LA riots in US, there were only 65 people died in 6 days, how could this be possible since Americans have guns? Here only two days the death is around 200 without any guns!

[Huntster]

We are studying 92 LA riots in US, there were only 65 people died in 6 days, how could this be possible since Americans have guns?

The authorities let the hooligans go wild for the first 5 days. They weren't confronted by the authorities.

On the sixth day they sent in the National Guard. The riot was over that very morning.

[Huck]

We are studying 92 LA riots in US, there were only 65 people died in 6 days, how could this be possible since Americans have guns?

Most law-abiding gun owners would obey the law and only shoot looters and thugs in such an instance. Some were shot, but the lions share of people with the guns during the L.A. riots were the people defending their homes and businesses, not the rioters, IMHO.

[Zerogouki]

We are studying 92 LA riots in US, there were only 65 people died in 6 days, how could this be possible since Americans have guns? Here only two days the death is around 200 without any guns!

Widespread gun-ownership reduces violence.

[Potemkin]

Widespread gun-ownership reduces violence.

Or maybe the Chinese are tough guys, while the Americans are pussies. Just a thought.

[Huntster]

We are studying 92 LA riots in US, there were only 65 people died in 6 days, how could this be possible since Americans have guns? Here only two days the death is around 200 without any guns!

Widespread gun-ownership reduces violence.

Or maybe the Chinese are tough guys, while the Americans are pussies.

If they were so tough, and without being shot, how come so many die? From beatings? Is that "tough"? In LA, the ass whuppin Rodney King got started the riot, and it only ended when the BIG guns arrived (4,000 Soldiers and Marines from Fort Ord and Camp Pendleton). Even the vicious beating Reginald Denny got (complete with bricks being smashed on his head) wasn't fatal.

[Wolfman]

Widespread gun-ownership reduces violence.

That's only true in the US. In countrys that have a single system of laws banning guns there is reduced violence. The reason that is true in the US is because states with heavy gun regulations discourage people from owning firearms, so it's 'safer' for crimminals. All they have to do is go to another state, get a gun there, and they're set. A single system either way is whats best but mixed regulations by state make for what we see in comparing New York andd Texas.

If you want proof -- look at England and Australia. They both have universal regulation and better crime rates then the US.

[Zerogouki]

Wrong.

[charolastra]

I very much support studying self defense for everyone, but women especially. 1 in 6 women (as compared to 1 in 33 men) will be sexually assaulted in their lifetimes according to RAINN http://www.rainn.org/statistics. While it's important for women to pay attention to their surroundings when walking alone or in public, 2/3 of the women know their rapist.

Personally, this topic is one that is quite important to me because I was raped by a friend when I was 16. I was not in any way inebriated (though he was, something I did not know immediately) and was automatically put in a weakened position because I in no way expected to be assaulted- we were just hanging out. Do I think knowing martial arts would have physically stopped him? Probably not- I'm 5'3, he was 6'7 and on top of me. However, one thing martial arts gives women is a voice. I had trained in tae kwon do as a kid for several years so I could still kick at him, but what didn't connect was screaming. When put into a helpless situation, I lost my voice.

This idea is best laid out here: http://fugitivus.wordpress.com/2009/06/ ... ut-rape-3/. I don't necessarily agree with everything said in this blog, but it brings up a good point about the human psyche- even in horrible situations, we act as is expected in normal situations. With martial arts, you at least have the sense that you have SOME control. Rape is more about power than about sex- it takes all the power away from the victim. When the victim feels powerless and helpless, they are already less likely to effectively fight back. Martial arts helps even the playing field a bit. Again, it does not mean that suddenly the victim will be able to prevent the rape but might have a better chance at it.

While studying abroad in Mexico, I saw the same thing play out with someone else. I was on a program for 5 months with 17 girls and one guy. We spent the night at a hostel that was very open on a secluded beach- my room had no door but 5 of us were in it and we could see down to the floor beneath us with 5 more girls. In the middle of the night, one of the girls woke up to a strange man trying to get into her bed, but struggling with the mosquito netting. She was a very quiet person and just kept whispering "No, no, go away, leave me alone, go" (in Spanish of course). Another girl woke up and was too afraid to leave bed- I really think she will forever be guilty for that despite that it was probably safer for both of them since they didn't know if the man had a knife or gun. However, she couldn't scream either. It wasn't until the man finally gave up and left and she got out of bed to go make sure the other girl was OK that the other girl screamed, thinking the man was coming back.

After that, there was a period of 3 days directly following the event where myself and other friends were sexually harassed repeatedly in different scenarios. It was a freak series of events, but it made me return home from the study abroad program a month early.

Now I look at everyone as a threat. The semester after being in Mexico, I studied in England and immediately enrolled in krav maga classes. I am now the "crazy girl" who gets very loud when men get too close to me and I have learned to completely trust my instinct. In reality, martial arts are probably safer for everyone involved around me than a gun. :P

Martial arts are different than guns in that very few people get to the level at which they could actually kill a person. The problem with guns is that guns are deadly regardless of who is holding one. I have no problem with responsible people carrying guns. Unfortunately, most people aren't particularly responsible. Having a gun that you never practice shooting will not help you in a stress situation- in fact it's probably more dangerous to you, your family, innocent bystanders, etc. Not to mention that you might not always have a gun on you or be in a situation where using a gun is advisable. I know that even if I carried a weapon, I wouldn't have had it sitting on my lap while hanging out with someone who I thought was a friend. With martial arts, you just need your body.

[Dave]

Good post

It's 1 in 8 women

But at least you girls aren't tossing around the 1 in 3 figure anymore

Rape is totally about sex, it's a normal reproductive strategy in most mammals and avians though obviously there's a power element involved (and indeed there is a power element in consensual sex)

Self-defense is equally important for men so we can defend ourselves from women trained in self defense when engaging in sexual assaults against them