tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1471353673045800301.post1034703532096268177..comments2023-10-20T07:27:30.939-04:00Comments on clueless but hopeful mama: Safetyclueless but hopeful mamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11011524864788495788noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1471353673045800301.post-4471239465158551042012-07-08T08:36:36.768-04:002012-07-08T08:36:36.768-04:00I went to school in the Big City of Philly, with w...I went to school in the Big City of Philly, with which you are familiar, and walked many a street on many a night that I probably shouldn't have. I got lost on foot on mulitple occassions after getting off at the Wrong Subway Stop and had to make my way out, clearly a stranger in the area. I lived for two years in a 'transitional neighborhood' where I was accepted by the people who lived there, but not so much by the ones hanging at storefronts that lined the roads from the SEPTA stop to my street. I quickly developed a confident and bold stride, a pavement-pounding but not-too-fast pace, a determined and hardened look to my face that said, "I know where I am going. I know what I'm doing. Don't f**k with me or you will be sorry." Even when I was about to pee my pants. I also took a self-defense course and learned about the most vulnerable parts of the human body (knee to the scrotum is NOT the most incapacitating, btw - grab, twist, and pull) as well as the recommended ways to act given certain situations. <br /><br />Today, I am older and wiser (pause for internal chuckle), and am more wary even though I live in a safer city, statistically speaking. Today, I own a handgun and have a permit to carry it, although I rarely do- because I am not trained well enough to use it in an adrenaline-fueled situation. However, I do bring it if I am traveling alone in a car long distance, and it sits in a safe by my bed, within arms reach- and I practice enough to feel confident with it in those two situations. <br /><br />My boyfriend is a Marine, former infantry, who has shown me other moves, things that could be used to take down people three times my size. He has also taught me that with the right knowledge, a person can easily and completely incapacitate someone else, no matter the size difference. A 100-pound woman can render a 350-pound man unconscious in a matter of seconds with the right placement of her arms around his neck, if she knows where to put them and how to squeeze. <br /><br />In an isolated situation like hiking alone I think women AND men are at risk, albeit (maybe) for different reasons. In any situation you have to be proactive and prepare. Is it likely that you will be attacked/kidnapped/killed hiking in on the trail you're on? My guess is no. Yet it never hurts to take precautions: letting someone know where you're going/when you'll be back; taking a cell phone ("if I'm not back by x time, call me"); taking pepper spray (that you've practiced with!) and noise maker. <br /><br />Yet precautions should be proportionate to the risk. Do I need to be packing along with mace, a whistle, and a knife to go to my local suburban grocery store? Of course not- but if it is nighttime, maybe I do need to put on a little of that PhillyGirl swagger when I walk out to my car. <br /><br />Confidence is a big thing- even if you have to fake it. Don't look or act like a victim.girlcatnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1471353673045800301.post-26547285668821042112012-07-06T18:12:07.721-04:002012-07-06T18:12:07.721-04:00I love this post and wrote a perfectly good commen...I love this post and wrote a perfectly good comment which somehow never got posted. Now I can't remember how wise I was or wasn't. Anyway, you do come by this "fear" honestly. I'm the one who carries pepper spray when I'm walking in black bear country (along with the knowledge to play dead if necessary but try to tell that to my dogs - ha). I think we all just need to concentrate on the beauty of the woods and forget about any potential dangers. Ha again. It's worth trying, right?grammalouienoreply@blogger.com