jcp@osiris.UUCP (Jody Patilla) (05/30/85)
I thought for a long time after reading Ellen Eades message about the incident with the jerk at the traffic light. It really angered me, because similar things have happened to me (and probably to every woman reading this) and I completely understand the feeling that anyone would have to blow the creep into little bits. Unfortunately, this not exactly an appropriate response, so I thought about what *would* be an effective response, that would give me some satisfaction and shut him up. One idea that came to mind was to use a water pistol, filled with detergent, or really gawd-awful cheap perfume or Lysol. If I were *really* careful, I could get him in the face and make him sorry he opened his mouth, but even with slight care, I should be able to hit him and get him good and smelly, no ? The water pistol would need to be sturdy enough not leak, to hold a fair amount of liquid, have enough range to get from my car to a doorway, and have a controllable stream (in other words, a better quality item than your average kiddie toy). The disadvantage I see would be that if he were armed with a real gun, he might decide to shoot me first. What do you folks think of this idea ? Might it be workable ? The thing is that women shouldn't have to put up with this shit, and we should fight back in a way that might deter future incidents, and not leave us seething and gnashing our teeth (unlike most of my encounters with the IRS, for example). Constructive suggestions are most appreciated. -- jcpatilla "'Fancy thinking the Beast was something you could hunt and kill !'"
cramer@kontron.UUCP (Clayton Cramer) (06/05/85)
> > I thought for a long time after reading Ellen Eades message about > the incident with the jerk at the traffic light. It really angered me, > because similar things have happened to me (and probably to every woman > reading this) and I completely understand the feeling that anyone would > have to blow the creep into little bits. Unfortunately, this not exactly > an appropriate response, so I thought about what *would* be an effective > response, that would give me some satisfaction and shut him up. One idea > that came to mind was to use a water pistol, filled with detergent, or > really gawd-awful cheap perfume or Lysol. If I were *really* careful, > I could get him in the face and make him sorry he opened his mouth, but > even with slight care, I should be able to hit him and get him good > and smelly, no ? The water pistol would need to be sturdy enough not > leak, to hold a fair amount of liquid, have enough range to get from my > car to a doorway, and have a controllable stream (in other words, a better > quality item than your average kiddie toy). The disadvantage I see would > be that if he were armed with a real gun, he might decide to shoot me > first. What do you folks think of this idea ? Might it be workable ? > The thing is that women shouldn't have to put up with this shit, > and we should fight back in a way that might deter future incidents, and > not leave us seething and gnashing our teeth (unlike most of my encounters > with the IRS, for example). Constructive suggestions are most appreciated. > > -- > > > jcpatilla > > "'Fancy thinking the Beast was something you could hunt and kill !'" The water pistol idea, while charming in its simplicity, does have the potential to be misinterpreted in darkness by loud-mouthed drunks --- I think it could lead to the loud-mouthed drunk shooting back, and the reaction might not be completely unreasonable. An alternative that might work well for someone with the tackiness level of the guy who encouraged Ellen to look at his genitals would be, "Sorry...left the microscope at the office." *-)