rh@mit-eddie.UUCP (Randy Haskins) (02/28/84)
To see that people in a round-about way are starting to say what I've been saying. Right on, Spaf! This is what it comes down to: You are a sheep. There are wolves on the street that want to fleece you. Actually, they want to fleece the sheepest of the sheep. Your job (if you choose to take an active role in your life) is to convice that wolf that you're not really a sheep. In fact, you are fully prepared to defend yourself against him. Now, as most of my friends will tell you, I'm no friend to moderation. I carry all of this one step further. I say, "Look, Wolf. I'm here. You might be armed better than me. You might even be bigger and stronger than me. You might (but I doubt it) even be meaner than me. But I'll guaran-damn-tee you that I'm crazier than you. Not only that, but if you mess with me, I'll probably not even care if I end up buying it. In fact, I'll probably pursue a course of action where we both die in favor of a course of action where we both live. Unless you're a crazy person, you don't want to mess with me." Do I really believe this? Probably not. But, I make it seem like it's true so that THEY aren't willing to take that chance. Most muggers just want some easy money. They don't want to take a chance of getting their face torn off. Other tips about self-defense: I try to carry drinks (coke) in open cups as much as possible. This can be thrown in the attackers eyes to distract him. Also, superfluous articles of clothing (mittens, gloves, hats, scarves...). Leather gloves can be good if someone comes at you with a knife: a large number of people attack as if that were their only weapon; you grab it in your glove (you might get cut, but it shouldn't be too bad if you grab firmly) and proceed to kick their entrails all over the sidewalk. I have a reasonable blade myself, but I lack any real experience in handling it. That's a problem. But there are always lots of weapons on the street (mainly things to throw, glass, etc.) I also have contemplated using my key-chain-retractor to hit people with (I don't know if it would be terribly effective). But I think the point of carrying things that might be weapons is not so much that you might use them, but that they make you feel more like you're going to kill someone. I'm sorry, but there's no Santa Claus, and if you really want to walk down the street safely, you have to be MEAN. Them's the break, kiddies. -- Randwulf (Randy Haskins); Path= genrad!mit-eddie!rh
lkk@mit-eddie.UUCP (Larry Kolodney) (03/23/84)
From Randwulf: > This is what it comes down > to: You are a sheep. There are wolves on the street that want > to fleece you. Actually, they want to fleece the sheepest of the > sheep. Your job (if you choose to take an active role in your life) > is to convice that wolf that you're not really a sheep. In fact, > you are fully prepared to defend yourself against him. No, the job is to realize that most wolves are really sheep. -- Larry Kolodney (The Devil's Advocate) (USE) ..decvax!genrad!mit-eddie!lkk (ARPA) lkk@mit-ml