Not So Convenient Parking At Night

Truthfully I've never even heard of bear spray until I saw it in this forum. I'll keep that in mind.

A lot can go wrong with pepper spray. Half the time someone deployed it they hit me or other officers instead of the intended target. And even if you hit the intended person, it rarely stops them. It was best used as a distraction technique so we could follow up with something else. Pepper spray them, momentarily make them stop and raise their hands to their eyes, during which time we could take them to the ground, or get our baton after them. Of course, one huge difference is that we were trying to subdue the person, not just get them to run away and leave us alone. But back to pepper spray in a personal defense situation, it is okay, but I would not rely on it or expect it to stop a determined attacker. But like another person posted, most attackers have a planned script and if you interrupt it, most of them will move on to an easier target -- unless it's personal.

And like others have said, the BIGGEST thing is situational awareness! Just like they teach you to look ahead 12-15 seconds up the road, the Smith system -- that is road awareness. You wouldn't think of focusing just in front of your hood or not checking your mirrors when driving -- you keep your head on a swivel, always checking your mirrors. But somehow, when people get out of their vehicle, they forget all that and look down when they are walking and are no longer aware of what is going on around them. I see so many young people walking around with their ear buds in so they can't hear what's going on around them, walking with their head down -- it's like having a sign that says "victim" on it. There is a lot of good material on this sort of thing. Check out NRAs "Refuse to be a Victim" program.

Back years ago when I was a martial arts instructor, I used to teach rape prevention classes (SHARP - Sexual Harasssment And Rape Prevention). I remember teaching one class and an attractive blonde said, "But I don't want to hurt him." I couldn't believe what I heard. I pointed to the door and told her she may as well leave. I told her that if she used these techniques properly if would deter an attack, but if she did them half-heartedly, it would only **** him off." Another thing we taught, which was hard for a lot of them, was to use abusive language toward the attacker. Personally, I don't curse. And most of my students in these classes didn't either. But when the intended victim is not the shy, "oh, please don't hurt me," submissive person, it throws the attacker off. So, instead of pleading, "Please don't hurt me" (which empowers the attacker and is what he wants to hear), we told them to aggressively say something more like, "Back off m****r f****r, you don't want any of this!!" or so some such thing.

I used to use the short stick in martial arts, then a nice oak baton in LE, so I think that a nice wooden tire thumper will work quite well should the situation arise. Or like our ex-president said, "Speak softly but carry a big stick."

States issue the gun permits ...a permit in PA is not valid in NJ...resulting in jail time. Same with pepper spray and stun guns. Take a self defense course and keep the truck keys stunning out between your gunners of your fist. ...jab him in the eyes...neck...kick him. Yell fire. ...people resound for that over the words help or rape