Photos of UI women's self-defense weapons hit a nerve

[cyberswede]

Whistles. Brass knuckles. Cans of mace.

A University of Iowa art student's photo series of women and the things they carry to protect themselves against sexual assault has gone viral online. News about it on BuzzFeed and the Huffington Post attracted more than a million page views by Wednesday, a week after the actress Zooey Deschanel posted a link on her website HelloGiggles. The story showed up in the Italian edition of Vanity Fair.

"It's been pretty crazy," said the artist, Taylor Yocom, 22, who will graduate Saturday with a degree in photography. "I gave a TV interview during my last week of classes."

More: http://www.press-citizen.com/story/news/education/2015/05/12/photos-self-defense-tools-hits-nerve/27205045/

[Brickbat]

1. Keys.

Fucking keys.

[cyberswede]

2. I know...

But the idea of the project is cool.

[Merlot]

4. Keys are a suggested as a means of protection

You're supposed to use them to poke your assailant in the eyes.

I'm not saying this is good advise, but it is advice that is given to women or was at one time. Since she's young I'm guessing it's still current advise.

[IVoteDFL]

7. This is what I learned to do with my keys also

My parents always said to wedge it between my fingers and punch it right in the eye.

Truth be told, I don't know if I'd be able to do it. It would be a pretty gruesome outcome. Being prepared and having a can of mace would be much more preferable, but if you are by yourself and can't call out for help, and all you have are keys, I don't see why it wouldn't work.

[Are_grits_groceries]

9. Eyes, balls, nose, throat.

Use the heel of your hand for the nose and throat.
As far as I'm concerned, anything goes. I don't care how badly I hurt someone. I am not going to try to kill them, but I won't lose sleep over any damage I do.

[IVoteDFL]

22. I definitely agree anything goes

If someone is threatening my well being I'm not going to care too much about theirs... but I worry a little bit about what it would do to me mentally in the long run. Even just to witness someone being stabbed in the eye (or anywhere) would probably give me a life long case of the heebie jeebies, let alone if I actually had to feel the key sink into their eye socket. Yikes. Not saying that I wouldn't do it if I had to. I probably would, but something like mace would be easier for me to walk away from more or less unaffected.

I'm also lucky enough to recognize that I've only been in one situation where I felt threatened to that extreme and a friend's dog scared the guy off before I had time to react. I realize that this is something that many women deal with on a much more regular basis. I would never tell someone not to use their keys as a weapon if they needed to. Use whatever you can to get away. Gouge both their eyes out if you have to. I would just prefer not to have to.

[ProfessorGAC]

87. Heel of Hand to Lips and Nose

Better to use a knife edge to the throat area. Heel of hand is hard to land there. Too easy to hit part of the chin and do little damage.

Our friend (and my wife's college roommate's brother) was a police captain used to teach basic SD in "fight because no chance for flight" situations.

He showed my wife some good things and since i was there, i remember nearly everything he showed her.

[valerief]

13. That's what I learned. Walking to the car, carry the long car key between your fingers.

Target: eyeball.

[Brickbat]

15. No, I know. I thought it was crap then and now.

[roguevalley]

20. put them through your fingers and give a sharp jab to the solar plexus or stomach, then you

will see an attacker puke their guts out. Don't ask me how I know. truly

[Warpy]

28. Predators are looking for them, too

Keys should be out but they're useless as protection. Best thing to do is throw them under the car so you can't be taken to a secondary location.

The best thing would be if men woke the fuck up and realized the predators are poisoning all relationships they will ever have with women. We are always a little on our guard. If men took this stuff seriously enough to stop their predatory brethren, maybe we wouldn't have to figure out how to protect ourselves, burdened by laws that restrict what we can use.

[LondonReign2]

27. Pretty sure her finger is poised over a mini can of mace

more than just keys

[SoapBox]

3. I can't help but think that one of the nerves it hit was with...men.

How dare these "women" try to defend themselves!

[Eleanors38]

82. Doesn't bother me. But I think the spray is better!

Some of us around here believe in self-defense.

[okaawhatever]

5. +100 nt

[imnew]

6. Brass knuckles are illegal to carry are they not?

A whistle is what I carry

[Are_grits_groceries]

8. I care. Might save her life.

I'll carry a roll of quarters if I need to. I have a kubaton on my key ring. It's better than keys and can inflict some serious pain.

[imnew]

12. I never thought of a roll of quarters

What would you do just hold them tight in your hand then punch the person?

[Are_grits_groceries]

14. Yep. nt

[TygrBright]

21. Yep. It's called "fist load," and it's very powerful.

Not only does it increase the impact of a blow to the person being hit, it spreads and absorbs the impact to the person doing the hitting's fist, which makes it less painful and easier to do a "fast repeat" punch, which can be very effective.

Doesn't do bupkis, though, if you don't have the reflex and will to engage in self-defense that way, which is why I constantly recommend a simple self-defense course to all the young women in my life.

regretfully,
Bright

[Hekate]

30. What is a kubaton?

Thanks

[Hekate]

56. I looked it up: invented by Takayuki Kubota, so properly spelled Kubotan. Interesting...

I imagine a ballpoint pen would serve the same purpose, in a pinch.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kubotan

[rurallib]

10. seriously surprised there wasn't a gun or a knife in the mix.

not suggesting or condoning them - just surprised someone didn't have one or the other.

[NaturalHigh]

17. "not suggesting or condoning them"

I'm cool with either.

[jwirr]

23. They can be taken from you and used on you.

[rurallib]

37. that was my thought as to why.

[Nuclear Unicorn]

38. So can anything else but criminals are not ninjas.

[jwirr]

40. No but they are less likely to be able to kill you with a set of keys.

[Nuclear Unicorn]

41. Less than 10% of rapes involve an armed attacker. Of those armed attackers less than half

i.e. less than 5% overall, have a gun. A woman with a gun has a less than 5% chance in being equally armed as an attacker and a better than 95% chance of holding the tactical superiority.

Why disarm over the fantasy that rapists can ninja-away her protection?

[F4lconF16]

50. Your arrogance is incredible.

You pretend you know rape, that you understand rape. You use some statistics to show us fools why we're so stupid to be opposed to carrying a gun to protect yourself from assault, and you think you've made some kind of strong statement explaining that.

Let me be the first to tell you:

YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND A DAMN THING ABOUT RAPE.

You clearly like statistics, so let's use some:

82% of sexual assaults were perpetrated by a non-stranger.
47% of rapists are a friend or acquaintance.
25% are an intimate.
5% are a relative.

Yet you advocate carrying a gun. Do you have any idea how stupid that is? Do you really think people are going to just shoot someone they know? Do you have any idea what kind of damage killing someone--especially someone you know--does to your psyche?

The fact that you don't think that's a problem says a lot about you. Your disrespect for the sanctity of life is sickening, and sadly typical of people who think guns will solve a systemic problem entrenched in our society, our culture, our politics, and our economics.

Rape is not black and white. It's not always a big stranger who preys on you in the darkness. It's your best friend. It's your boyfriend. It's your spouse. It's your uncle. It's the man you met at the bar and decided to go home with because you were drunk and not thinking clearly. It's being roofied at a frat party. It's the guy you thought would never do that type of thing.

And your suggestion is to point a fucking gun at them?

You don't know a damn thing.

And let me tell you: I hope that the people I know that were beaten and abused for years NEVER happen to have a gun in an assault situation. Because of two reasons: first, it would destroy them to kill. It would fuck them up bad. And you want to know why I really hope they never have one around?

Because I'd bet almost anything they'd be more likely to use it on themselves than on anyone attacking them.

And that's something I don't expect you to ever understand.

Get off your fucking high horse. You don't know shit.

[Nuclear Unicorn]

63. I do not subscribe to the, "be a good girl and take one for the team" philosophy.

Nothing you wrote abrogates a woman's right to self defense. If she is entitled to self defense then she is entitled to the most effective means of self defense. You can call that "arrogant" and "disrespect for the sanctity of life" but the "life" you're favoring is the life of a rapist over the victim.

How telling.

[friendly_iconoclast]

73. I loved the lecture about the "sanctity of life" and the undesireability of guns...

...from a person who has the screename of a quite lethal warplane that's armed
with a Gatling gun.

[friendly_iconoclast]

69. It's not a touch on *your* arrogance and mansplaining, dude:

Nuclear Unicorn is a woman- You are not. Furthermore, you have the luxury of
choosing single combat.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=6668520

...Then, since I am a tall man who is quite physically fit, I have the luxury of using my own body as defense against someone. I have the reach and the speed to avoid most people's blows and remove myself from the situation.

Who are you to tell people how to defend themselves? And all that bloviating about
the "sanctity of life"? You advocate the use of pepper spray, which is not always effective
and can be lethal, despite your claims that it isn't-

Pepper spray is the best option at any point in this situation. I can use it up close or from a distance. It will stop a full-grown adult in his or her tracks. It is non-lethal

see references in:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=6672065

https://www.google.com/search?q=%22pepper+spray%22+ineffective&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8

I'll just use your own words here:

Get off your fucking high horse. You don't know shit.

[F4lconF16]

74. Point taken.

My assumptions, and arrogance, if you want to call it that, got the better of me. My irritation stems from seeing that bs statistic used again and again to promote a more havily armed society without any grounding in reality. I admit the hostility could have and should have been dialed back. I tend to ignore my inhibitions as far as saying what I'm thinking while online, and I need to work on it.



I stand by what I said, though, because despite my unnecessary tone, I think I am correct.

I can kill someone with a fist to the face, but punching is generally non-lethal. Same with pepper spray, though I realize it has it's problems. Your links are good, and there is a definite risk in using it. Two things, though: first, almost all the issues with pepper spray stem from police abuse and not quick uses in self-defense, and second, that in no way means a gun is a better option. Pepper spray is the most effective tool for the least lethality that I know of.

I advocate for the use of relatively non-lethal defense over just about any other lethal option. The number of times a gun will be a useful tool is vastly outweighed by the risks inherent in owning, carrying, and using a weapon--even with training and responsibility. That's an entire other argument, though, and not one I wish to get into.

You have the right to defend yourself however you choose to do so. I also have the right to advocate a certain method of doing it. Yes, I am a privileged male, but for the most part I am only echoing the concerns of women and the abused that I know.

[friendly_iconoclast]

79. Your screenname refers to a widely used fighter-bomber...

...that is seeing combat use even as we speak.

https://www.google.com/search?q=saudi+f16&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8#q=saudi+f16&tbm=nws

http://www.janes.com/article/51439/update-moroccan-f-16-lost-over-yemen

The Royal Moroccan Air force (FARM) F-16C Block 52 multirole fighter that crashed in northern Yemen on 10 May was not hit by ground fire, according to Saudi military spokesman Brigadier General Ahmed Asiri.

"We are definitely sure it wasn't shot down," he told AFP on 12 May, adding that other aircraft flying in the same formation "did not notice any firing from the ground".

It has been reported that Morocco has contributed six jet fighters to the Saudi-led coalition that has been bombing the Yemeni group Ansar Allah and allied military units since 25 March. Two FARM F-16s have been seen at the Saudi air base at Taif along with F-16s from other coalition members.

A lot of people have been (and will be) killed with them in the Middle East.
Forgive me if I'm skeptical about your commitment to "the sanctity of life"...

[F4lconF16]

84. My screenname is from years ago.

I gave up my dream of becoming an aerodynamicist in that industry precisely because I believe I could help my community better in other ways. I realized that I would not be able to participate in that industry and environment. I gave up one of the things I am most passionate about so I didn't support what it so often is used for.

My username has nothing to do with who I am.

[DashOneBravo]

57. Yes ma'am

I see your point about armed attackers. That means it's even less on campus.

I just don't see how it's a good idea to mix firearms and college.

[XemaSab]

42. More likely to have a set of keys taken from you

than have a loaded pistol taken from you.

Gnomesang?

[jwirr]

43. Fine defend you guns.

[Nuclear Unicorn]

45. I prefer to defend myself, thanks.

[XemaSab]

47. I don't own a gun

but I understand and respect women who pack heat.

For some men, having a vagina is the equivalent of spray-painting "VICTIM" across your forehead. A gun works to change that.

[Luminous Animal]

59. The majority of stranger attacks come from behind. An over the shoulder blast of mace is far

more effective than a blind aimed bullet behind you.

[F4lconF16]

29. They're both pretty unhelpful.

A gun escalates things massively. If you're carrying, you have to be prepared to kill someone. That's what guns do. It's accepted by most people that they don't want to do that.

Knives have the same problem. If an assailant sees a knife, it will escalate far more than if you have pepper spray or a roll of quarters. You also have to be prepared to do serious damage to a person. Last thing is that chances are that the assailant will know how to use and fight with a knife better than you do, and by carrying one, you put yourself at risk. Most people recognize this.

Pepper spray is the best, imo. It's non-lethal, highly effective, and ranged. It can also contain tracers for identification of the assailant.

Blech. The fact that they feel the need to carry it makes me sick. What kind of world do we have? Women should not have to feel vulnerable just to walk around outside. It always depresses me when I see the pepper spray on my friend's key rings.

[Nuclear Unicorn]

39. "A gun escalates things massively."

What is the level of escalation beyond rape and possible murder?

[XemaSab]

44. +1

n/t

[F4lconF16]

49. Clearly the only option is a gun, then.

You misunderstand (read: willingly ignore in order to make a rather stupid comment) my point.

It's not like the only options to respond to an assailant are either a gun or nothing at all.

Each tool of defense has it's strengths and weaknesses. For me, my preference is to avoid escalating a situation entirely rather than responding with maximum force by default.

I would choose to first respond by moving away and talking to the person, trying to calm them down. Thankfully, I have yet to need to move beyond that in my life, despite being in fear of direct physical harm on a couple of occasions.

Then, since I am a tall man who is quite physically fit, I have the luxury of using my own body as defense against someone. I have the reach and the speed to avoid most people's blows and remove myself from the situation.

However, should an attacker appear like they will get near enough to me to grab me, I would still avoid using a gun. At this point, I would do a number of things like the women in this OP do: socks with quarters, brass knuckles, dirt flung in the eye, a knee to the crotch, gouging eyes, etc. Whatever works, and preferably is non-lethal, though I'm concerned with my own safety and not theirs.

Pepper spray is the best option at any point in this situation. I can use it up close or from a distance. It will stop a full-grown adult in his or her tracks. It is non-lethal, exceptionally easy to use, and is unlikely to be turned on me. It has the added benefit of being unlikely to harm bystanders.

A gun does none of these things. A gun, when you draw it on someone, is intent to use lethal force. Don't tell me that you will use it to injure someone--it is a tool for killing, and when you point and pull the trigger, you are accepting that it has a very good chance of leaving that person dead. When you pull that weapon, the other person knows it. They now fear for their life rather than just their eyes or their crotch or their knee. They will respond with desperation. It is not a situation I hope to ever be in.

I personally refuse to carry a gun for defense. I think it is unlikely to help in the majority of situations, and likely to cause more problems. I also refuse to take the chance of killing someone. My code of morality and ethics does not make me comfortable with the responsibility of deciding who lives and who died. Indeed, I would rather be assaulted and live with the consequences than kill someone. It is something my entire being is opposed to.

With so many non-lethal options available, I fail to see a reason for me to carry a firearm. I would argue the same applies to the vast majority of men and women.

[DashOneBravo]

54. The 3rd paragraph

was a home run. The rest of that post wasn't.

But that's just my opinion.

[F4lconF16]

55. Yes...

Just shoot 'em all, fuck it.

The cavalier manner in which you dismiss the value of human life is a sickness far too common among us.

I would like to explain why I think that compassion towards all living beings is not only important, but necessary for a continuation of a humanitarian society and further development of our morality and understanding of each other. Compassion means that we hold a respect for other beings. It means that we empathize with them. It means that we behave with a minimum of decency towards others around us. It means that even under the most dire of circumstances and in the hardest of times, despite personal challenges or feelings, we will do our best to continue to hold that respect in our actions and words.

Respect in this case does not imply that we respect another’s actions; instead, it means that we view them as something more than an inanimate object. I treat a dog differently than I would a rock. I do so because I firmly believe that the dog, unlike the rock, experiences the world. It is a fellow traveler in this temporary world of life; something that lives, breathes, understands.

Those living beings are deserving of my respect because they have just as much inherent value in the universe as I do. I am but a different type of being. As an atheist, I also see no evidence for a life other than the one I am lucky enough to have. Life is the most incredibly precious thing that exists, for me. We are here, and we are gone, and we have but a quick moment to experience the beauty of the world around us. If I deny the respect I hold for life to another living being, I diminish my own.

The Buddhist perspective is that everyone exists with some amount of basic goodness. That is not an easy view to reconcile with the horrifying things that happen in this world. But I take that perspective anyways, because I think to do otherwise denies my own humanity. If I cannot see the inherent good in psychopaths and murderers, I cannot respect them. If I do not respect them, I do not respect the value of my own life. I see those people as sick; there is no way a sane, healthy mind exists within them. With luck, future medical advances may help us to help them. But for now, I must see their humanity in order to avoid denying my own.

Life is precious. Don't be so willing to throw it away.

[DashOneBravo]

61. I guess you missed

me saying that your non violent suggestion was a home run.

"Each tool of defense has it's strengths and weaknesses. For me, my preference is to avoid escalating a situation entirely rather than responding with maximum force by default. "

Life is precious but you should be prepared to protect yourself and others.

[F4lconF16]

62. I completely misread that; my apologies.

Disagree with you on how best to protect ourselves and our community, but I think we can agree non-violence is always the best first option.

[DashOneBravo]

86. No need to apologize

We do agree about that.

[Nuclear Unicorn]

64. Cool story, bro. I can even picture you in the aviator sunglasses as you tell it.

[friendly_iconoclast]

70. Shh! The nice man was kind enough to explain things you obviously don't understand

You should be a little more deferential.

"Sarcasm Mode" to <OFF>

[friendly_iconoclast]

68. Your chosen method of self-defense can kill people, a fact known for decades

I find your declarations of what is fit for others to be arrogant and uninformed-
Pepper spray is NOT "non-lethal":

http://articles.latimes.com/1995-06-18/news/mn-14572_1_pepper-spray-manufacturer

If Pepper Spray Isn't Lethal, Why All the Deaths?

June 18, 1995|MARK I. PINSKY | TIMES STAFF WRITER

..."You have people who die after they have been sprayed," acknowledged Steven Beazer, president of Utah-based Advanced Defense Technologies, one of about half a dozen major manufacturers of pepper spray devices. "Does pepper spray have a role in some of these deaths? I will say yes. It is going to have an effect. These are weapons. . . . Clearly, this is not a breath freshener or an underarm deodorant."

According to a Times review of in-custody deaths since 1990, at least 61 fatalities nationwide--27 of them in California--have been reported following police use of pepper spray on suspects. Two of those deaths occurred in Orange County within the past year, including Trejo's, which is still under investigation by the district attorney's office.

Protests and calls for a federal investigation followed the most recent fatality, the June 4 death in San Francisco of burglary suspect Aaron Williams, 37, who was subdued with pepper spray while being arrested by police...

http://blogs.plos.org/speakeasyscience/2011/11/20/about-pepper-spray/

...My own purpose here is to focus on the dangers of a high level of capsaicin exposure. But as pointed out in the 2004 paper, Health Hazards of Pepper Spray, written by health researchers at the University of North Carolina and Duke University, the sprays contain other risky materials:

Depending on brand, an OC spray may contain water, alcohols, or organic solvents as liquid carriers; and nitrogen, carbon dioxide, or halogenated hydrocarbons (such as Freon, tetrachloroethylene, and methylene chloride) as propellants to discharge the canister contents.(3) Inhalation of high doses of some of these chemicals can produce adverse cardiac, respiratory, and neurologic effects, including arrhythmias and sudden death.

http://web.archive.org/web/20000817004624/http://www.ncmedicaljournal.com/Smith-OK.htm

[NaturalHigh]

77. You fail to see a reason to carry a firearm, but you're a fighter pilot?

Don't fighter pilots usually carry side arms?

[F4lconF16]

78. I'm not a fighter pilot.

I'm a person who grew up in the flight path of an airport and who wanted to be an aerodynamicist since before I knew what that word meant. The username has little to do with my thoughts about weapons, war, and the MIC. It's merely a unique identifier I've used online since years ago.

[Mr.Bill]

11. Subscription required to view link. n/t

[cyberswede]

16. Aw...sorry - I got a message that there is free access to a limited number of articles.

ETA: try this one (same story, different Gannett paper)
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/education/2015/05/12/photos-self-defense-tools-hits-nerve/27205045/

[Mr.Bill]

25. Thanks. n/t

[NaturalHigh]

18. I don't really know why this series would "hit a nerve"...

but those are some pretty pathetic weapons.

[cyberswede]

19. I didn't get he headline, either...

except the brief mention of how some commenters have chided her for not including guns.

[petronius]

48. I assumed it hit a nerve with the campus administrators - a display of a

substantial number of women relying on those pathetic weapons to maybe feel safe while walking across campus is perhaps not the sort of thing administrations want troubling their beautiful little minds...

[F4lconF16]

52. "Hit a nerve" can also mean something more like "strike a chord with".

For many people reading it this is very familiar.

Pathetic? I'd like to see how well you stand up against pepper spray. I sincerely doubt you'd be just fine.

And yeah, they're not armed for the hilt. They're giving a big old f--- you to the system that wants them scared. They're walking around (sometimes even in pants *gasp*) instead of hiding in their homes. They're not going to take that. But our world is still pretty messed up--so they're carrying what you see. I would too, if I was anything but a 6-foot+ athletic white male who doesn't get much trouble.

The point wasn't to show heavily armed women. It was to show the reality that their world is.

Not that you didn't know that, of course.

[cyberswede]

58. "The point wasn't to show heavily armed women. It was to show the reality that their world is."

Right on.

[NaturalHigh]

65. Why are you resorting to personal insults throughout this thread?

[friendly_iconoclast]

71. The name is a giveaway- Male fighter pilots, real or otherwise...

...have a reputation for being, well, assholes.

Five will get you ten that there's a set of these...



...somewhere in his dwelling

[NaturalHigh]

72. Ah - I didn't know the name was a reference to fighter pilots.

I guess I just didn't pay attention to him to realize he fancies himself a fighter pilot.

After six years in the Air Force - well, I have a hard time disagreeing with your assessment.

[friendly_iconoclast]

75. And what do fighter pilots do? Shoot at (or bomb) things, usually with people in them

"Sanctity of life", my ass!

[NaturalHigh]

76. I don't think fighter pilots actually shoot at much.

I think they are just supposed to fly along with the bomber pilots and keep them from being shot down. They would like to shoot at somebody, but they don't get the chance very often.

[friendly_iconoclast]

81. Most bombing these days is done by "multirole fighters", fighters that also carry bombs

Currently, that would be...F 16s...in Yemen, plus whatever's being used in the don't-call-it-a-war
in Ukraine. Large, dedicated bombers like the B1, B2, and the B52 are actually the exception

[F4lconF16]

80. I'm glad you've got me all figured out

From a username I coined years ago because I liked the sound of it, and I liked planes.

I've been nice enough to admit my tone and insults in this thread were unnecessary and I will be working on it in the future.

Can you do the same?

[friendly_iconoclast]

83. I'm willing to stipulate that you did not know that Nuclear Unicorn is a woman...

...and did not mean to come across as condescending.

[F4lconF16]

85. Correct.

And I apologized to her for my tone and my hostile language. It was uncalled for. The message would have been much clearer and the discussion more productive without it.

[Luminous Animal]

60. It hits a nerve to know that women travel about each and every day with a strategy to defend themselves.

That every moment of their lives they are alert to predators. And no. Mace and keys are not a pathetic weapons. You keep both at ready in your grip and that moment that you feel that neck throat attack from behind (because most stranger attacks come from behind) you let loose a blast of mace over your shoulder which will loosen your attackers grip. Then you use your keys to claw the fuck out of their face.

[RoccoR5955]

24. I used to carry an old sock

filled with a roll of nickels. Though I am not a woman, I am smaller than most men, and when I lived in the City, had the tendency to attract attackers when walking around the neighborhood at night. This was the cheapest and most effective way I could think of.
Actually running away is cheaper, but it's not always possible.

[riqster]

26. Yep. A cosh can do some damage, and that one can be granted reasonable doubt.

[RoccoR5955]

32. I don't know what a cosh (hyperbolic cosine) has to do with this conversation.

Perhaps you could enlighten me.
Maybe you mean the angle that you wield the sock full of nickles to hit the perpetrator and get the most umph, but I don't know what else you could mean by it.

[riqster]

33. It's another word for "blackjack".

[RoccoR5955]

34. Oh, and here I thought I was talking to a Mathematician.

My bad, and thanks for enlightening me.

[riqster]

36. Nope, just someone who grew up in a bad neighborhood.

Any place with multiple words for each sort of weapon....

[RoccoR5955]

66. You don't wanna know where I grew up...

But I'll tell you any way.
I grew up in the 60s in Brooklyn, NY.
We lived in the projects which were in the area of Canarsie that lies between Brownsville and East New York. Right on the border there. When things got crazy there then, we were lucky that we lived in the projects. We were not that lucky to be one of a few white families living in those projects. Well I wasn't lucky to be a 10 year old. It was rough, but I learned a lot from it.

[riqster]

67. I hear ya. It was not a comfortable life, but it was a very educational one.

[Hekate]

31. I bet I know which nerve it hit, too.

[Gothmog]

35. My middle child just graduated from Uof Iowa law school

I will forward to her

[Rex]

46. Yes women or even pictures of women defending themselves does rile the ire of a certain

type of man. Oh yes it does indeed.

[Starry Messenger]

51. My mother used to tell me oven spray.

Like I ever clean my oven.

[elehhhhna]

53. wasp spray, which is accurate and blasts like 10 feet or so

Put a lighter on it and it's a flamethrower.