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The abduction and murder of Kelsey Smith has made a lot of people nervous,

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raccoon Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Jun-08-07 07:44 AM
Original message
The abduction and murder of Kelsey Smith has made a lot of people nervous,
Edited on Fri Jun-08-07 08:39 AM by raccoon
and understandably so.

Some time ago, a DU’er pointed me to the list below.

Eight Simple Rules for Saving Your Life

1. Never trust your assailant. No matter what they say, no matter how believable they may sound. If they need a ride some place or need you to go into a hallway or a room. No matter what- don't move. The real reason your assailant wants you to move is because he can't do what he needs to do in your present location. Since he can't do what he wants to you in your current location he needs to move you. A more recent example is the BTK killer Dennis Rader, the serial killer who terrorized Wichita for 31 years, naming himself BTK for "bind, torture, kill". Rader would convince his victims that he was only going to rob them and steal their car, but he needed to tie them up so they wouldn't call the police right away. Once the victim was tied up, he was able to do as he wished.

2. Your assailant will have a distinct advantage. You will most like be alone and out numbered. Your assailant already has a plan. So you better have one too. They pick the time and place. Whether it's a weapon, accomplices or sheer size; you're picked as a likely target because your attacker feels he has a great chance of imposing his will on you. You're not to blame: you're just in the wrong place at the wrong time. That's it.

3. Simply running away solves a lot of problems. FBI studies show that would be victims who simply ran from a potentially violent encounter survived; even when the assailant used a fire arm. Rarely were the victims even fired upon. An in the small percentage of victims that were hit, all of the wounds were superficial. Have an evacuation plan.

(snip)

6. You will be in the fight of your life. It will not be clean, look pretty, poetic or feel good. You will have to scrape, bite, gouge, kick and claw your way to safety. You will be injured. And you will be exhausted. Keep in mind, an adrenalin burst lasts about 30 seconds and then you need about 3 minutes to recharge. So make that 30 seconds count. Check out Lt. Col. Dave Grossman's On Combat.

7. Specific Defenses don't work. The idea that you will be able to recall a specific response to each individual situation is not going to happen. …The best advice anyone can give you is to "fight like hell".

8. Plan for the worst and hope for the best. Last night I was discussing the merits of pepper spray with one of the guys I train with who is a Port Authority police officer. He was recalling times were he sprayed targets and the pepper spray had little or no effect. The common misconception about pepper spray is that it will end the assault….Don't expect the pepper spray to end the fight. DO expect the pepper spray to afford you an opening to inflict greater damage or escape. ..All it has to do is create an opening, a little hesitation in your assailant's plan of attack; just enough to let you seize the opportunity, gain the advantage or escape...

©2003 www_thetruthaboutselfdefense_com



http://www.boxingscene.com/martial-arts/44998.php

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MistressOverdone Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Jun-08-07 07:46 AM
Response to Original message
1. Wise words
I live very close to a Target (of course it could be anywhere) but since this happened when I see that bulleye it has a different meaning to me.
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malta blue Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Jun-08-07 07:47 AM
Response to Original message
2. Thanks for posting this.
I saw the video of this poor girl and was wondering what I would do in the same situation. I felt that she could have struggled more or something, but I have never been there so I don't know how she felt. (Please don't flame me - I am not blaming her for her fate.)
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porphyrian Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Jun-08-07 07:48 AM
Response to Original message
3. I'll kick that. - n/t
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ProdigalJunkMail Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Jun-08-07 07:50 AM
Response to Original message
4. if you can break free...RUN and SCREAM like all hell
is breaking loose. Don't worry about pride or how it will look...just get away and make as much noise as you can in the process. And if you can't immediately break free...there are no 'off limit' zones in which to strike your attacker...

sP
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OzarkDem Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Jun-08-07 07:52 AM
Response to Reply #4
6. Don't let them get you into a car
IIRC, from advice given in child abductions, your chances for survival are greatly diminished if they get you into a car.
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ProdigalJunkMail Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Jun-08-07 07:56 AM
Response to Reply #6
7. 100% correct n/t
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roody Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Jun-08-07 07:52 AM
Response to Original message
5. Children need to hear this awful truth also.
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BoneDaddy Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Jun-08-07 08:00 AM
Response to Original message
8. Excellent post
As a martial artist I would recommend to go for the eyes.. All it takes is a finger and a small amount of pressure to pull the eye out of the socket. Even the toughest assailant will have trouble dealing with the loss of an eye.

Scream, punch, kick and do whatever you can.
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qdemn7 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Jun-08-07 08:06 AM
Response to Original message
9. All very good points
As an aside, that link to the truth about self defense gives me a Forbidden You don't have permission to access / on this server.
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elocs Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Jun-08-07 08:07 AM
Response to Original message
10. I told my 15 year old daughter that if anybody grabs her or tries to force her into a vehicle,
then she should fight the fight of her life right there and kick, scream, bite, claw, and do anything to get free. Once an assailant has a victim in a vehicle the chances of survival are small.
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WinkyDink Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Jun-08-07 08:19 AM
Response to Original message
11. Thank you. But I got "You are not authorized to view this page" for your first link!
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raccoon Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Jun-08-07 08:41 AM
Response to Reply #11
13. Thanks--I edited so it isn't a hyperlink any more.
I wanted to give credit so I didn't delete the first link. Didn't realize it had turned into a hyperlink once I posted.
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Tyler Durden Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Jun-08-07 08:25 AM
Response to Original message
12. And don't scream RAPE, scream FIRE!
People come to watch a fire. HELP ME is not a good one either.

Appeal to the voyeur in your rescuers: everyone runs to watch a fire.
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Pacifist Patriot Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Jun-08-07 08:55 AM
Response to Reply #12
17. Actually, these days you're probably better off screaming "It's Britney!"
than "Fire!"
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Tyler Durden Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Jun-08-07 09:05 AM
Response to Reply #17
19. Or maybe "GIRLS GONE WILD!!!"
The saddest part is that is not in the least sarcastic.

We are the hollow men.
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Catherine Vincent Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Jun-08-07 08:42 AM
Response to Original message
14. kick!
:kick:
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ellie Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Jun-08-07 08:42 AM
Response to Original message
15. Thank you!
This was very interesting.
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hedgehog Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Jun-08-07 08:50 AM
Response to Original message
16. Thank you for reminding me to review this with my daughters.
Sometimes people need permission to act in their best interests. Just think back to Flight 93.
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NorthernSpy Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Jun-08-07 09:02 AM
Response to Original message
18. some people have even saved themselves by falling to the ground...
... when someone was trying to force them into a car, and running away was not possible.

Purposely letting your body fall forces the attacker off balance if he attempts to drag you to your feet; it increases the chance that he'll lose possession of any weapon he might have; and it leaves your legs free for kicking.

I know of a case in my state in which a woman probably saved her life by going limp and falling to the ground when a man tried to force her -- at gunpoint -- into his vehicle. The attacker was not prepared for her reaction, and he panicked and fled after firing a shot. I believe the woman ended up with a bullet wound in one hand. But she survived.


Basically, anything beats getting into the car.
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raccoon Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Jun-08-07 09:25 AM
Response to Reply #18
22. Thanks for sharing that great idea! nt

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bicentennial_baby Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Jun-08-07 09:07 AM
Response to Original message
20. Women! Take a RAD course now!
Rape Aggression Defense. Do it! Have your daughters do it!

http://www.rad-systems.com/
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blondeatlast Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Jun-08-07 09:17 AM
Response to Original message
21. I took workplace crisis training from the local PD--a wonderful class.
Another thing I learned--and it works--is think about how you might respond to various situations. They suggested that when a patron (library) was even a bit agitated, after the situation cooled off, think about how it might have escalated and what you would do.

Sure enough, we did encounter a violent "patron" who was stalking (not sexually--he stated his violent intentions on our "Contact Us" site) one of our librarians. I had already considered what I might do (as had others, this "patron" had threatened said librarian for some time) and when he did come into the library with violent intentions, we were able to protect the librarian although several of us received minor injuries, etc.

You don't even have to imagine the same scenario--just rehearse in your mind what you might do and when faced with a crisis, you will respond with much more calm.
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Scout Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Jun-08-07 11:51 AM
Response to Original message
23. "Never let anyone take you to 'crime scene #2' "
That was some advice I heard from a police detective expert or some such person on Oprah's show.

Goes along with #1 from the OP.
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roguevalley Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Jun-08-07 01:51 PM
Response to Original message
24. bless you, perky
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