Welcome to another episode of Hagar ranting about something that affects Left and Right equally. I’m talking about our women folk. I realize it’s not PC to use that term, but FTITCTAJ.
Most of the women I know are afraid. They’re afraid to walk at night. They’re afraid to walk in public spaces. They’re afraid to go to their car after dark. They’re afraid that big, scary men might do bad things to them.
This leads to women walking like prey. Yes, you read that right. The vast majority of women walk like prey, like something that is bred to be preyed upon.
What does that mean? It means that women walk hunched over. They walk with their head ducked down. They don’t make eye contact. They actively attempt to make themselves look small. They avoid interactions in public spaces. They clutch their bags to their bodies. They shuffle their feet, look at the ground, and are both hyper-fixated and horridly unaware of their surroundings. It’s awful.
I don’t walk that way. I’m aware of my surroundings, definitely more than the average person, though not as much as Awa. I walk tall. I meet people’s eyes. I nod my head and smile politely. I do wear my bag cross-body rather than over a shoulder, but now that it’s secure, I don’t scrunch over it, even if I keep a hand on it. I take up space. I don’t automatically move because a man is walking down the street in the opposite direction.
The result of it, is that I tend to disappear into the crowd, when it comes to males. They don’t look at me. I don’t register on their radar. I’m not pretty enough that I stand out, but I’m not ugly either, so it’s not that. It’s that I don’t walk like prey. I don’t walk like something begging to be hunted.
I ran across this article last night, and I read it with pretty constant nods throughout. Women are taught to be quiet, withdrawn, passive. It’s time for that to stop! It’s a tactic that is used to reign women in, to make them think that they can’t do things. It’s wrong.
The bottom line is, the single most dangerous place for women to be, statistically speaking, is HOME. Domestic violence accounts for most of the physical violence against women. Stranger danger is actually a tiny minority in the statistics.
From the Left, all I see are platitudes, and cries for women to be “protected”.
Folks, I don’t want to be “protected.” I want to carry a Smith & Wesson M&P 9 Shield Easy. There are always going to be bad actors out there. Bad people simply ARE. If I’m waiting around for someone else to save me, I may as well give up now, and go back to the kitchen. No, I need to stand up for myself. Every woman (and man… let’s not be sexist here) should stand up for themselves. This should be basic stuff taught in elementary school.
I will tell you something. The people who victimize women, who rape or murder or stalk them, those people are bullies. Bullies only do what they think they can get away with easily.
If tomorrow morning, every woman in the country were issued a safe, easy to use handgun and taught how to use it, and DID use it, then by the weekend we’d have a LOT less bad actors, and a lot of men who thought five or six times before attempting anything hinky in regards to women.
One of the reasons I really supported our local gun range was because they made an effort to bring in young ladies and teach them good and safe gun use and care. A friend of mine (in NYC of all places) teaches responsible gun safety and use, and women get in free if they’re new gun owners. Why? Because it’s his opinion that if a woman wants to carry a gun, she should not only know how to use it, but WHEN to use it, and what not to do. She should be better than the average Joe out there. And he teaches it. We have a couple of local ladies who teach firearms safety, and one of our kids took lessons from her. Really good stuff.
So ladies? Stop walking like prey. Stop assuming THEY are out to get you. Even if they are, there’s nothing you can do about it, and shrinking in on yourself like a hothouse flower is not going to fix a damn thing. Stand tall, look people in the eye, carry a weapon (firearm, pepper spray, expanding baton, kitty keychain, whatever), and know that you’re not going to go down without a fight. If you do that, you’ll find that the world is a lot less scary.
Of course, that’s because the world wasn’t all that scary to begin with. Stop drinking the koolade.
I’ve said for many years, women should be issued (and trained on) a gun the same time they get their first bra. If there were a lot more guys limping around from a shot to the groin, there’d be a lot fewer issues. Free pass on the first three shots as far as I’m concerned.
My boyfriend recommends that all women be given a “3 man” limited license, to be used at her discretion. I don’t want to be sexist, but I’ll be honest… most of the people I’ve wanted (really wanted, not just knee jerk reacted to) to shoot are men.
Not keen on that Guardian article you linked to. Not because of the message, but because it implied that a female can win in a fight against a male. That particular situation it worked out OK for the woman, but the overwhelming majority of the time, any man can overpower a woman in a short period of time.
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Story from a buddy of mine that used to teach martial arts. (TKD, Jujitsu, Karate, I don’t remember which.) If a woman who just earned her next belt got a bit “big for her britches” he would have a new student student, with almost zero actual training, take her belt away from her. It was a real world demonstration that men are larger, stronger, more aggressive, and able to endure more pain than women. (in general.) He had (according to hi) 100% success with that technique. Simply knowing how to throw a punch/kick is not enough.
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What women need to do is, as you note, stop acting like prey. Stand up straight, look people in the eye, assess strangers (and acquaintances) for threats, etc… How many women walk straight up to their attacker because they are afraid to cross the street and avoid that creepy looking guy? Too many.
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And, as you note, the gun is the great equalizer. Even a few rounds from a .22LR is enough to let the assailant know their prey might not be as timid as they think.
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Read something a few years ago, think it may have been from John Lott, but not sure. Prisoners were interviewed, and the number one reason they chose to pass over one potential victim in favor of another was because the first one looked like they might be armed, or fight back.
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Final note:
Read a book called Left of Bang: How the Marine Corps’ Combat Hunter Program Can Save Your Life
https://www.amazon.com/Left-Bang-Marine-Combat-Program/dp/1936891301
or go to their website:
https://www.cp-journal.com/
Many good points here.
Myself, being of the male persuasion, I’ve long gone for the “well-fed apex predator” look: not looking for prey, but not about to be prey either.
And, on reflection: I tend to notice women who don’t act like prey. It’s the strong, poised, confident ones who grab my attention… but then I’m not an actual predator, and I wouldn’t even know what to do with one of the prey types.
Also, “both hyper-fixated and horridly unaware of their surroundings” is very much a thing; I’ve noticed that a lot of people have negative situational awareness, being hyper-alert to fictional dangers to the exclusion of actually seeing what’s around them (whether potential threats or just interesting things worthy of note).
I mostly agree with your points. However, in my experience, I believe ‘how women present themselves within the public eye’ is different, very different, depending on where they live. For instance, central Florida as opposed to Tampa, Miami, or Jacksonville. In the middle of the state, it is seldom that I see a woman ‘walking as prey’ unaware of their surroundings.
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I have my head on a swivel constantly—the Grey Man sees all. And since sixty percent of my entry level classes are comprised of women, which has been the case for over a decade, I teach women to be the ‘Grey Woman, who sees all’, and to notice other women who are the opposite of them and to notice men that notice them as soon as possible—fifty feet away is not very far. I also instruct women to note the weakest individuals in the crowd; identify the one they would attack—–become the criminal. And to note the men who appear to be the most physically in shape and have their head on a swivel.
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Note: law enforcement personnel, lawful good CC men, and violent felons all have the same strong body posture; alert, head on swivel, and make and sustained eye contact from fifty feet in. There are few exceptions. A paranoid strong request to ‘Stay Back Please’ will reveal which type she is about to encounter. Having her hand on a concealed sidearm, pointed from within the purse toward the individual also will reveal which type of man she’s about to engage.
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In my neck of the Florida woods, it’s a rare day to see a weak postured woman. Now, when I am in a Florida city area, I notice weak postured women; walking with head down, as if they are on auto pilot, not aware of anyone unless they’re about to bump into them. I see women avoid me as I walk through a parking lot of a mall or store or simply walking down a hallway in a public building. It is very evident that they are visibly uncomfortable and withdrawn—act as if I’m not there when in fact I am four or five feet away passing by them in the opposite direction of travel.
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I teach women to make eye contact with the mindset that communicates to the anyone, woman or man, that “I’m watching your every move’. And if any internal warnings are triggered for any reason, a verbal exchange should occur immediately—at as far a distance as physically possible, twenty feet or greater is preferable—a hand gripping a sidearm inside of a cross-body Gun Tote’n Mama’s handbag, as you begin to engage a stranger in public is the correct mindset to employ. Plan for the worst and be ready for that to be tested.
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Because as CBMTTek accurately stated, all women with very few exceptions will not be able to overpower a male who is committed to attacking them. She needs a decisive advantage which more than counters a male’s genetic advantage. A handbag with the largest handgun she can operate successfully, orientated straight forward on her strong side hip or waist, gives her the edge she’ll need in a worst-case scenario. She doesn’t need to draw the gun out to fire it. At less than five feet away, and in the process of an attack starting, she can position the purse forward toward her attacker and pull the trigger, firing rounds into his waist-belt area—I teach three to four shot bursts. This tactic works perfectly to counter a close-quarter attack under five feet.
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Note: buying old worn-out cheap handbags or purses at yard sales or anywhere, can be used to practice this tactic. A Gun Tote’n Mama handbag is expensive, because they are the best in the industry. When I go to yard sales, which I do often, it is to buy old pots and pans, and old handbags to use in my classes. I am a good Scotsman.
All good points to consider.
Ranges and instructors that go out of their way to bring in those who may feel ‘othered’ are doing themselves and society a great service and are worthy of a hearty pat on the back.
As you noted it isn’t just women anymore but men and young adults who need this training and mentality. Once they find themselves capable the world isn’t so full of monsters and they’re better equipped to deal with the ones that remain. What that entails will be different for everyone as each person has their own ‘starting from zero’ basepoint.
Hm. Another thing occurs to me: if they get out to the range, they may meet some of the people they’ve been told are monsters… and find out those aren’t the monsters after all.