I refuse to live in fear. Ugg....

[Rollo]

Long story short. I work for a community college. We aren’t located in the nicest part of town. While I can’t carry on campus I do carry my folding knife and OC spray. We have several buildings. A female friend of mine walks from one building (the one she works in) to another building. The buildings are about a quarter mile away. She is one of those “The criminals don’t own the streets, I’ll go where I please, I’m not afraid blah blah blah types. As far as I’m concerned she has ZERO regard for her own personal safety.

Well, today I must have been in a bad mood or something so I decided to say something to her. This is a paraphrase but it basically came down to “Look, you pay no attention when your walking around and there are a ton of blind spots. You need to pay better attention and at LEAST carry some OC spray, I’ll even buy it for you” Her response was “I refuse to live in fear”. Uggg.. Commendable but stupid as far as I am concerned. There’s a difference between living in fear and being prepared.

I said “Look, I’m not saying you have to carry a gun, I’m simply saying you need to have better awareness and you need to have SOME sort of defensive tool you can use if need be” And then the light bulb came on over the top of my head. I asked her “Do you wear your seatbelt when you drive?” She said yes. I said “Do you lock the door to your house at night? She said yes. I said “But… Why are you living in fear? Afraid your going to get in a car accident or afraid someone is going to break in your house? Using your argument your living in fear”. She then stated that it was not hard for her to buckle her seat belt or lock her apartment door. And at that point I knew I had her. “And it would be hard for you to clip this small can of OC spray inside your pocket?” BAM! She had no answer other then “No, I guess it wouldn’t”.

I took the can that I carry (I keep two extra’s at home) out of my pocket and gave it to her. She promised she would carry it and admitted that I was right and it wasn’t inconvenient to carry. Also went over a quick lesson in situational awareness. All in all it went fairly well. It’s not a gun but it’s a start.

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[JohnKelly]

Well done. Small steps...

[mitocondriac]

Fantastic!!! Keep up the good work.

[rottkeeper]

Maybe you gave her some food for thought.

[searcher 45]

Very good first step.

I would guess that next she will be talking to you about self defense.

Maybe you can talk to her about getting her CCW permit.

Also your Lock blade Folder is much better than nothing and may wind up saving you.

[BugDude]

Can you talk to my wife for me? I've had the exact same conversation for years and the light has never come on. She did tell me that she carried the OC spray I bought her when she went to the mall by herself the other day. She refuses to carry it when the kids are with her because she is afraid one of them will get it out of her pocket book. She says liklihood is higher of that than the other.

[grady]

That's a good start.

I hope she doesn't revert to her old ways in a few days.

Good for you for trying to help her.

[LM2024]

You're pretty generous to give her a free can of OC spray. She must be a really good female friend. Unless she has the will use it, it sits there uselessly in her purse.

[Katana]

You never know, you may have just wasted a can of oc spray or you may have prevented a future rape or assault from happening. Hopefully, she'll never have to find out.

[Avenger]

Great job!

you might have just saved her life!

[Rugergirl]

What is it with people who "refuse to live in fear"?
There is a difference, a really big difference between living in fear and just using some common sense.
Those who say they refuse to live in fear are fooling no one but themselves. When they take the blinders off and see what the world can be like, only then can they be free from fear.
I carry everyday and I don't live in fear, I do know that there is evil in the world and I do what I can to survive if I come face to face with it.
I used common sense to try to avoid it, pay attention to my surroundings, and do the best I can to be sure that me and mine are safe.

[Andy W.]

Good job Rollo!

[Mic]

Baby steps.

I'm not a demon or wish anyone ill, but really, these are the kind of people that bad things need to happen to befor they wake up.

[OldVet]

And, this same woman is probably scared to death of snakes and has never seen one in the wild!

This exactly the type that we all hear about on the evening news when they go missing.

[packinnova]

Can you talk to my wife for me? I've had the exact same conversation for years and the light has never come on. She did tell me that she carried the OC spray I bought her when she went to the mall by herself the other day. She refuses to carry it when the kids are with her because she is afraid one of them will get it out of her pocket book. She says liklihood is higher of that than the other.

ROFL...Tell her it's good for clearing the sinuses...