Quick question:
 

I have to do a survey for work, and wanted to see if people on here could help:

How many of the women in GC land carry mace/pepper spray with them? Why do you carry it? If you don't carry it, why not?

Thanks a ton.

Re: Quick question:
 

I carry a gun.

I do not carry mace or pepper spray. I walk five feet from my office building to my car and about the same to get into my house. If I'm out late at night I'm not usually by myself and if I were attacked I probably would not have the time to get the spray out anyway...or I'd probably end up spraying myself. If somebody attacked me I'd probably stab them with my keys.

I'm in the chat room right now (11:05 am my time/west coast time) if you'd like to come in and chat instead of posting.

Re: Quick question:
 

I generally carry pepper spray everywhere I go. I only remove it from my keychain if I'm going somewhere like a concert, where they won't allow it.

If I am walking by myself at night or somewhere that seems a little shady, I always carry it in my hand and in "unlocked" position so it's ready to go should I need it. Maybe I'm a little paranoid, but I just feel so much safer with it. It's not like I live in a really dangerous, high crime area, but I read the police reports in the local paper, and people do get attacked more often than you would think -- there are a lot of purse snatches and stuff like that. Also, every once in a while I'll hear a story on the news about women being attacked -- last year I remember something about a guy who was going around and violently shoving women to the ground like he was intentionally trying to mess up their faces. That stuff scares me, and I want to do whatever I can, within reason, to protect myself, so I keep it ready and always try to be very aware of my surroundings, including who or what is behind me.

That said, I don't think pepper spray is the best solution, but it's what I have to work with right now. I'd rather take a self defense class so that I can be a well-trained fighting machine if need be. I saw a presentation of Girls Fight Back (awesome and headed by a super cool A Phi alumna) earlier this year, and I really want to learn more about self defense. However, until I am well versed in ass kicking, I'll continue to carry my pepper spray.

I don't carry pepper spray. An attacker can easily turn pepper spray against you.

Instead, I concentrate on not looking like an easy target. For instance, if I know it will be dark when I return to my car, I'll park in a well-lit spot. I get my keys out before leaving the building, and I lock the door as soon as I'm in the car.

I don't. I'm scared that it will be used against me.

I have a question for those afraid that pepper spray would be used against them -- How would that happen? Maybe I'm weird, but I can't imagine that it would be easy. If you're walking with the spray in your hand, by the time someone is trying to grab you, you're spraying it in his face and running like hell. How is he going to get it -- it's very small and securely in your hand? I guess if you're awkward about it and fumbling around, I could see that, but if you have it ready to go and you don't hesitate, I can't imagine that it would be easy to get from you. Just wondering...

Nope, no pepper spray for me...I've heard a rumor that it has been outlawed, so I've just stayed away from the stuff. (maybe its just in TN, but I'm not sure). However, I do walk with my head up and my keys between my first two fingers, so that I can jab someone in the eye if they get too close.

Blaire

I've heard of many cases where weapons (i.e pepper spray, guns, knives) were used against women, because they were overpowered. If someone grabs a woman or is within about a two foot radius, and she reaches for her weapon, he can easily snatch it from her. On the other hand, if a woman sees her attacker approaching her from several feet, I guess then it will be a good defense.

Quite a few of my female friends here carry guns with them/on them.

Seriously.

This is Texas. I would trust them with my life if I had too.

Never underestimate a texan woman......with a gun....

lol

A few years ago on campus a girl was walking back to her dorm and was attacked by a man. She had pepper spray and sprayed him with it, but he didn't slow, kind of like he was immune to the stuff. Anyway he ended up getting a hold of the pepper spray and spraying the girl but the police arrived before he had a chance to do anything else to her.

I probably would carry it if I could. It's illegal in Canada. At least, I'm pretty sure it is. Can any fellow Canuks back me up on this?

I don't however my sister who is 16 wants a mace can. She feels unsafe even in our quite safe neighborhood. She's also scared of terrorist breaking in and kidnapping her. So, and I kid you not, she has a blowhorn next to her bed. Since her bedroom is secluded downstairs and everyone is upstairs, she figures if someone tries to break in and steal her she'll be too dramatized to scream ~ hense the blowhorn.

Sad...but true!

Hootie

I don't carry mace or pepper spray either.

Wow, I thought I was the only person that did that. I learned that from one of those films they made us watch in junior or senior high...

I'm getting some pepper spray soon.

I took a class that said to carry your keys with your car key between your first two fingers so it'll be ready, and then have your other keys between your other fingers, with the sharp end facing down, so you can stab/claw the living hell out of somoeone.

I don't carry pepper spray, I've thought about getting some, but where I went to high school you could get expelled for even having it in you car, so I never got any. I also have little bit of a thing with thinking that I could beat some guy up who tried to attack me. I'm not a very big girl, but an attacker would be suprised at what I could do to protect myself because I'd put up a fight.

I also try not to be an easy target. When I'm walking to my car, usually in the parking garage, I keep my head up, and walk swiftly with my purse close to my body. I also carry my keys in my hand. I have an acrylic Iowa keychain that's sharp on the edges, and if I stabbed someone with that, it would do the trick.

As for getting pepper spray turned on you, I've been sprayed by it before my friends younger brother, and it really wasn't that bad, it burns, but you can still see. If a woman was to be attacked and the mace used against her, she wouldn't be debilitated to the point where she couldn't run away.

L.

Not always true. Some people will be down for the count if they are sprayed with mace or pepper spray. All people ard different and all reactions to being sprayed with either will be different.

Here is another quick question: Do those women on here that use pepper spray or mace feel that they could accidently spray or attack someone because they got scared or nervous too soon?
Meaning, what if you used pepper spray, mace or gouged someone with your keys only to find out that the man was simply looking for directions or for a gas station or something like that? It has happened before and if could get you into some serious trouble. And you never know, an attacker might claim that he was just trying to find something and when he approached you, he was attacked.

How do some of you feel about that?

I don't carry it, I've never considered where I live to be a "threatening" area...I've always felt pretty safe!

I'm not Canadian, but I'm pretty sure that you're right. It's been a few years, but once I went through the bridge from Detroit to Windsor, and they asked me if I had mace or pepper spray. I did, and I had to drive all the way back through the tunnel to throw it out in the U.S. because you weren't even allowed to throw it out in Canada.

As far as the question of accidentally spraying someone, I don't think that I would (of course you can never be sure). I might be full of it, but I think that I am a pretty good judge of whether someone is a threat, and I don't think that I would be prone to spray someone who is just looking for directions, as long as he keeps his distance and doesn't make a sudden move to grab me or anything. I'm not the type who gets freaked out by people unless there's a good reason (I do spend my days with felons, after all, and I've never even come close to feeling threatened by any of them, even when locked into a small room alone).

If someone is going to attack me and then say that I sprayed him or hit him or whatever for no reason, than so be it. I'd rather take that risk than take the risk of being raped or killed or tortured. I'd kick his ass in court any day. :)