Excuse -

Many years ago I heard a woman scream in the country road outside at about midnight and bolted into the road to effect rescue. I bunched up in the middle of the road and faced down the larger man coming the other way as the woman ran past. Then I realised I was in the middle of a public road wearing only a pair of y-fronts and curtains were twitching. That was when I could have done with the charmeuse boxer shorts ---

It's not just girls that get attacked, a male friend was homosexually assaulted and talks about it to very few. In the heat of the moment he threw his assailant across the room. The assailant was about twice as heavy. It's remarkable what adrenalin can do.

I recommend the testicles every time. A cousin kneed me there accidentally when I was about 13. The pain is hard to compare to anything else.

When walking alone at night, I always keep hold of my key in my pocket so if there is a problem you've got a rather pointy weapon to poke any would be attacker.

The problem with defending yourself nowadays is that you would more than likely be done for assult.

I always remember the advice in Miss Congeniality: if in doubt, SING. It stands for "solar plexus, instep, nose, groin", these being the points to go for if you're being attacked.

Mind you, I have also got a vicious pair of hatpins as a last resort!



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That which does not kill us makes us stranger.
(Llewelyn the dragon, Ozy and Millie)

Sarah

Other handy tip is if in need of help shout 'Fire' rather than just scream or generally call for help, apparently people are more likely to respond, looking for said fire then hopefully wont wander away when they see you being attacked. Well thats the theory.

Actually, I think if I started singing the attacker might run away quite fast. Hmm.



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Do something pretty while you can...

I was harrassed once by a kerb-crawler, who eventually pulled over into a side road, no doubt intending to get out of his car. I wasn't very far from the students union, and was planning to make a run for it and start kicking up a fuss. Then a policeman showed up, just when I wanted one. I was barely 19 at the time, and didn't want to make a formal complaint, but the policeman had the car's number and said he would visit the driver and give him a warning.

Nothing like that has ever happened to me again. When I'm walking on my own at night, I walk confidently. I don't feel like a victim, so I don't act like one. A nice long umbrella and my walking stick are confidence boosters too.

I once had a guy jump out from some bushes at me at night while I was walking home from a bus stop near my employer's house. (I was a live-in nanny at the time) and I'm extremely proud of myself for what transpired.

As the guy jumped, I went into automatic berserker mode and kicked the crap out of the guy...I probably broke his nose, I would imagine and his knee probably still gives him fits. I ran home, never looking back, just booked it. Then I called the police. They came out to investigate, but they couldn't find anyone or anything. And I didn't have any of his blood on me, so there was no physical evidence. And he never even had a chance to lay a hand on me, so I had no marks or anything, other than a couple of bruised knuckles.

That'll learn 'im!

(thinking about it now, I have a feeling my brother trained me to do this because he used to jump out and surprise attack me all the time and I used to get evil and nearly do a pre-emptive strike whenever he'd do it. I usually managed to get the first strike in, even though he had the element of surprise. GSD, siblings can be brutal to one another!)



Post Edited (07-30-03 21:14)

Btw. I'm using the key-as-possible-defence-weapon method everytime I go home, because I'm slightly worried about my lunatic neigbour who thinks I belong to the evil conspiracy which is after him he discovered last year.
I didn't mention him in my first posting as he is more of a problem of being at home than being out alone after dark and he has been rather quiet during the last two weeks. Probably he is not really dangerous at all , but he has been stalking the neighbourhood for about a year now and is uttering random threats towards some of the people living in my street, and when he found out that I apparently belong to the evil conspiracy he also started harrassing me. As he is living in the same house as I do I feel rather uncomfortable about him, although he hasn't ever done more than verbal threats and spitting at me (and always missed), one can never know whether his lunacy will be getting worse or not.

And I would really like to know what the evil conspiracy's aims and plans to achieve them are. Apparently I've been a member for almost 10 month now, but have never attended any meeting.



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Colourless green ideas sleep furiously.

(N. Chomsky 1957)

I had a brother in law like that. He tried to knife my ex wifes previous boyfriend for similar reasons, and for years believed the milkman was out to get him. This is serious. On the other hand, on the right medication, he could be the same as you or I - in one in three cases. One in three respond to medication, one in three get better spontaneously, one in three are untreatable.

Please note, this is NOT a medical opinion, this is personal experience. But Violet, this man is dangerous, and I feel I would be letting you down if I didn't say so. No amount of telling him will make a difference. Get advice, soon.

We, i.e. me and some neighbours were trying to get advice, one of them (who has been followed to her workplace by him) has already talked to a lawyer. As he has been very quiet recently, there's not much we can do, and there's no law forbidding walking around and talking to oneself. And even the threats and the spitting is not enough to do something about it. I just hope he will not freak out completely. I've been rather frightened in the beginning (therefore the key and everything) but it doesn't help to be just scared, that's why I rather ignore it as long as he's quiet.



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Colourless green ideas sleep furiously.

(N. Chomsky 1957)

Can you call in a doctor or maybe family members of his? I fyou know of any family members, that is.

No family members known to us. And there's no way getting him to go to a doctor without a judge telling him to. In his opinion he is not insane, but we are members of the evil conspiracy.



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Colourless green ideas sleep furiously.

(N. Chomsky 1957)

And I suppose the police won't do anything unless he actually hurts someone.

Well everytime anyone calls them they come, tell him to calm down but that's all they can do.



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Colourless green ideas sleep furiously.

(N. Chomsky 1957)

At least they come, which is a sight more than our police would do.



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I am very interested in the Universe. I am specialising in the Universe and everything surrounding it. - E. L. Wisty

I'd be attacked for my laptop, but I don't stroll round with it in dark alleys.

I probably couldn't retaliate, with 2 or 3 kilos of schoolbag to carry.



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Those who forget the pasta are doomed to reheat it.

If attacked for property or cash, give up the property or cash. That was the advice I was always given when my various jobs entailed carrying money about. Property can be replaced, but human beings can't.



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I am very interested in the Universe. I am specialising in the Universe and everything surrounding it. - E. L. Wisty

ViVi - do you like that, I saw it above?

There probably isn't much you can do, but it's good you're aware. Over here there is talk of a law allowing people like that to be locked up before they do anything, but naturally that has it's difficulties, and in any case it wouldn't apply in Germany.

Heartfelt best wishes.

BTW I am still smacking my lips over the Dylan Thomas poem, it's far too 'beautiful' to be about misery --- makes me feel kind of guilty!

Well, I heard that there were talks about an anti-stalker law here in Germany as well, but as far as I know it either doesn't apply in this particular case or is not through yet. Anyway, I guess ignoring the lunatic neighbour is the best thing I can do at the moment (apart from having my keys as a possible weapon), but thanks and don't worry. I'm trying not to as well.

And don't feel bad about finding the Dylan Thomas poem "beautiful". In my opinion that's what poetry is all about, namely putting any strong picture, either "good" (i.e. positive things) or "bad" (i.e. negative things) into beautiful words.(This is one of the very very very very few things on which I agree with Wordsworth, as he wrote in the preface to the Lyrical Ballads: "Poetry is the spontanious overflow of powerful feelings recollected in tranquility", no matter whether these feelings are positive or negative)
And this poem is not the worst to like for its "beauty", as it still promotes the - in my opinion - right message: "Don't ever let it happen again!" I have much more problems with poems which are - in terms of words and structure and stuff like that- "beautiful", but promote something which I just cannot agree with, and which I find dangerous because they are put into beautiful verses, such as Brooke's poem I already mentioned in another thread, or Matthew Arnold's "Summer Night".



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Colourless green ideas sleep furiously.

(N. Chomsky 1957)

Well said.