A hood-head

Found this at hollabacknyc blogspot (a great blog by the way!).
Stories like this really makes me ashamed to be a member of the male population. There really are some pathetic and ignorant individuals out there ...

Story:
Tonight around 10 p.m., on a train back to her apartment in Williamsburg, a hooded man seated next to my best friend, a 22 year old woman, whispered in her ear "I am going to follow you when you get up."

He did follow her, just a step behind, up the subway steps of her stop and out onto the street. With great clarity in a life-threatening moment, she stepped inside a bodega, while he stood outside, waiting for her, and was fortunate to find a couple who were willing to walk her the few steps from the market to her apartment door.

When they exited the bodega, the hooded man was still there, waiting for his (potential) victim. Unfortunately, it took the help of two people--a woman to make her feel safe, and a man to protect her-- to allow this woman to arrive home unharmed.

The most important part of this is that my friend is safe, but I feel such anger and rage that men like this, who derive such a false, disgusting sense of power from physically and sexually threatening women in public (or private), can make strong, smart, powerful women like my friend doubt their decision to live alone if they choose, to live free and independent lives, or to merely live at all. I am completely disgusted, and concerned for my friend.

Submitted by E.M.

Women can!

Raise your hand if you've ever heard a statement along these lines:
"A woman is not strong enough to defend herself against a man!"
You've heard that statement more than once? Have I? Over and over again, almost like a mantra.
And the saddest part, I hear it often from women too!

Ok, here's a reality check for you: Girls and women defend themselves against male aggressors with voice, trickery, ingenuity and physical ways all the time!

Can any woman defend against any man? Of course not. Just as little as any man can defend himself in any situation.

The point is that 'ordinary' women fight back against violence in many shapes and forms - and they very often succeed!
The key to here is the will or motivation (call it guts if you like) to survive.
Fighting against someone who's survival instinct has clicked in is darned hard - no matter what age or gender that person has!

Want a proof? How about 2100? This series: "I Hear You Say Woman Can't Defend Themselves" is just that - two thousand, one hundred instances of women who fought back.

Read more about it here and gain new insight!

Desperate action

This incident shows a couple of things, apart from the outright stupidity and mindlessness of some middle-aged men.
First it shows that it is quite possible to defend against a strangle-hold with one of your own, especially if you know how, and/or uses some item to apply the hold with.
It also proves (again) the amount of strength, ingenuity and willpower that a person can apply when the survival instinct kicks in.
Brave girl!

Story:
New Hampshire -- "When people find you, you will be decomposing."

That was the threat that the 17-year-old girl told police spurred her into desperate action; she decided she had to strangle her assailant before he strangled her.

As he choked her in the front seat of his pickup truck on a back road in Auburn, she managed to grab an orange cord and wrap it around his neck, tightening it until the 45-year-old Manchester man gasped for air and she heard a gurgling sound.

According to court records, after she released the cord the man sliced his wrist with a box cutter and then began begging the girl not to go to police.

Source

Still don't believe?

If you still wonder what kind of strength and aggression is in a person has if she (or he) really goes all out, then you should read this great article!

Story:
Already in the grip of a black depression, and contemplating suicide after the deaths of her mother and brother, the actress found herself fighting off a violent intruder bent on rape. And the savagery of her response proved decisive.

Her attacker fled, bleeding profusely, while Frances, profoundly shocked at her own violence, found her life switched back into sharp focus.

Source

Missing pieces

Here's a great article on the suspicions surrounding the Terri Schindler Schiavo case.

Story:
A bulletin issued by the New York State Office for Prevention of Domestic Violence states that strangulation has only recently been identified as one of the most lethal forms of domestic violence.

When perpetrators use strangulation to silence their victims, this is a form of power and control that has a devastating psychological effect on victims and a potentially fatal outcome.

Historically, "choking" was rarely prosecuted as a serious offense because victims minimize the level of violence and police and medical personnel fail to recognize it.

Source

Pooper scooper

Here's the kind of strength a person - any person really - can have "on full tilt". I've witnessed it in psychiatric patients - this 47-year-old woman was allegedly under influence of crack cocaine.
So the expression "size doesn't matter" is true then? To some extent, yes. It is quite a dangerous assumption to believe that someone is harmless because he or she is small!
This story also points to the amount of resistance we are all able to muster if we have to fight for our life - real or perceived.

Story:
It took five police officers, three hits with a Taser gun, leg straps and a spit bag to subdue a 5-foot tall, 105-pound woman who entered a Waukesha home and attacked a couple she didn't know with a metal pooper scooper and scissors, authorities said.

With a scissors in each hand, she fought the 6-foot, 210-pound homeowner. He said that he couldn't believe the woman's strength.

When the first officer arrived, the attacker was foaming at the mouth and struggling with the homeowner, the complaint says. She continued to fight the officer who used a Taser gun, but it appeared to have no effect on her. More and more officers were called to assist, and she was stunned with the Taser two more times.
Using their combined weight, five officers were finally able to subdue the woman enough to take her to hospital to check her for injuries.

Source

Saying 'no' to menace

"No" is only a two-letter word, but its meaning holds great power.

Especially when it comes from the mouth of a confident child.

Learning when it's OK to say no and other forms of verbal defense is only a small part of Radkids, a personal empowerment safety education program for children.

Source

Bullying

Here are 12 ways to stop or hinder bullying.
And you know what - it works! Kids really need to know how to defend themselves, but not necessarily in the physical sense. It can include trickery, deflection, defusion and other methods of conflict management.

Story:
Pete Nappier was bullied when he was a young kid. It was part of his inspiration to start the Safety and Awareness Institute in Hickory and Lincolnton.

Nappier teaches kids, from elementary to high school, 12 ways to deal with bullies.

"The program hits every aspect," Nappier said. "The bully only wants power. So we teach to give the bully respect. It's a pretty in-depth curriculum."

Across the county, schools say they see an increase in such problems.

Source

The mind of a perpetrator

On a Wednesday afternoon last summer Naomi Bryant was walking along the street near her home hand in hand with a man she had bumped into in the local pub. A trusting, 40-year-old woman, she had invited the man back to her home but felt embarrassed when she caught sight of friends and dropped his hand. It was a deadly error.

When he was arrested two days after the attack in London, Rice told police he had picked on Ms Bryant because he judged she was "vulnerable".

Thirteen days after being released from prison, Rice was staying in a hostel for recently released prisoners in north London. After spending a night in a pub he stopped a 33-year-old woman in the street and asked her for directions. He attacked her, pushed her into a front garden and over the following hour he sexually assaulted her and threatened her with a knife.

Rice was easily found and told police: "People say rape is about sex, but this is only part of it. Rape is about power and I had power over her - sex is just an extension of it."

Source

How brave you all are!

Well, how brave you are to attack a defenseless, disabled teenager.
How tough the three of you must be to attack this kid who has done you no harm.
I am amazed by the degree of courage and outstanding strength and power you all showed in going for this mighty opponent.
You must be really proud of yourselves - another one down!

His mum says:
'Nicky would love to be like a normal 17-year-old but he isn't. I hope these people realise how lucky they are that they have a life.'

I would really like to tell this woman that these "persons" don't have a life. They may walk around like you and I, but they don't live, since they obviously can't think, act and behave like humans are supposed to behave.

I would also like to extend my apology to this kid and his mother. I am ashamed, I am angry and I'm sad.

Rest assured though - sooner or later fate will catch up with "people" like this. You always reap what you sow.

Source