The Option of Flight

Thursday, June 28th, 2012

Women should not put themselves in peril by living as pedestrians, James LaFond says:

For all of the carjackers and drunk drivers out there it is still far more dangerous for a woman to be alone on foot, or on foot at all, than it is to drive. To the extent that driving places women on the menu of the many violent criminals that stalk them, the trend is for the lady to be attacked while stopped, while getting in and out of her vehicle, and while walking to and from her vehicle. While I respect no man who makes the claim without having the balls to walk the streets of his town, I do not think any woman should walk alone.

The dilemma that the women I have interviewed expound on consistently is not so much that men are larger and stronger, but that they are faster. This is a huge issue. The foot speed disparity between ordinary men and women is even greater than that between male and female athletes. In contrast a man on the street will be bigger than some assailants, smaller and faster than others, and enjoy a rough parity with others. Possibly the best self-defense for women is to have them play ball and run track & field as children and teens, so that they at least have the option of flight.

Posted in Crime, Fitness, Martial Arts | 2 Comments »

Comments

  1. Sconzey says:
    July 2, 2012 at 7:58 am

    Alternatively, you stand at the top of Constitution Hill at midnight on the day of the new moon, and recite the nine principles backwards, thus summoning the angry revenant of Peel, who proceeds to use the marvels of 21st century technology to totally eliminate crime.

  2. Isegoria says:
    July 2, 2012 at 9:17 am

    Peel’s principles of policing — which may or may not have been penned by Peel:

    1. The basic mission for which the police exist is to prevent crime and disorder.
    2. The ability of the police to perform their duties is dependent upon the public approval of police actions.
    3. Police must secure the willing co-operation of the public in voluntary observation of the law to be able to secure and maintain the respect of the public.
    4. The degree of co-operation of the public that can be secured diminishes proportionately to the necessity of the use of physical force.
    5. Police seek and preserve public favour not by catering to public opinion, but by constantly demonstrating absolute impartial service to the law.
    6. Police use physical force to the extent necessary to secure observance of the law or to restore order only when the exercise of persuasion, advice, and warning is found to be insufficient.
    7. Police, at all times, should maintain a relationship with the public that gives reality to the historic tradition that the police are the public and the public are the police; the police being only members of the public who are paid to give full-time attention to duties which are incumbent upon every citizen in the interests of community welfare and existence.
    8. Police should always direct their action strictly towards their functions, and never appear to usurp the powers of the judiciary.
    9. The test of police efficiency is the absence of crime and disorder, not the visible evidence of police action in dealing with it.

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