Blinding Cyclops.So, as a father of two college daughters, you can imagine what I thought of this news the other day:
A recent study from the Department of Justice estimated that 25 percent of college women will be victims of rape or attempted rape before they graduate within a four-year college period, and that women between the ages of 16 to 24 will experience rape at a rate that's four times higher than the assault rate of all women.
Of course, virtually all campuses these days are victim disarmament zones and to be caught with a handgun or even a knife is grounds for instant expulsion. This is one reason why campuses are breeding grounds for rape. Another is the universal proliferation of alcohol and date rape drugs and the trusting nature of the young women themselves. This psychological vulnerability is mostly because these girls' parents failed to do a proper job of preparing them for the cruel possibilities of the real world.
Here is one thing I introduced my daughters to (along with situational awareness, the importance of the buddy system, etc.):
Meet the Cyclops Pen Anti-Rape System. It comes in various shapes, colors, sizes and manufacturers. I like the Uni-ball, but there are many others.
The important thing is that the cap have a sturdy clip so that it can be hooked onto the ubiquitous ID neck lanyard. (See below.)
Hanging from the lanyard, along with the ID (and sometimes a room key) the pen is innocuous and inoffensive to the sight of a college cop, yet handy as well as deadly.
A simple tug on the pen body separates it from the cap, exposing the sharp point. If grabbed from behind, the young woman has but to pull the pen and stab backwards over her shoulder towards the would-be rapist's face. Ideally, she is aiming for the eye, like Cyclops. If she cannot easily reach the face and the attacker has presented his hands in front of her like easy targets, stab them as hard as possible, aiming if you can for the softer gaps between the bones of the hand.
If the attacker is facing her, she should stick it in his eyeball and then smack it with the palm or heel of her hand, driving it deep into the brain. With the right size pen, angle and force, the pen will penetrate the brain stem and the assailant will collapse flopping and twitching like a fish before he shudders out his life on the sidewalk. Not a bad end for a rapist, to my mind.
Other points of vulnerability are the ear drums, the nostrils and even the soft spot of the temple.
The ID card (or any plastic credit card) can itself be made into a weapon by sharpening two sides carefully with a file into a simple one-sided bevel edge. Grabbing the ID by the two unsharpened sides, the sharp sides can then be used to slash the assailant's face. Again, the soft spots of the eyes, nose, lips and ears are excellent targets. The important thing, like the Cyclops pen, is that it be hanging, available for instant use.
Aside from the tools, the important things to impart to your college-age daughters are situational awareness and mindset.
Some folks will recoil at the thought of teaching their innocent daughters such techniques and putting items that can be used as weapons in their hands.
Not me.
I wonder: do such people think it is preferable to see their daughters raped or even killed because they refused to prepare them for the real world that they are sending them into?
What is the point of keeping them from harm when they are infants and adolescents if you are going to shirk your duty just because they come of age?
Mike
III
32 comments:
There was a company a few years ago that sold what they called a titanium credit card. It was a piece of titanium the size of a credit card with one edge sharpened to a nice bevel edge.
Serious nastinest could be done with that thing.
Reminds me of this scene from Casino: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iELKMNjZx9o&feature=related
No mercy for aggressors. A woman might prevent her own rape and dozens of future ones.
Every potential victim needs to be the wrong victim.
Laws and rules and threat of expulsion and prison time never stopped me from carrying while at school, but i suppose it's more difficult for women.
There is something called a Cross Pen and Pencil Set. It is made of Stainless Steel and can be found in Office Supply Stores. I flew with one of these pens in my shirt Pocket for a while after 9-11. It passed through security for quite some time before someone with a little bit of intelligence at TSA figured it out what THAT PEN could be used for. You can get them in chrome or a golden color and they are very innocent looking.
just like my little darlin´
Dennis
III
Texas
Much of US society today has been lulled into the mindset that it is someone elses job to protect them from the evil that exists by gov.org. They have been trained to be are content with being passive docile sheep, left to the mercy or lack thereof of others. Their usual complete lack of situational awareness plays out every day in the news, victim after victim.
Gov.org doesn't care, they are all armed or have paid security at their disposal and in many places, through legislation are providing criminals with protection from the public's defense from/against their attackers.
Some have awakened to this trend and are taking measures to reverse it but not fast enough for my liking.
That "one in four" "statistic" is utter shite, and has been debunked repeatedly.
What Father would EVER let his daughter go to a place where the odds are so high she'd be so harmed?
The "study" which produced this "statistic" defined "rape" so loosely that they called it "rape" when he promised to call and didn't, or she was the agressor then but regretted it later.
Total BS.
Still - teach 'em what you can - though less likely by orders of magnitude than claimed, it still happens.
Kill him - or remove his member - and he'll never rape again!
DD
PS: WV=="abiffib" -- musta been a typo, but this sure is A BIG FIB.
Effective...
right as the pen goes into his eye the rapist will be shouting, "ah! Eye never saw that coming!" All jokes aside I would probably advise pulling the pen out of the brain afterward and then getting the hell out of there. Rightous Self-Defense is a crime to people from that other country.
Thumb, finger....anything in the eye. Anything. Jabbed hard.
It'll give a 'moment of pause'....
I wonder if a fountain pen would be even meaner? All the force would be concentrated at the nib which could penetrate like the head of an arrow. (But more than likely would break off under the skin. Ain't that a shame?) Worse for the punctured, the ink could gush internally.
Since fountain pens are rare and expensive though, a regular ballpoint or rollerball pen would work almost as well. Perhaps an extra fine point-better puncturation marks.
They now make pens with a much wider barrel for better grip. How convenient! More pricy models have a metal barrel which gives the pen the look of a surgical instrument-which is TOTALLY congruent with the purpose in mind here.
Pen 1, Sword 0.
Look up CIA letter opener.
Cheaperthandirt was giving away these things when their newest store was opened:
http://www.cheaperthandirt.com/TAC119-1.html
The only thing that worries me about the lanyard is worrying if the person carrying it could be stangled with it. Especially if grabbed from behind - rapists are cowards.
Defending our daughters IS our responsibility. I have an 8 year old that I worry about a lot.
I spent a goodly amount of time
(pre 9/11) going over self defense with both of my daughters and how just about any thing can be used as a weapon. On top of that I also told them I expected them to resist and to win, any thing less and I would be greatly disappointed and they would be scolded, after I hunted down the wounded perpetrator and finished him off myself.
Dr.D III
but.. the Uni Ball is only two bucks!! It CAN'T be Tactical and 'serious' unless it comes in Mar Pat or digicam and sells for 29.95 online.
Great article.
Also - Soft part of throat, too; side of neck just ahead of carotids; upward under jaw / chin toward palate.
I learned how to also accomplish this with a sharpened Number 2 pencil which can later be sharpened down to powder and shavings or burned, if it needs to be disposed of discreetly.
Anonymous sez: "The only thing that worries me about the lanyard is worrying if the person carrying it could be strangled with it. Especially if grabbed from behind - rapists are cowards."
Note the breakaway connector in the illustration. All good neck lanyards have this feature.
Credit cards are getting softer and more pliable...not as useful as a slashing tool as they used to be.
I lived for 58 years in California... unarmed. I was nearly raped once as a teen, but the mention of my brothers - US Marines - seemed to discourage him.
In any case, I will never again be disarmed, and my grand daughter will be entering a college this fall where she can and will be armed as well.
There are alternatives, but I'm not about to trust anything but the most effective weapon available.
My mother didn't raise me as a victim and taught me even back in my elementary school days what to watch for and how to handle it. Thanks, Mom.
I no more denied myself the protection of a knife hidden on me while I was in highschool than I do the protection of my handgun today. I decide my daily safety, not the school, not the state, not even the states I travel where I am not a resident. Felony threat or not. I say, not them.
I do not believe those stats either. The dangers of political indoctrination are a bigger campus threat than rape anyway and harder to overcome.
Self-defense/martial arts classes, folks. It's the best way. They (and you) cannot ALWAYS realistically carry a weapon. And a weapon of any kind can be taken away from you and then used on you. What then?
Even getting some basic self-defense training is better than nothing. Some places offer free or low-cost seminars.
azcIII
This is an excellent idea, but should not be limited to just the college campus. Women everywhere should have this.
Mike, as you say college campus' are breeding grounds for rape. When I lived near the edge of campus X in the Midwest, there were woods between campus and additional housing. The area became known as Rape Alley. To avoid such, young ladies should:
1. If traveling at night on foot,do so with one or two other girlfriends.
2. Have a short list of TRUSTED male friends available for escort.
3. Walk confidently and avoid known problem areas(including some parties) and be ready to defend themselves at any time.
4. Enjoy their once in a lifetime college experience.
I honestly don't understand why someone would be disarmed anywhere in the United States. The Second Amendment was required before the United States Constitution was ratified. Shall not be infringed means exactly that. If you don't want to "violate" an illegal law then move to a state that does not infringe your rights.
Our founding fathers were willing to sacrifice everything for this country. We, on the other hand, won't sacrifice anything!
Mike sez:
"...Note the breakaway connector in the illustration. All good neck lanyards have this feature."
Look a bit closer, friend.
Still plenty of chokeage there...
This is why I will always prefer the old "bead-chain"
DD
Note ANONY 8:50 :
"And a weapon of any kind can be taken away from you and then used on you. What then?"
Frankly, that has never been true, unless the person from whom it was taken was too shaky / fear indoctrinated to use it.
When my wife was working a night shift at a local hospital, she was using her little Kershaw double edged diving knife - five inch blade - to slice into a pear one night, when the night shift wise-ass said that to her..
" You know, somebody could take that away from you and hurt you with it."
She never blinked. Turned toward him, moved within a foot of him and said, "Show me. Take it away from me. Really. I WANT you to! DO IT!"
He looked at that razor sharp edge and needle point and said something like, well, he wouldn't want to embarass her. Might as well hae said he heard his Momma callin'.
She very probably would have given him just a gentle slice across the hand to make her point, so to speak, but she has never been shy about drawing a blade or her 357 snubby wtih full intent and ability to use, if threatened.
Maybe it's just bein' one of them down home Southern wimmenfolk. But I sure would not try to mess with her unless I was ready for a cold dark ride in a body bag.
You never know for sure whether lessons sink in. I learned years after the lesson of something that I taught my sister did need to be used. When the Weymouth Naval Air Station was in operation (ASW P3 Orions, helicopters, and a Marine Air Wing of A-4 Skyhawks), my sister and her friend would go the the Chief Petty Officer's Club, as her friend was dating one of the Chiefs. One very cold night when my sister returned to her automobile, a sailor tried to forcibly grab my sister and enter her automobile. Base security personnel found him the next morning in a snowbank - unconscious, hypothermic and arm broken in three places. Yay sis! After six months recovery elsewhere, he again was found by base security personnel, unconscious and severely beaten. It appears that fellow patrons of the Chief's Club disliked his approach with women and ensured that he was transferred elsewhere permanently or disabled, whichever came first.
My sister was afraid that if I knew about this, then I would try to inhibit her social life.
Mike - and pretty much everyone else who has commented here - weapons of any sort would be ABSOLUTELY USELESS in the scenario presented in the video and in a huge percentage of such assaults. Megan was drugged - then raped. No knife or gun or pen or any other weapon is of any value in such a case.
Were I Megan's Dad or her older brother, I would hunt the little bastards down and cut 'em where it hurts. I don't know how long a prison sentence you'd get for cutting several guys dick and balls off but it is an absolute certainty that you wold get out of prison before their packages grew back! I once TOLD a little bastard that if I caught him near my daughter I'd make him look like a Ken doll. When he replied that if I did I'd go to jail I quietly advised him that he was probably right but that I'd get out of jail before his dick grew back. Another time some asshole was giving my daughter a ration of shit on my front porch. I stepped out, pointed my Baby Eagle .40S&W between his eyes and gave him a 5-count to get the hell off my land. Texas, Castle Law, after dark, private property - ah the sweet smell of liberty.
No, I am not a nice man where my daughter is concerned.
Bad Cyborg X
Since my little ones are still a bit short and light weight, I've taught them a couple things that most kids should know.
Scrape and stomp:
If grabbed from behind by ANYONE and your feet are still on the ground, jab your good foot back against their shin and scrape it down the front of the shin HARD as you stomp on your foot. This will give you a fraction of a second to break their grip and run while SCREAMING your head off! (important!)
Breaking grips: towards the gap. If grabbed by the wrist, jerk your arm down and towards the gap between finger and tumb, even if it hurts you to do so. Passive Resistance - when grabbed around the mid section, if your arms are pinned, sit down and roll away as soon as you slip out of their grasp. Doing so quickly will surprise them and maybe give you a minute to break contact. All the while SCREAMING your head off if your mouth is not covered. Run away screaming!
Grabbed from the front: jabb or punch the throat if your arm is free and you can see it. Raise your knee into their groin if your arms are restrained - again, as quickly as you can think to do it. This will probably give you a fraction of a second where they momentarily ease their grip and you can begin screaming your head off and running away.
Pinned from behind - if attacker is sitting on or kneeling on your posterior, kick yourself in the arse. He is in the way and will get some of it probably in a spot that will cause momentary shock and pain. The coccyx (your tail bone) is easily bruised and a heel here, even a moderate bump, will send a small shock through his nerves. Above that there are nerve bundles on either side of the spine and the first vertebra is lighter and more mobile than the pelvis. Dislocating it and causing severe sciatic pain. Any of these will provide an opportunity to break contact. Be screaming your head off the whole time.
Screaming and running: towards a group of people you know, towards an open public space, towards (but not into) a busy road. NEVER into a hiding spot unless all of the above are not available. Hiding spots just make your assault less public and easier for passers by to ignore.
I had a female friend raped in a mall parking lot in broad daylight by some cowardly piece of excrement. She screamed her head off but did not have any idea how to break contact. Getting away is your first duty in any assault.
I think the number is way higher than 25%. I know so many girls who have been raped in high school and college, and 99% of them never said anything to the authorities and they just kept it to themselves. I guess a lot of them carry around some misplaced guilt like some of it was their fault. Its really sick and sad. I wish more fathers would teach their daughters the means to fight back against a rapist. A lot of these rapes also happened after they were forced to drink a lot as well. Some were just straight up rape.
Two points: 1)Most so-called "rapes" of college aged girls are not stranger assaults. They are either a result of drugs and alcohol use by both parties and while they might be regretted in the morning are hardly rape.
2)I absolutely agree with using violence to defend yourself. But I suspect the college girl using this pen is far more likely to really piss off an attacker and invite serious injury or death. I would kill someone who "knifed" me, wouldn't you? Without sufficient strength or training to press the attack it is likely that the young lady will have one attempt at best to deter the attacker and after that she will simply become a punching bag.
Oh yeah. Reminds me of something I read in that book, "On Killing". Most folks are totally grossed out at the prospect of even thinking about stabbing someone in the eyeball.
However, if you intend to kill by stabbing, it is absolutely the best place in which to do it. The bone behind the eyeball is very thin and easy to pierce with a thin sharp object. The famous lobotomist Dr. Freeman exploited this phenomenon many times as a psychiatrist, sticking icepicks into people's brains back in the forties and fifties.
Yes, if you are in a desperate fight,have a strong stomach, and have a long sharp object handy, by all means jam it through the orbit of yer adversary, and don't forget to wave it around in there.
He might live, but he'll never think again.
It certainly is good to have training in unarmed combatives, and in how to use improvised weapons, such as a pen, as Mike suggests. But Female III has it right. Carry a real weapon, whether knife or gun (or both if you can).
My girls carry CRKT "bear claw" neck knives everywhere they go outside our home.
http://www.crkt.com/Bear-Claw-Sharp-Tip-ZytelSheath-Razor-Sharp-Edge
Very secure grip, hard to disarm, and hanging right there on their centerline. All they have to do is reach up under their shirt, grab it, yank it out and start stabbing and cutting. I teach them to go for the eyes, throat, side of neck, solar plexis, groin, and anywhere else they can reach if they can't stab one of those spots. They are trained to use the other hand to "face-smash" and eye gouge while they draw the blade, to hide the draw, so that the first clue the asshole will have that she has a knife is when it is sticking him like a sewing machine.
They also practice using it to counter grabs, chokes, bear hugs, and how to draw the blade and cut off of their backs with the attacker on top.
A pen is better than nothing, but a knife is vastly superior. For example, a girl can cut her way out of a rear choke or out of a hold which pins her arms. While a pen can be used to break out of a choke or hold, it will not work nearly as well as a blade.
Teach them to use everything, including their bare hands and improvised weapons, but also teach them to NEVER be without a good blade. It is a huge equalizer.
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