SlutWalk

[Perd Hapley]

Will you use the money gained to buy a bullet-resistant vest with ceramic inserts and wear it every day?

No, I just think you should make your goodies easily available. You don't want to live in fear do you?

I'm all for taking back the streets but you don’t accomplish that by walking around unarmed, and flashing valuables.
 

[MechAg94]

No, I just think you should make your goodies easily available. You don't want to live in fear do you?

I'm all for taking back the streets but you don’t accomplish that by walking around unarmed, and flashing valuables.
 

As Micro said earlier, you do it by ensuring as many attackers are shot or arrested as possible.  Make sure they have a real fear that any given victim is a predator in disguise looking to make them the victim.

[MechAg94]

I do not see this as a valid reply. It seems to be a non-sequitor to me.

I do agree that there should be no reasons to avoid certain areas of the city or country. We should not be forced to fear the subhumans and their threats. If we do that, we will start, based on nothing but our perceptions, to avoid even more areas until we do not trust the world enough to leave our house.

Of course, this does not even address the very selective bias again women here. I wonder what you would say if as a man, going without sunglasses at night is considered a risk to yourself and others because you migt see a woman (or an man or a very attractive sheep) and rape her (him/it).

I don't think most of us intend to show any bias.  We all agree that rapists should be shot and killed or at least severely punished, so there is little to discuss there.  However, we all see people who make bad decisions and put themselves at risk.  I think it goes back to people taking responsibility for their own safety.  On one hand, you should be able to defend yourself and there is no excuse for crime, but on the other, you should consider whether or not your appearance or your possessions single you out as a potential crime victim.  That can be for any sort of crime, not just rape. 

I like to think of the movie Death Wish and how he flashed a wad of cash which caught the eye of the muggers.  That sort of thing can happen to anyone if they carry cash and are careless/unobservant.

[Balog]

The "should be" is rather far from utopian in this case. Not in the literal sense of bikini-strings stuffed with money, but it is possible to make crime rates low enough for violence to be a non-concern for people in their daily lives.

Countries with "bad areas" with significantly higher rates of crime are universal. I'm not convinced this mythical country with such a low rate of violent crime that it is an aberration exists.


2swap: most here on APS value personal responsibility highly. We hold criminals responsible for their inexcusable actions, but we also hold victims accountable for being stupid and taking foolish risks. If a woman goes to a frat party, gets passing out drunk, and ends up gang raped that is a horrid crime and there is no excuse for her attackers. But there is no excuse for her idiocy in placing herself in a dangerous area and rendering herself incapable of defending herself. And that applies to men as well as women, it's just a fact of life that women are more desirable targets than men and need to be even more cautious. Do you know who Tim Treadwell was? Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.

[BridgeRunner]

Fwiw, I already live in a country/county/city/neighborhood where I don't "need to" (quotative, not quoting from in thread) fear crime daily. Discretion is a matter of personally choice that is determined based on a numbe of variables, and for me the activity I am engaging in is more important than whether I have a 1/10,000 or a 1/100,000 or a 1/10,000,000 chance of getting raped or murdered on any given night.  Another consideration is general appropriateness, which is founded in cultural expectations more than concrete safety concerns. When our cultural expectations differ it is very easy to see another's perceived inappropriateness as a reason why something bad may have happened to another person. To wit, accidental deaths/suicide occurring in homes where there are guns present, or women who are raped while wearing short skirts.

Blame placed upon the victim is less blame for what happened than blame for violating our personal perception of the social norm or what it ought to be.

[MicroBalrog]

No, I just think you should make your goodies easily available. You don't want to live in fear do you?

I'm all for taking back the streets but you don’t accomplish that by walking around unarmed, and flashing valuables.
 

'

I don't need to take back the streets, thank you. I - and other law-abiding citizens - already own the streets where we live.

[MicroBalrog]

Countries with "bad areas" with significantly higher rates of crime are universal. I'm not convinced this mythical country with such a low rate of violent crime that it is an aberration exists.

A "bad area" of Cologne or Tel-Aviv is not the same as a "bad area" of Detroit.

[GigaBuist]

A "bad area" of Cologne or Tel-Aviv is not the same as a "bad area" of Detroit.

Yeah, you still have stores open. :)

[Balog]

A "bad area" of Cologne or Tel-Aviv is not the same as a "bad area" of Detroit.

1. Country-wide, not city by city 2. What is your point?

[mtnbkr]

A "bad area" of Cologne or Tel-Aviv is not the same as a "bad area" of Detroit.

Why is that?

Chris

[MicroBalrog]

Why is that?

Chris

The "worst" parts of Tel-Aviv are still places where you don't need to sleep in a bathtub at night.

[mtnbkr]

The "worst" parts of Tel-Aviv are still places where you don't need to sleep in a bathtub at night.

Gotcha, thought you were arguing the opposite situation (ie TA being worse).

Chris