Do you feel save?

Ok I'm back...had to hit the pipe...and pipe down...lol

I've often wondered about forgiveness, and I would like to think that I am at a place in my life where I could forgive anyone anything.
But being the victim of violence...I do struggle.
I am ok most days...but it has come at the cost of abusing myself and not being the person I had the potential to be for alot of years.
You look at things differently when you are little and you have no control over what bigger and stronger and mean people are doing to you.
When I was attacked I had no weapon and if I had it probably would have been turned against me, I was very young when all those things happened and I am just happy to have lived through it...but a piece of it all stays with me and the only way I can feel safe now is to know that I will at least have some kind of advantage in my favor.

My husband is gone all week, I live 15 miles from the closest town, there are very few police here and they patrol a large area.

So, I do what I can for piece of mind.
I practice shooting all the time, and it would be excrutiating for me to raise a hand in violence to anyone, I love my brothers and sisters on this planet, but I love myself too, and its taken me a long time to get to that point...

In a perfect world there would be no violence....but this is not there.

Please excuse my rant above, but I have been on both sides of the argument about guns.

Love and understanding to all,
teepi

 

Teepi, thank you for sharing.

Human beings are the most populous mammal on Earth, I will give you that. And yes, suburban sprawl is responsible for the majority of the unbalance. But feeding the animals will only make this problem worse. Aside from further increasing overpopulation, this will make wild animals used to being around humans, and thus they will wander into our roads and get hit by cars, put our safety in danger (in the case of bears), and one major factor you're overlooking: overgrazing. When there are too many deer, the trees and vegitation in an area suffers because of it. And when trees and vegitation suffer, ALL animals suffer, because most of the smaller, secondary food sources LIVE in vegitation. Overpopulation of wild animals has huge ripple effects. If we don't kill them to thin out their populations, COUNTLESS other species will suffer because of it.

If it makes you feel any better, many people (particularly in Texas, where I'm from) use every single part of the animal when they kill it. They have places you can ship the deer you killed and the people will process it for you and give you back the meat and use the bones, fur, and other things. This is much more humane than a slaughterhouse.

Except for one thing: We are not aliens. Humans are not the fastest, strongest, or even the most efficient animal on earth. So why have we survived this long? Because we have intelligence in comparison to other animals. Our brain power (even most stupid humans are only stupid in comparison to other humans) is what has allowed us to spread to every corner of the earth. We did not have to naturally evolve fur and extra blubber in order to inhabit Alaska--we did so because we learned how to use animal fur. We have also used our brain power in more recent times to invent cures for countless diseases which has essentially allowed us to cheat death--another advantage over animals. I will not say whether this brain power has been a blessing or a curse--that debate would never end. But, like it or not, this is where we are today. And humans cannot be considered aliens on planet Earth--99% of this land by now has seen a human footprint at least once, if not more than that. Do we have a right to damage ecosystems? No. That is why we cannot make the problem worse by feeding the animals.

And one more point I'd like to add: How do you justify requiring US citizens (theoretically) to pay for the proper nutrition of deer and bears when 34 million of our own citizens (12 million of them children) are food insecure! Yes, we have some governmental programs for food for the poor, but they are hardly atequatte (sp?) so why must we worry about feeding overpopulated animals when we have our own to worry about? Would you be okay telling a mother on welfare that her children will have to cut back on food so Smokey the Bear can have his dinner?

No, it doesn't necessarily state what is universally right (which in itself is a debatable topic) but one thing laws do do is provide insight to a society's current value system (assuming we're talking about a theoretical democracy) . In other words, we have most of the laws we have because a significant number of people (if not the majority) agree with them. Remember, slavery did not become illegal in the US until the abolitionist movement gained popularity and public support. Since I highly doubt the majority of US citizens would support their tax dollars going to feed deer, you are out of luck. (That is of course, assuming you believe in the ideals of democracy.)

I couldn't possibly disagree more. Your compassion is misguided. Let me offer you this thought: Compassion is useless if it doesn't include yourself. If someone tried to rape me, and I did nothing to try and stop it, I would be putting myself in danger, and thus would be being disrespectful (uncompassionate) to my own body. Likewise, if I did not do everything in my power to prevent someone from attacking my mother, I would be doing HER a disservice. No one can ever make EVERYONE happy; it is impossible to show compassion to every creature on Earth unless you live isolated on a mountain (which, I would argue, is not why we were put on this Earth). You talk of revenge, yet I argue that self-defense is NOT THE SAME as revenge. EX: If someone was raping my mother I would attack him out of defense for her. But, if I couldn't get there in time and he ran away and instead of calling the cops I hunted him down 3 weeks later and killed him, THAT would be revenge, because I (or the person I was trying to defend) WASN'T in any IMMEDIATE danger at the time.

About sitting down and talking with the criminals: That has been done before, and continues to be done to this day. There are thousands of Criminal Psychologists in this country, and all they can do is offer suggestions on how to lower the national crime rate--they can never get rid of crime completely. We already know why the majority of criminals are the way they are. But that should not take away from personal responsibility. My problem with your method of thinking is that you are essentially saying that individuals bear little or no amount of responsibility for the actions they freely take. ("Oh, poor little criminal. Don't worry, it's all society's fault because society didn't provide a fun enough school so you had to drop out and society doesn't provide enough jobs for people who drop out so you were stuck at McDonalds and society made you miserable at McDonalds so you had to go out and kill people to improve your self-esteem!") Also, if you are talking about reforming criminals, you must remember that you can't help anyone unless they want to be helped. Some people in this world are unapologetic criminals and no amount of therapy or psychiatric drugs will help them.

 

Thanks sweetie...
You are cram packed with intelligence, and very well spoken.
You are an ispiration to all and one hell of a young woman.
love and peace in your life,
teepi

 

Awww thank you.

You're makin me blush, god damnit!

 

The fact that we use stuff from these animals does make a huge difference.

We allso have the power to feed every poor man on earth. When I say We I mean humans in general. Imagine how many poor people a billionaire could feed in one year by selling one of his yachts. I am not saying that rich people do not deserve to have their posessions. All I am saying is that some people could show a little compassion. I mean he will earn a new yacht in a year to compensate for his "loss".

You misunderstood me about the rape thing. I said you should disable him,
not stand and do nothing. You could hit him with something a few times, until he lies there on the floor, or If you have a gun, you could shoot his legs instead, and call police and ambulance. This is a preferable alternative to killing him.
And I didn't say that this act was revenge. I only said that the concept of revenge came from emotional reactions aswell.

Yes, I know that there are psychologists working with criminals every day.
But whatever I say, you seem to think that I mean like "ok let's do it on the next elections". No I a talking phylosophical. I know that it is almost impossible. Yet, that doesn't mean we can't talk about it. Perhapse in 100 years it will be possible to do some drastical changes.

I am not justifieing criminals. They do have responisiblity. But a prison is not really functioning as a correction facility. The prison should be a place as
active as a kindergarden, instead they just leave those people to get more mean in their cells.

Those people that can not be changed at all, should be isolated from the rest of the world, but not as a form of punishment, but as a form of protecting other people from them.

Back to law. Well, yes this is what law is, the belief of the majority of people at one time. Those beliefs can allso come from ignorance. Best example is drugs. I see absolutley no reason why LSD or pot should be illegal. They are illegal because most people have prejudgements about them.

 

The right to bare guns is one of our constitutional rights and if we let them take any of our rights aways we will just become sheep..Imagian if you were asleep in your home with your children in the next room and a bunch of drug crazed baby rapers came busting in and start violating your babies.. now .. would you feel like you may need a gun to protect yourselves with..not only should you have one you should learn the proper way to use one and teach your children the proper way to handle a gun..I taught all my kids how to shoot as my daddy did me.. I taught all my kids to servive in the wilderness as my daddy did me..it's not being violent to own a gun..anything can become a weapon.. even a statue of an Angel..what I'm trying to say is.. it's one of our rights..what will they take from us next.. the right to assemble.. the right to whorship.. the right to vote??.. the foundation on what this country was based on is being slowly chiped away. if we dont fight for our rights we wont have any..as for having guns.. we would starve to death if we didn't have guns.. we hunt for our meat and grow our own food..neither my husband, me nor any of my children have ever pointed a gun at another human being.. altho I would have no qualms as to lock, load and shoot if I had to protect myself or my family and home.. I am a peace loving human being..but I don't rollover.. I we stand and fight if I have to.. when I was eight yrs old we moved from texas to East LA.. 1958' my parents had no idea as to what we were moving into..after a yr. my father relized that east la was no place for his 3 daughters.. 12, 10 and me 8..this was the time of the Watts Riots and thee shittt was hitting the fan.. my daddy who was a servivalist.. of course immedietly started us girls a rigorous training program..he taught us self defence and how to shoot.. he even gave us stratigic locations that would be to our advantage if we had to fight from the rooftop.. we had amobelts and servival packs canteens of water and water purifacation tablets we had compass's and hunting knives, we had fishing string and hooks.. we carried dried meat and dried fruit and pilot biscuts.. two pair of socks and a change of clothes and boots..we were ready for anything and everything.. we all had rifles and my mama and daddy both carried revolvers.. we had the van packed with tents and water and the servival things we may need if we had to flee the city.. we were prepared for Armmogetten.. I belive if the ones that raise hell over guns had ever been in a life threatening situation against themselves or a loved one.. they too would wish they had a weapon of defence..I know I couldn't stop a gang of killers with my bear hands.. or even one man.. I'm just a little woman.. OK that's my thoughts on the matter..

 

If there were baby rapers coming to take my kids, I would ask myself, what kind of world am I living in, and might as well shoot myself in the head.

 

well get ready to lock and load cuz it happens all the time.. when I lived in Arizona (phoenix) we had to have a neighborhood watch and walk the neighborhood for a child molester that crawled through the windows of kids rooms and raped and killed the kids in their own beds while their parents slept in the next room..we moved into the kids room and all the kids slept in the same room till the preditor was apprehended.. which never happened.. they never caught him.. 7 children lay dead and violated and they didn't catch him.. that was in '74.. things haven't gotten any better.. on the contrary they have gotten worse..

 

I feel that these hardy souls in the wilderness, with their guns at the ready have a much better chance of coming through any major global meltdown.
Still, we must hang in there, the odd pacifist without a gun will fluke out and live. Maybe it will be me or you?
Do not quit, that is the only failure, quitting.

 

Yep, like I said...perfect world...not there.
I am a pacifist, I am often the peaceful mediator in the middle of the fire.
I have raised my kids with the belief that violence is wrong.It should not be used to make any kind of point.
However self-defense is another thing.
I would not sit idely by and let a wild animal attack me or anyone else.And once it is implemented by another any point to be made has to wait.

I do not hunt, however I believe that if you eat meat that is probably the best choice healthwise that you can make.
My land is a sanctuary for the wildlife. There are a tremendous amount of hunters in my county and we have to post signs all the time cause they get torn and shot down.
If you hunt for food you should feel the grace of that animal giving its life to nourish yours, you should be reverent about it.

I do not "live by the gun", I have never had to use one to threaten anyone.
As far as shooting myself in the head because I live in a world where there are baby rapers, if that were the case I would have shot myself a long time ago.....that IS my world...I was 4 when it started becoming a faint memory.
Sooooo guess what??... that is the world we live in...there are people like that...they walk around you every day(some are your own father)...they go in and out of prison...they are convicted of horrible crimes and let out because the prisons are too full, or they get off on a technicality...or your right, if they serve their sentence, they are not taught anything and come out to re-offend. And sometimes even go back after the ones who "put them there".
The prison system is a joke.
Half the people that are there shouldn't be (drug, mainly pot charges) and the other half thinks of it as a second home, alot of their buddies are there too, and they run the place.
Alot of people walk around wanting to implement programs and laws to give criminals more rights, they view things like 'we do live in that perfect world', where everyone is on the same page and have the same feelings toward their fellow man...pipe dream.
If the laws were enforced better that are already there, things would be better.

I always try to see the good in people, and understand where they are coming from....yeah a hard life sucks...but hurting others because you feel as though "you're owed" is ridiculous.

We are not in that world....all we can do is make our little spot here as good as we can...extend a hand to help where we can....and do alot of praying.

So to answer the OP's question....I feel safe...to a point.
teepi

 

"The prison system is a joke."

Good point.

I never said we are living in a perfect world. What I was saying these past two days is
how would this perfect world look like based on my logic and way of thinking.

And as for criminals, what hurts me most is the fact that a human being in general is capable of such horrors. That means that with different raising, life, surroundings, propaganda etc. I could become such a monster. It's just a matter of shaping a newborn soul. This is the scairy part.
I mean look at WW2. Think about how many Nacistic soldiers and officers did horrors to Jews. They were programed by the propaganda and their prejudgements and beliefs. When they got home,most of them were caring parents. . They believed that what they were doing is right. It is scairy as hell.

 

We all have our "take" on what surrounds use.
I believe we are all good, we all have free will and we all have to find our way.

My husband tells me all the time that he is surprised at how I "turned out".

I was raised in foster homes after my mom died, I lived on the streets for many of my formative years, I was horribly abused by my father then again later by many strangers.

I never became a monster but I did turn alot of my rage against myself instead of others...until I was able to get to a place in my life and make the connection, that either i could learn from my past and go forward or I could let my past rule my future and use it as an excuse not to take responsibility for that future....
It was and is up to me.....

What I meant by "perfect' world and how some others view it is....man. I wish it was like that, I wish for every mistake we made there were someone right there to teach us the error of our ways and we could embrace it at that moment go forth and sin no more...
But being a realist, I know it just don't happen like that.
As was said...you just can't have some one open up to lifes lessons and soak them in until they are ready for it...and most of the people on a wayward path find it just easier to take advantage of others and take take take rather than put any gumption into it and do the real work it takes to overcome a crappy past.

Your way of thinking and mine are pretty much the same....love each other. period.
Thats really the bottom line...then all the horrible stuff would just go away...brother, if only that WERE the case....but again...a pipe dream.
Be here now,
teepi

I think the SS in WW2 were just trying to survive, the ones that had families saw how easy it was for so many to get caught up in the hate and did what they had to, to survive.
It all comes down to intention.

 

Well, after reading all that you said about your life, I say the same thing. You turned out suprizingly good and positive.

 

i am a person that naturally gives a person the benefit of a doubt, so yeah.. i normally feel safe.. i can fit in anywhere really, thats what i like about myself

 

what teepi said is probably one of the best justifications i've heard for having a gun. thank you for making such an eloquent point. wow.

if guns are outlawed, then only outlaws will have guns.

if guns are legal, we can at least make sure that some indiviauals are taught proper gun safety (including ways to make sure a ten year old kid doesn't get her/his hands on it, etc.).

gun laws and restrictions (or lack thereof) can go either way. sure, there are trigger happy people out there, but i think it's safe to say those are the individuals with illegal guns... and legislation isn't going to change that. i've been told that in west va pretty much every adult owns and carries a gun. now, if you're going to rob a 7-11, wouldn't you be less likely do it knowing that all the employees and customers are also carrying guns? not to sound like charelton heston or anything.

like teepi, i am a female who lives alone. i don't live in the woods; i live in a first-floor apartment (easiest access for breaking&entering) in a town that had a serial-rapist last winter. the building is not well lit, and it's surrounded by trees and dense shrubs. i'm short, so i could easily be pinned down or forced into a vehicle. all things considered, i can see how someone would mark me as an easy target.

i don't own a gun, but i do carry a knife on me at all times. i know how to shoot a handgun, but i feel sufficiently safe with my knife. i used to work in a knife and sword store, where i was taught a couple ways to kill, impare, or immobilize someone with a single stab. i'm not saying that i'll ever act out what i've learned; the knowledge alone makes me feel empowered and safe. i feel safer knowing that if i'm ever attacked, i could injure the attacker so that i could escape.

 

I didn't know that about Texas. I live in Dallas, and that kind of scares me that our state laws allow us to do that. I knew that they just lifted the ban on assault weapons, but damn.

 

It shouldn't frighten you, as long as you are not the one breaking into someone's home.

It would hopefully make a person think twice about violating the right that anyone should have about protecting their home and family.

Would you rather NOT be allowed to defend yourself if an asshole kicked in your door and did whatever they wanted in YOUR house???
If someone comes in my door...I'm not going to say "Um Excuse me but are you here to steal my TV or murder me????
And then stand there and wait for an answer.

Like I said...I would not shoot someone if they stole something off my land...like my mower...but they will THINK they are being shot at...and they will have to go home and change their pants...and maybe..next time they will think twice about messing with someone elses property.
But once THEY decide to come INTO MY HOUSE all bets are off.

We are not all on the same page here, some people think they can just take anything they want from you.

By the way Strawberry...I know I would never mess with anyone down Texas way...lol

 

Thanks lawngirl (what a nice name.)

You are right, we as citizens and as women need to learn how to defend ourselves.
Also you are correct in saying that just knowing that you carry and that you are trained gives you more confidance, that in its self is an advantage as you are decreasing the likelyhood of being targeted just by your stance and your carriage of your body.
The police can't be everywhere, and they usually show up AFTER something has happened.

My daughter told me that it is illegal to carry mace in her city.
She works alot of nights and rides the trains all the time.
I sent her some.
She said "Mom, I don't want to get arrested"
I said "Sweetie, I can come get you out of jail, I can't come get you out of the morgue".

It would be wonderful if everyone was as sweet as we are, and no one wanted to hurt anyone and everyone respected each other and their property....but the reality is we don't live in that perfect world.
So do what you can to be safe and try not to put yourself in a bad situation, and train yourself to know what to do in case you ever do find yourself in one...
teepi
teepi

 

I guess I feel safe. I live in Littleton, Colorado (where Columbine happened) and people around here are really sesitive to murder and such because we had such a big one. I don't know anyone who owns a gun. But the fact that crazy people out there are aloud to have them scares the shit outta me. I didn't know regular people in Denmark weren't aloud to have guns. That must be nice.

 

I don't know if it would be nice here if "regular people" weren't allowed to have guns...does that mean that just the military, the police ,and "not regular" people should have them???

The first thing that happens in a dictatorship, a total police state is...the citizens guns are taken away.
When this happens you are at their mercy.

Most criminals do not have "legal" guns.
They don't buy them from a gun shop..they buy them on the street.

I hate that this even has to be a discussion, it shouldn't have to be..it makes my heart ache to know there are bad people out there. on the streets, in our schools..everywhere.
I feel alot safer knowing I have a fighting chance if anyone threatens me.

Now I am done expressing my opinion on this. I don't like to get into big debates about these things, if you feel that people shouldn't have the right to have guns then you need to ask the criminals how many of them will turn theirs in when and if a law is passed that requires them to do so.

teepi