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From: cramer@kontron.UUCP (Clayton Cramer)
Newsgroups: soc.women,soc.singles
Subject: Re: Re: Re: My problems with rape (or why my views are so different from
Message-ID: <1105@kontron.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 1-Oct-86 19:33:03 EDT
Article-I.D.: kontron.1105
Posted: Wed Oct  1 19:33:03 1986
Date-Received: Sat, 4-Oct-86 10:15:58 EDT
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Organization: Kontron Electronics, Mt. View, CA
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Xref: watmath soc.women:201 soc.singles:297

> >Unfortunately, the level of irrationality that John is concerned about is
> >a problem AFTER someone has been victimized.  Would I encourage a woman
> >(or for that matter, a man) who had been victimized on the street to carry
> >a gun?  No, not until they had recovered from the trauma enough to NOT
> >consider everyone a potential attacker.  But most people, until they have
> >been victimized, do not consider ANY form of self-defense, armed or unarmed.
> >And thus, the people most likely to make rational decisions about whether
> >they are in danger of great bodily harm are the ones least likely to be
> >armed.
> >
> >But if John doesn't realize that MOST people (probably 99%) can tell the
> >difference between immediate danger, and feeling uncomfortable, I'm
> >inclined to think this problem is mostly John's.
> >
> 
> Great.  That means only 1 per cent of the population is out there
> ready to shoot me for no particular reason.
> 

It's probably not even 1% of the population -- and many of them are quite
willing to use knives, blunt instruments, and bare hands to achieve the
same end.

> 
> I hope only a small percentage of that 1 per cent lives in states and
> countries where they can buy guns for "self-defence".  I wouldn't want
> to be nearby when they suddenly felt defensive.

Do you mean, "can buy guns" or do you mean, "can buy guns LEGALLY".
I ask the question because I've known people who had guns pulled on them
on the street in Canada -- where they certainly don't have the guns legally.

By the way, what's happened to the Canadian murder rate since handgun
restrictions were imposed in 1974?  I can only find current murder rates,
and raw numbers for 1974-1980.  But the raw numbers went up 30% during
that interval.

Clayton E. Cramer