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And it's utterly pathetic that the law has not had an exception for
pepper spray.
You have a woman knifed to death in Russel Square. She is denied the
right to carry even a low grade self defence weapon, while her attacker
walks around with a knife.
The pepper spray may not work in all cases (surprise attack) but at
least it would give the victim a sporting chance.
Police? Ha! The only place I see policemen walking is up the Strand and
that's because there's a very large police station there.
Seriously - in 1968 there were beat coppers in much higher numbers than
now - the law seriously needs to be redressed.
A friend of mine (female) who lives in New York has a good male friend
who was erroneously and liberally pepper sprayed by a rather paranoid
woman late at night just outside a subway station, resulting in
hospitalisation.
Essentially the police said yes it was assault (or whatever equivalent),
but that it'd be too hard to make a case against the woman, so that was
that.
He's got an athletic build but he doesn't come across as at all
threatening. He's mixed race, which a minus mark when dealing with the
justice system there. FWIW he's an elementary school teacher.
I'm wary of pepper spray or other (as you call them) 'low grade self
defence weapons'.
Plus, similar to the self-defence argument with firearms on the other
side of the Atlantic, there's the idea that a self-defence weapon will
inevitably or even likely be used by the holder at the moment of threat.
I wasn't there in Russell Square, and nor were you, so neither of us can
say with any confidence what might have otherwise transpired, but as a
more general point I am sceptical that people will be ready and prepared
to use a self-defence weapon in such incidences that happen here once in
a blue moon.
I don't however remotely like the idea that people might be going around
poised for a fight or incident the whole time. It's good to be a bit
streetwise, yes, but not a state of perpetual alert for an imminent attack.
"goes around poised for a fight".
means of defence. It would be normal to be wary of someone too close
while one is using an ATM. Likewise, a lone male loitering in a mall
parking lot would be someone to avoid.
These things are normal common sense. You do not need to impute more