Dilbert lessons part 2-protect yourself!

Here's the second thing to point out from this comic.  You HAVE to be able to protect yourself.  ESPECIALLY if you're a single mom.  Having a cell phone is not good enough.  The bad guy will not politely wait for you to make a call, & as they say "when seconds count, the police are just minutes away".
A couple weeks ago, my ex husband was banging on our front door & wouldn't leave.  We finally had to call the police.  This was in the middle of the day with nothing else going on.  It took 5 min for them to get there.  Now, being inside, where we really didn't feel like we were unsafe, 5 min seemed pretty fast.  But a lot can happen in 5 min if there's someone bad in your house.  Set a timer for 5 min, & then let your imagination go wild with what could happen in that amount of time to you & your children, if you have no way to protect yourself.  I am trying to scare you; but only so you'll do something about it.  The police never prevent crimes, only victims can do that.  An interesting quote is "a person with good intentions & no training is a victim."

My father recently took a class from a man who has a private security company for disasters.  He was there after Katrina.  The man said the first night, there were almost no gun shots.  The second night, there was sporadic gun fire.  The third night it was constant, & sounded like a war zone.

Now there's lots of false media hype that if you own a gun it will somehow jump up & kill you & your children.  Simply not true.  For true info, you might read John Lott's books, or check out his website.  He started studying, expecting to find that places with more guns had more crime.  He was stunned to find just the opposite.  One interesting stat from his book I remember, is that a woman who cooperates with an attacker, is 80% more likely to be seriously injured than a woman who resists with deadly force.  Read that again.  Then think about if you would risk odds like that with your money.  Guns are used A LOT to prevent crimes. They've been used by people in my family multiple times to deter violent crimes against them.  And John Lott says 80% of the time, you only have to brandish the weapon.

I know many women who were afraid of guns, & totally against having one...who now love shooting.  They've found it's a great hobby, one they can enjoy with many people, & a very empowering one.  They are no longer scared women, waiting to become victims.  They are competent, confident women who can protect themselves & their families.  Which would you rather be?

My favorite place to get gun training is Front Sight.  Military & police men even go there for training, to improve on their current skills.  And you don't have to know anything before you go.  It is near Las Vegas.  But obviously that isn't an option for everyone.  Find a competent friend to teach you, find a women's only gun class, find anything you're willing to try.  You may be surprised at how much you enjoy it.  And make this a serious priority in your preparedness.  The peace of mind is priceless.  And it could literally save you & your families lives.


Here's a great article about women & defending yourself with firearms:
http://womenofcaliber.wordpress.com/2011/08/18/if-it-happened-to-you/