Ever fear for your safety while out?

[Steff26]

We all know that this a violent world, and getting even worse I am afraid. I want to know what everyone does to try and keep themselves safe. I do most of my traveling alone most of the time. And given the nature of who we are, I would say that there is a high percentage that do the same. So what do you do to keep safe, are you proactive or reactive. I will go first. Either as Steve or Steff, I always carry a firearm(legally, I have a CWL from Florida) Now, I hope to never use it so I am always doing things like riding with the truck doors locked. Leaving at least one and a half car lengths if I am at a stoplight. (The normal rule is 1 car length but I have a big Chevy 4x4). I am always scanning everyone around me. If I carry a purse it is underneath my shoulder with my hand on the strap, and my weapon is never inside it. What does everyone else do?

[dawnmarrie1961]

Safety first, Honey. I always carry my blades with me. Strapped to my thigh if I'm wearing a dress or skirt. Just in case. Because you never know what you are going to run in to.
If I have to pull them out... I find that using a defensive/offensive crouched posture works well. This throws of the attacker off balance because from this position they have to lean forward and down to strike me. Most men prefer to fight erect which puts them at a disadvantage. In the animal kingdom size and strength doesn't always mean superior. Most of the time it is the small fast and vicious that prevail in a fight.

I usually have one of my dogs with me, on a short leash, which discourages would be morons. The dogs may look formidable but they would probably lick the attacker to death. I don't raise mean dogs.

As a rule I avoid negative sources,people,places and things.(That may make my lifestyle a little boring at times but I'm still here unscathed and very much alive.) I always try to plan ahead a consider every situation from all possible angles. Always leave yourself an "out" just in case you need it.

Be safe. Be smart.

[MJ]

Being full time i have never been faced with any type of violence in my 5 years and i go every where. so i do feel safe

[kasha]

I tend to stay away from situations that might cause trouble. Going to friendly places, taking cabs instead of walking, and going with people.

However, trouble often finds you no matter what you do. So when it does I can rely on my years of kickboxing and jujitsu.

Kasha

[Lorileah]

The main thing is to avoid situations that put you at risk no matter how you present. There are areas of Denver even the people who live there don't want to be out in after dark.

It concerns me that some feel the need to carry a weapon. Time it takes to remove the weapon, take off the safety, aim (because you never shoot randomly) and fire is way longer than you have in most instances. The law enforcement people don't know you are the white hat when they arrive and you are just as good a target as the "perp".

This question comes up frequently and we become two camps, the aware and the defensive. I think aware, no matter how you are dressed in far better than relying on reflexes and hoping you don't shoot some poor by-stander. When I drive my eyes are constantly moving and I make mental notes of escape routes. I can usually tell you what color and style of vehicle I have been near the last 2 minutes and if possible who is in the car when the windows are not over darkened. In public I am a people watcher not because I fear them but because I am interested in how they present, so I pay attention more than most. On the other side of that coin I can't remember names for nothing. Long term memory isn't my best asset when it comes to people.

Fear breeds more fear. Just be aware and think about where you go.

[Stephanie Heplby]

Fear breeds more fear. Just be aware and think about where you go.

[SIZE="3"]Amen. Well said.[/SIZE]

[DenverMichelle]

I can honestly say I have thought about it on many occassions. When I am able to go out dressed I make every attempt to stay in safe areas, well lite, crowded public areas.

[dawnmarrie1961]

The main thing is to avoid situations that put you at risk no matter how you present. There are areas of Denver even the people who live there don't want to be out in after dark.

It concerns me that some feel the need to carry a weapon. Time it takes to remove the weapon, take off the safety, aim (because you never shoot randomly) and fire is way longer than you have in most instances. The law enforcement people don't know you are the white hat when they arrive and you are just as good a target as the "perp".

This question comes up frequently and we become two camps, the aware and the defensive. I think aware, no matter how you are dressed in far better than relying on reflexes and hoping you don't shoot some poor by-stander. When I drive my eyes are constantly moving and I make mental notes of escape routes. I can usually tell you what color and style of vehicle I have been near the last 2 minutes and if possible who is in the car when the windows are not over darkened. In public I am a people watcher not because I fear them but because I am interested in how they present, so I pay attention more than most. On the other side of that coin I can't remember names for nothing. Long term memory isn't my best asset when it comes to people.

Fear breeds more fear. Just be aware and think about where you go.

I can agree with your sediment about fear breeding more fear. But just because I carry a knife doesn't mean I'm afraid of "men" it just means I know their nature. South Texas, near the border can be a very dangerous place. People disappear off the streets all the time down here. They are found weeks and months later in a ditch or a shallow grave their corpse decayed beyond all recognition. No body ever finds out who they were or who murdered them. Most people don't even seem to care. They are just grateful it wasn't them. The authorities down here are either to overwhelmed ,corrupt or just don't give a hoot.

Why do I live here if it's so bad? I chose to.

I don't mean to sound like the grim reaper but this is the world we live in. I'd like to believe the "fantasy" that the world out there is nice and that people treat each other decent. But that's not the "reality" of it.

I have to be prepared for the "reality".
The "fantasy" can get you killed.

I hope that someday it gets better down here and I will do every thing I can to make it that way. But today I live in the "now".

That's the world I have to deal with.

(I'm gonna log off now because this is all beginning to get a little intense for what started out as a good day.)

[Kristy 56]

Steff,you're going to have me fearing my life the next time I step into the International Plaza Mall or Citrus Park. All kidding aside,some good tips,and you can never be too careful wherever you are.

[JoAnne Wheeler]

YES - while completely dressed and driving back from North Carolina, a man followed my vehicle for 200-300 miles - speeding up when I speeded up and slowing down when I slowed down - it was un-nerving - it made me respect the fears that GGs go through under similar circumstances - I eventually got away from him, but kept looking in my rearview mirror.

I guess that I truly feared for my safety.

JoAnne Wheeler

[Olivia]

In either male or female mode, I usually carry a pistol. I encourage my wife and daughter to do the same. To quote Johnny Winter:, "ya know that I'm not evil, I'm just havin' fun. There's so much sh*t in Texas, you're bound to step in some."
O

[Prissy Linda]

I'd rather have a gun and not need it than to need it and not have it.
Go ahead...make my day.

[Granny Gray]

Many areas in a Megopolis as big as Houston are unsafe after dark, especially for a woman alone. Good sense requires if you have to go there, be VERY careful. Once some years ago, I'd been to a TriEss meeting at the home of a very involved leader of the association: Jane Ellen Fairfax. Going and returning from her home I had to drive through one of the "less than desirable" areas. I had stopped for a red light just prior to entering a freeway To my left in the esplanade stood a thick row of Oleander bushes. On my passenger seat lay my .357 Magnum within easy reach. As I sat there, out of the Oleanders stepped a young black male with a snub-nosed revolver in his hand. He came up to my car. When he saw the gaping barrel of that .357 with the hammer cocked and the hollow points in the cylinder facing him. His intentions changed rather abruptly! He made for the Oleanders like an Olympic sprinter going for the gold. I had the "fist canon" with me because I knew the area and there had been a rash of car-jackings in Houston in recent weeks. But, that was years ago. I no longer go into the city very much and no longer am a member of TriEss. They long ago became a couples club with heavy interest on serving the needs of Married crossdressers and their wives. Being single, I was just a misfit. So, I left the group.

[veryinn]

1. No guns
I discourage owning firearm. I know this opinion might annoy some people. However, I'm a believer of "you'll hurt people you love more likely than a stranger or offender."

2. Alternatives
Pepper spray and Taser(stun) are pretty good alternatives. If I have a daughter, I would buy them for her.

3. Common sense
Travel or attend party in groups; don't take short-cuts, stay on major roads...etc etc. You get the idea.

[gender_blender]

I find that accessorizing with a black belt in Shotokan karate helps confidence tremendously.

[Lorileah]

On my passenger seat lay my .357 Magnum within easy reach. As I sat there, out of the Oleanders stepped a young black male with a snub-nosed revolver in his hand. He came up to my car. When he saw the gaping barrel of that .357 with the hammer cocked and the hollow points in the cylinder facing him. His intentions changed rather abruptly! He made for the Oleanders like an Olympic sprinter going for the gold.

You had a cocked and loaded gun on the seat? Breaks so many rules I can't even start thinking.

He saw the hollow points? That man had great eye sight. I am scared and I am not even armed here.

[dawnmarrie1961]

"It's a wonderful world !" Nat King Cole was singing on the radio when I woke up this afternoon after a brief nap.Every time I start to feel down I catch a tune playing on the radio that brightens my day and fills me with hope and turns me toward being more optimistic. Music soothes the savage "breast" (another boob joke.)

( Then you hear the awful boom-boom music emanating from a jacked up 57 Chevy as it screeches its tires going around the corner. Watch in horror as its occupant gang bangers open fire with automatic weapons in park filled with kids just to cap one guy they didn't like or just happened to wander onto the wrong playground.)

Sometimes you might watch a movie like Armageddon and think to yourself . "My god I think they finally got it! If everybody in the world would, for just one moment, be concentrating on the same thing, saving the world, then maybe it would bring them all close enough together to realize that all the things that they thought were important, all the petty differences, don't really amount to a hill of beans."

(Of course then I noticed how much Ben Afflack reminded me of the guy that my oldest daughter married and that kind of burst my optimistic bubble.)

Sometimes it's a book. Yes ,even the bible. That makes you think. And you think to yourself "If someone can write words like this that express so much truth then maybe there is hope for mankind after all."

(Then you pick up the newspaper and read about some tragedy or u.s. military action in some far off country, where we really don't need to be, and there goes the optimistic bubble again.)

Sometimes you hear or see someone on the street that goes out of their way to help somebody in need. And you think to yourself " What a nice person to put themselves out like that and actually help another human being. If everybody would just do that. What a wonder world this would be!

(Then you see some guy beating the hell out of his girl friend and you turn around and walk the other way. Don't want to get involved. And there goes the optimistic bubble again.)

It seems like for every positive you see in this world there always has to be a negative lurking around the corner. For every Yin a Yang.

The whole point I'm trying to make here ( I know I'm probably not doing a god job of it.) is that we should all learn to be more optimistic about the world in which we live and not dwell so much on the negative (Be ready for it anyway.) and try in our own small way to improve our conditions and the conditions off all those around us with a little bit of kindness. Don't turn away with a blind eye from injustice even if it means putting yourself out there in the open.

Together we can all make the world into a ....wonderful place.

Nuff said.

[kellycan27]

I use common sense, I go where and do what I please. I really don't worry about my safety..but I try and stay aware of my surroundings. I don't carry any weapons, but if you do... it's your choice.

[Olivia]

You had a cocked and loaded gun on the seat? Breaks so many rules I can't even start thinking.

He saw the hollow points? That man had great eye sight. I am scared and I am not even armed here.

I would guess that she cocked the gun when she saw the trouble approaching. Maybe? Very prudent I'd say. As for a loaded gun on the seat? An unloaded gun simply doesn't have the same effect I'm afraid. Uh, the main "rule" is survival. Yeah, those hollow points do show up well. They must've really gotten that young man's attention. I'm glad they weren't needed. O

[Shelly Preston]

For those of you who may be concerned I think you should to read this

http://www.crossdressers.com/forums/...ad.php?t=86109

[tricia_uktv]

I have a danger song I sing to myself whenever I see anything that may cause problems. I also have a wink and a smile. I suspect its not as bad in the UK and certainly not as bad wherte I go dressed.

[Fab Karen]

The main thing is to avoid situations that put you at risk no matter how you present. There are areas of Denver even the people who live there don't want to be out in after dark.


Fear breeds more fear. Just be aware and think about where you go.

Like many who go out, I've never run into violence, and a big part of that is knowing where you're going, avoiding places where trouble might be. And a gun will not stop bullets from another gun. Be aware & cautious, but EXPECTING violence is not the answer.

[Nicki B]

If you live your life in fear, then I'm sad for you. What a miserable, limited existence..

[Tamara Croft]

Either as Steve or Steff, I always carry a firearm(legally, I have a CWL from Florida)

Wow and wow to all the rest that carry firearms, you'd never manage in the UK, you aren't allowed to carry them

[Olivia]

Wow and wow to all the rest that carry firearms, you'd never manage in the UK, you aren't allowed to carry them

I'm sorry. What a sad and depressing place! Please be careful over there.

btw, ever check the stats on violent assaults both before and after the gun bans in the UK? But, it is a different culture than the US. Different history too. Different is good. O