On Self-Defense - Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Yes, I too never thought in a million years I'd ever be writing on this subject; however, a fellow Hiv/AIDS activist posted a tiny snippet in regards to a growing increase of physical attacks/hate crimes against members of the Canadian LGBT community on his homepage yesterday and I felt compelled to write about this. God, I hope I am not the only person who saw that. I've been so intent on journalizing my own experiences, as well as trying to stay on top of the gazillion postings in regards to the Hiv/AIDS situation and international Pride celebrations that I haven't thought much about the issue of hate crimes lately. We all need to stay on top of this issue people.

I don't know what internet resources, magazines, organizations, etc., in Canada monitor this stuff but I do remember when I had an actual paper subscription to The Advocate, the editors at one time - back in the mid 80's or so - would report on any and all such incidences in almost every issue, i.e., continual updates in every single issue, no if's-and's-or-but's.

The source on that particular posting looked like Edge magazine out of New York. I realize that the Canadians are very taken with what goes on in New York City as much as the Americans are but c'mon, aren't there any Canadian watchdog groups keeping an eye on anti-LGBT violence over there? It's a big country, so someone has to be monitoring this kinda stuff, they just have to.

Regardless, here's what we're gonna do. I'm going to share with you one of the best self-defense actions on the planet and then explain the pro's and con's (there arent many on this one folks) of it with you. No, this does not mean I'm an expert, just sharing with you what I know and have experienced. My father was a US Marine, circa 1955-1956, and I don't know if they still teach this one in the Marines or not, but I've had to use it only twice in my life and it worked perfectly each time. Remember, I do NOT advocate physical violence of any kind, both towards others as well as the animal kingdom; but, when it boils down to it, if you're fighting against someone to preserve your life, this just might help you.

If someone is attacking you - to rob, rape or kick the stuffing out of you - you need to hit with your fists/hands - doesnt matter if its up, down, sidewys - their throat and neck area with as much might as is humanly possible from the strength of your own body. Doesn't matter what section, you hit their throat and neck area with everything you got - is this understood?

Do not think about how much or how badly you will harm the other person. Why? Do you honestly think they are worried about how much they are going to harm you?

The reason for this action of self-defense is this - you want to disable your attacker, if it means knocking the wind out of them, injuring their throat area, it doesn't matter - your goal IS to knock the wind out of them so that you can escape to safety. Dont you dare for one second think of the moral conscience issue when you are fighting for your life cause if you do you just may very well be pushing up daisies the next day. It doesn't matter how bad your attacker is injured, again, you need to disable the other person and do your best to reach safety. Remember, your attacker isnt going to be thinking about what the end result is from them harming you so why should you be concerned with harming them? You're not, you're protecting yourself - it's that plain and simple.

This method works. I've had to use it twice in my life - once during middle school when I was being bullied and a 2nd time as an adult when a couple of guys at a bar in Long Beach, CA tried cornering me in the bathroom.

I endorse this method because it worked for me based on my own personal experiences. In the event that you're attacker is armed or carrying a concealed weapon such as a knife or a gun, then I recommend you check with your local law enforcement center or local LGBT community center to see how those places suggest you handle the situation. Actually, I could even tell you how to handle those scenarioes too but in this instance, with my luck at least, I'd give you guys the advice, someone would attempt it and then some night while I'm writing in this blog an angel with wings would appear over my left shoulder and say "Spice, you fucker, look what happened!!!" Trust me, it could happen only to me people, only to me.

In closing, please, I implore of all of you this - if you're going somewhere by yourself or even with a couple friends, and the immediate vicinity is questionable in nature, please communicate with friends and family where you're going, what the game-plan is and arrange a time to communicate with each other, okay? We can't fight for all the causes we believe in or spend quality time with those we care about if we don't take care of our own personal safety first, okay? Thank you for reading.