Quote from: lemon_ice on July 19, 2014, 08:02:39 PM
Well I have two rather powerful laser satellites in geostationary orbit which I've found to be fairly effective. Target acquisition and locking takes about 3 seconds (which can seem like ages sometimes), and the target must be at least about 3 meters away to avoid any unsightly burns to ones outfit and hairdo from the superheated vapour generated during destruction of the target. Their effectiveness can be hampered in built up areas too, especially in higher latitudes as the angle of incidence of the beam approximates the target locations' latitudinal angle, however I've found a couple of warning pulses sufficient to scare off most potential attackers : ) I'm currently working at having two more launched to achieve global coverage between 60 degrees north and south latitudes, so I should be pretty safe as long as I stay away from polar regions lol.

And if the satellites don't do the trick, then I just run away really fast (that's the one sport I was good at luckily). I would probably just hurt myself with any hand weapon lol.

Don't you get covered in human dust upon the vaporization of said criminal? Seems like it would be effective, yet dusty. lol

Humans are actually mostly made of water, so its mostly hot water vapour that is produced, the rest gets rapidly combusted due the presence of free oxygen in our atmosphere, although you can get the odd bone fragment which gets blown out of the beam before being completely vaporised but no real dust per say. If you were thinking of a war of the worlds type dust effect, then that film was a little misleading fortunately : )

I conceal carry here as well. I've seen more transfolks here in Anchorage than I did in Virginia Beach but Alaska's a pretty red state still.

Quote from: Ptarus on July 19, 2014, 07:27:38 PM
Wow, I never realized how strict self defense item laws were in other places.

Up here in alaska you just buy a gun and stick it on your hip...or get a holster that allows you to conceal it in your pants. Whats the point of having a gun though if you're going to hide it, I feel like its better to have it there in plain view so a potential attacker would see it and think twice about their actions.

Either way, just find a trustworthy friend to accompany you while out and about. I have two good friends who are transitioning at the moment and I am VERY over protective of them. Unfortunately there are a lot of Homophobic/Racist people up here and we have had a few confrontations, but like I said, gun on the hip will most likely defuse the situation before is gets past audible confrontation and into the more physical type of situation.

Definitely carry a flashlight with some sort of strobe option, try to get one with the window punch thing on it. Attackers may not be car windows, but you can break them like one of you need to

Grow out them fingernails! Can't carry a knife? oh thats okay, I have 10 knifes on me at all times lol

Always carry a very hot drink while traveling through the parking lot to your car, use it like a bomb on some fool who thinks he's going to pull a fast one. Maybe.

My ideas are getting worse, I'll end it at using coffee as a weapon.

I look forward to seeing some new ideas though so I can relay them to my friends.

Plenty of good advice here I think. Just remember though you DONT want to get into a hand to hand situation with a MALE...if your on HRT you know that now your weak and you more than likely weigh alot less than them. Pulling your kick ass blade is really risky, evidence is out there that ppl get killed by there own weapons. Remember as unacceptable as this is, that person might just been a idiot trying to intimidate you, you freak pull a knife, he freaks it spirals to the next level, you don't want that.
I learned not long ago with a fail date as a MtF I need to take more precautions(nothing bad happened he was just an ->-bleeped-<-)...get some one to ring you occasionally if your going somewhere, you ring them whatever keep in contact, let ppl know where your going, have escape routes planned, be aware, watch ppl, gauge them, follow ur instinct, travel in grps or at least pairs were possible, dont drink alone in a public place, if it feels wrong - get out asap.
Above all be safe, whilst weaponry is good and can be a deterrent, being smareter and more aware in general saves more lives(at least in my country) than lugging around 2 knives, 1 pepper spray, a handgun and a bazooka around on ur back. GI Jane was a movie yo

One of the easiest ways to protect yourself is to avoid situations where you have to. Don't park far away from wherever it is you're going and if you can't avoid doing so park in a well lit area. Avoiding downtown bars and drinking is a good idea and if you do imbibe go with friends. There is safety in numbers. If you have to park far from the entrance of a place like Walmart ask security to escort you to your car. Keep your keys in hand and if someone comes at you rake them across the eyes and run, screaming like a banshee. You want to attract attention to yourself if someone is attacking you. If someone is sexually assaulting you urinate on yourself whilst screaming. This is taught in basic self defense courses for women and is a deterrent.

Quote from: MikaylaGC on July 19, 2014, 11:12:43 PM
Plenty of good advice here I think. Just remember though you DONT want to get into a hand to hand situation with a MALE...if your on HRT you know that now your weak and you more than likely weigh alot less than them. Pulling your kick ass blade is really risky, evidence is out there that ppl get killed by there own weapons. Remember as unacceptable as this is, that person might just been a idiot trying to intimidate you, you freak pull a knife, he freaks it spirals to the next level, you don't want that.
I learned not long ago with a fail date as a MtF I need to take more precautions(nothing bad happened he was just an ->-bleeped-<-)...get some one to ring you occasionally if your going somewhere, you ring them whatever keep in contact, let ppl know where your going, have escape routes planned, be aware, watch ppl, gauge them, follow ur instinct, travel in grps or at least pairs were possible, dont drink alone in a public place, if it feels wrong - get out asap.
Above all be safe, whilst weaponry is good and can be a deterrent, being smareter and more aware in general saves more lives(at least in my country) than lugging around 2 knives, 1 pepper spray, a handgun and a bazooka around on ur back. GI Jane was a movie yo

Apologies for simply reiterating the amazing variety of advice and insights from people above but I'd just like to stress the importance of ascertaining the law in your jurisdiction prior to carrying anything for self-defence that might be illegal. I appreciate that some people may regard risking prosecution as better than risking being killed but I think it's important that it's a choice rather than simply not knowing the law.

For instance, I believe in England and Wales public possession of "any article made or adapted for use to causing injury to the person, or intended by the person having it with him for such use" is prohibited with exceptions for "lawful authority or reasonable excuse" (as far as I know, neither of those includes self-defence. They refer to things like tools needed for a profession.). Further, the use of force is limited to what observers would deem to be reasonable and proportional.

Personally, I carry a bright torch and always have a rather large and heavy umbrella with a handle akin to a truncheon in the side pocket of any bag so I can argue that carrying it was legitimate for dealing with the unpredictability of British weather when out and I merely grabbed it in the moment. Also, I'm prepared to make a lot of noise and focus on the idea of creating a window for escape. I wouldn't personally risk carrying an actual weapon since I simply can't risk prosecution and I've seen quite a few statistics that show you're more likely to suffer serious injury in an attack if you have an actual weapon due to the way it alters the dynamics of the situation.

The stereotypes about the origin of threats seem quite inaccurate in a lot of cases to me so I'd suggest that's important to remember. As far as I'm aware, threats for a lot of crimes against the person are largely from people that are known to the victim, varying from acquaintances to those deeply loved. Naturally, this varies for trans people due to belonging to a group that is often degraded by the public so I'd guess stranger attacks are elevated. While I'm not advocating that you don't allow yourself to be happy due to never trusting and by constantly being guarded, I'd suggest not allowing your judgement to be clouded by the belief it'll always be strangers in dark places that will take advantage.

Finally, I know it's not easy to do but please try not blaming yourself if you ever do get attacked. Following advice for hypothetical situations is understandable but it isn't your fault if you skipped a particular thing or didn't take more steps or lapsed in adhering to them for a while or just lived life as you wish. The fault will always solely belong to the person that violated you. You shouldn't have to protect yourself or limit your life choices to do that, it's never ever your fault. Try not to internalise advice given about hypothetical scenarios before-the-fact to the point that you add to your suffering via self-blame after-the-fact. You inherently deserve better.

I got cornered in a very dark secluded parking lot by someone a few months ago when I was out alone.  It flipped a switch in me.  Now I'm terrified to leave my apt any other way than in boy mode. Scared me half to death.  I'll probably arm myself from here on out because of it.  I'm trained to shoot, so a nice little compact 40 should do the trick

Avoid high risk areas if possible,the best self defense is not to be there.Stick to main streets with many passers by,predators are cowards and rarely go one to one.If you can't run away and are cornered be prepared to fight dirty,fingers in eyes,nails down faces(handy to get DNA),pull hair hard,try to tear or bite an ear off (it sounds gross but hurts like hell),fingers up nostrils,don't just kick balls a broken or dislocated knee hurts like hell and will give you time to escape.Use the fleshy part of your fist like a hammer you'll hurt yourself less,grip either side of the windpipe and squeze hard.

Quote from: Lonicera on July 20, 2014, 08:12:33 AM
Finally, I know it's not easy to do but please try not blaming yourself if you ever do get attacked. Following advice for hypothetical situations is understandable but it isn't your fault if you skipped a particular thing or didn't take more steps or lapsed in adhering to them for a while or just lived life as you wish. The fault will always solely belong to the person that violated you. You shouldn't have to protect yourself or limit your life choices to do that, it's never ever your fault. Try not to internalise advice given about hypothetical scenarios before-the-fact to the point that you add to your suffering via self-blame after-the-fact. You inherently deserve better.

Thank you for saying this!