04 February 2012

What Is Your Life Worth?

*EDITED FOR CLARITY*

A Girl And Her Gun has a post up about a reply she got regarding a story she wrote here.

She tells for the first time some details about the attack that started her on the road from being anti-gun to being an avid shooter and Second Amendment supporter.  The detail she had consistently left out was the fact that her attacker had her on the ground.*  She doesn't know what would have happened next because of the fortuitous arrival of a couple of cars in the parking lot where the attack was taking place, causing her attacker to flee.

She details the fact that she was compliant, just like the anti's say. She did not resist, she gave her assailant the money he wanted, but he did not break off the attack until he was faced with the possibility of being caught. That, and only that, made him break the attack off and flee.

(beg. edit) So you see, doing what the anti's told her to do did not produce optimal results. Fortunately this story has a happy ending, she escaped serious harm and rather than wrap herself in the cloak of a victim she chose to use this event as motivation to change her life. She decided to never again be a victim, and to that end acquired the equipment and the skills needed to produce a different outcome if she should ever find herself in a similar situation.

But what of those who choose the other path? What of those who would rather curse the darkness than light a candle? (end edit)

You hear it all the time, just give them what they want. Don't struggle, don't fight, don't resist. Your money isn't worth a life, your property isn't worth a life, it's just rape/sex, it isn't worth your life...but what if it is?  At what point do you decide "this is worth fighting for"?

What if, after the money and the property and the rape, what your attacker wants after all is your life?  Is your life worth fighting for? Is your child's life worth fighting for? Her innocence? What is worth fighting for?

If your answer is "none of the above" then let me ask you one more question.

Why bother?

Why bother getting up in the morning at all if there is nothing in your life worth fighting for?  If nothing is really worth it, why bother existing at all? If your life is truly that devoid of purpose, of meaning, why struggle to keep it going? Why not eat that handful of pills, why not fill that tub and grab the razor blades, why not tie that rope around your neck and jump off the chair, the bridge, the cliff?  Why not, if there is nothing that is truly worth fighting for?

Why bother?

If this is you, then you have my pity. I can't imagine feeling this lifeless and empty. I pray that you will find something to fill that void.  Your life does have meaning. It's up to you to find what it is.

(add) AGirl has chosen her path. Which will you choose?

*When I first read this I had to get up and stomp around the house for a while. I'm not related to her, I haven't even met the dear lady, but whenever I read or hear about a woman being knocked around like that it wakes up my inner berzerker and I have to stomp around for a while to put him back to sleep.

The guy that did it is fortunate she left that detail out when she told her hubby about it. He's a Marine, and there is no doubt in my mind that he'd have been out hunting within minutes of hearing about it. IMO he showed amazing restraint not going out anyway, even though he didn't know the gory details.

For my concealed carry class they played the 911 audio of a woman on crutches who was brutally attacked and raped in her own kitchen, after the guy had killed her dogs to get to her. It was all I could do to sit there and listen to it, very disturbing to say the least, and my inner berzerker was in a rage for a while after that; we were in class after all and you just can't go around stomping and cursing at someone else's place.

So if you really think you gotta smack a woman around I'd appreciate it if you didn't do it in my presence. It will just end better for the both of us. Thanks.

7 comments:

Robert Fowler said...

Excellent article. And you bring up a good point, what if what they want is your life?

I read the young lady's story yesterday and was touched by her stark honesty. She has come a long way and she is moving farther up the road every day. I wish her all the best.

Larry said...

Robert, I think she's tougher than she initially gave herself credit for, good on her for refusing to be a victim.
CW, I don't necessarily want to kill someone but if it comes down to a choice between me and them...well I like me a whole lot better than I like them. And if it comes down to a choice between my money/property/etc and my life...well then it wasn't I that set that price, was it?
Thanks for stopping by!

agirlandhergun said...

Well, I wasn't expecting that. I just clicked over her this morning to see what you said and , wham! It happens occasional where I click on a blog and it's about me:). It's a good post. A great one. It was hard for me to read. It made me feel stupid for not fighting, for not getting how valuable me life was. That's not quiet right, I knew it was valuable, but the fight had been totally socialized right out of me. Not to blame anyone. I am a grown adult and I am responsible for my thoughts, my actions. Me and me alone. Anyway, I read this, this morning and it was tough, so I didn't comment. Then I went to train and something remarkable happened there. To long for here. I will post about it, but here's the point. I am strong and I will absolutely, positively, 100% fight for it!!

Quizikle said...

Women and children first, eh what?
Protection of the weak.
The Equalizer? The Peacemaker?

At least in America - maybe not in Italy. But I'm not in Italy.

Q

Larry said...

Yes AG, you are responsible for your actions, which is why you decided to do something about it instead of just being a victim. There are those (japete) who go the other way. You are an inspiration to many, and if just one person reads your blog and says "Yeah, my life IS worth defending!" instead of chosing to be a victim then it is worth all the time and effort you have put into it.
Yep Q, protection of the weak is something I had drilled into me at my father's knee (and sometimes across it), and I'm too darn set in my ways to change it now.
Thanks for dropping by AG and Q!

tanksoldier said...

Your points are valid, but you miss the most important point: She's alive, therefore she fought for her life adequately. Not, perhaps, the way we would prefer and likely not the way she will fight if faced with this situation in the future, but by the only measure that matters she was successful. Very, very often the best you can do is stay alive until help arrives, whether it's a deserted parking lot or the modern battlefield.
Further, she's "alive" as a human being, she hasn't retreated into a shell or allowed her unfortunate experience to sour her life and or her perceptions. She is fighting the effects, and apparently has come back stronger than before.
Despite being hampered by ignorance and misconception, she survived using the only tools then available to her. She has since corrected her deficiencies in education and ability, and is helping others to do the same. Was she lucky? Absolutely... but luck plays as large a part of any conflict as anything else.

Larry said...

tanksoldier, I did not miss that point at all but I did not intend for this post to be about AGirl, other than having her serve as its inspiration. I just did not say it as well as I might have. I have since edited it, and I hope it makes things much clearer now.
Thanks for your service, and thanks for dropping by!