Are we to afraid as a nation???

[elsid13]

Zzzzzap! Taser parties surging in popularity
Stun-gun social events raise self-defense awareness for women
By Bob Considine
TODAYShow.com contributor
updated 10:41 a.m. ET, Wed., Jan. 30, 2008
They are called Taser parties — and the fact they are getting a lot of attention lately is anything but shocking.

“I think it's because I’ve mixed a very commonplace event, like a Tupperware party, with an extremely controversial product like a Taser C2,” said Dana Shafman, an entrepreneur from Phoenix.

Shafman told TODAY co-host Meredith Vieira that while gathering women to look over a pink or leopard-spotted stun gun may seem like a bizarre social gathering, there is actually a seriousness behind it all.

“I think the other thing that we can’t lose sight of is the fact that we’re putting these on the street in an effort to protect women and individuals — not to keep the peace,” Shafman said.

“So I think it’s a more humane way to defend yourself versus choosing a knife or a gun or even a club of some format.”

Shafman, 34, is helping to market the Taser International’s C2 “personal protector” with her “ShieldHer Taser Parties,” though she is not an employee of the Scottsdale, Ariz.-based company.

In a report filed by TODAY’s Jenna Wolfe, Shafman acknowledged it has been an “upward battle” trying to sell the Taser C2 because “most people have never seen one, they’ve never touched one and they don’t know anything about it.”

But Shafman has sold more than 100, at a price of $349.99 each, since her first Taser party on Oct. 15. She does not get a commission, but does receive a discounted dealer rate from Taser International and keeps the difference on the units she sells.

Tasers are illegal in seven states — New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Michigan, Wisconsin and Hawaii — and in Washington, D.C.

But a reported 12,500 police agencies in the U.S. are either using or testing the weapons.

The usage of stun guns has come under fire by Amnesty International.


But Shafman still wants to spread the word. And at her Taser parties, she insists that no alcohol is present.

“I certainly don’t want to be preaching anything with regard to making this a game or fun,” she said. “It is serious and it’s about personal protection.”

There is an element of fun, with some Tasers sold twinned with MP3 players — “for those people who do like to hike or do like to run or to walk by themselves,” she says — and multiple colors, like the popular pink.

“You know, I think like anything else, just as guns come in camouflage and different colors and whatnot, I don’t know that it diminishes the seriousness of the product,” Shafman said.

“But I think regardless, it does make it a little more attractive for people to own. And as far as we’re concerned, [we] obviously position it as a personal safety device and it could possibly save your life or at least prevent you from getting raped or attacked.”


© 2007 MSNBC Interactive
URL: http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/22914136?GT1=10856


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[spdirty]

People are pretty damn stupid sometimes.

[Spider]

Scared ****less , if it wasnt Saddam , it is the guy on the street corner ...

[spdirty]

Scared ****less , if it wasnt Saddam , it is the guy on the street corner ...

Could you imagine livin your life like that?

[TailgateNut]

The Nation of Fear fugged us by voting for Bush. They should all be Tasered.

[Spider]

Could you imagine livin your life like that?

No I couldnt ......

[Rohirrim]

I think 911 made this country nuts.

[Spider]

Man when I was runnin all 48 , there were places they would send me into ,like Hells Kitchen in Brooklyn , hunts point in the Bronxs , FlatBush ave in Brooklyn , 144th and broadway in Harlem , or East LA , Alameda ave and I 5 interchange ,Compton, just about anywhere in Philly ( city of brotherly love my ass ) Miami , as a driver I had to go into these places late night , during the day ....... The only time I was really shook up was in Cincinnati Ohio , it was snowing road conditions were bad , I sawa guy in a old junker ,wearing a helmet ..... Knew right away this guy was an accident looking for a place to happen ;D

[elsid13]

I think 911 made this country nuts.

It was before that, it been this way since the late 70's. 9-11 just redouble the fear in some folks minds. I don't know why people are scared ****-less all the time.

[gunns]

It was before that, it been this way since the late 70's. 9-11 just redouble the fear in some folks minds. I don't know why people are scared ****-less all the time.

It was before the 70's. "The Commies are coming, build a nuke shelter". Bush used 9-11 to redouble the fear. The news we watch each night focuses on the bad that is happening in this country on a continuous basis. Some of it is good, as making us more aware of AIDS and the prevention but most of the time it is not and you can go back from the time we started having news broadcast on TV to see where the fear factor was started and used to control us to an extent. Remember how we were all going to die from legionnaires disease if we used air conditioning?

[Florida_Bronco]

I don't equate self defense to being afraid, not in the very least. Bad things can happen anywhere in the country and citzens can and should take measures to protect themselves.

[Spider]

I don't equate self defense to being afraid, not in the very least. Bad things can happen anywhere in the country and citzens can and should take measures to protect themselves.

no one is saying be a mark , but on the same hand you dont need to shut yourself in a closet , or attack everyone you see as a threat ........

[enjolras]

There's something to our culture of fear..

Since we've moved downtown it's been FASCINATING to see peoples reactions. We feel perfectly comfortable walking around, anytime day or night. You would think that we live in the middle of Somalia. We had buddies who insisted on driving TWO blocks to get to the restaurant because everyone knows that when you walk through a city your bound to get mugged/raped/killed every 5th step.

It's kind of disgusting really.

[sisterhellfyre]

I don't equate self defense to being afraid, not in the very least. Bad things can happen anywhere in the country and citzens can and should take measures to protect themselves.

Thank you, F_B! It's clear as daylight that the responses on this thread so far come from men -- and all hetero white men at that, I'll betcha.

This article is not about "a nation of fear" in reaction to 9/11 or warmongering. It's about women feeling and responding to a reasonable need to protect themselves against assault.

Regards,
m.

[Florida_Bronco]

no one is saying be a mark , but on the same hand you dont need to shut yourself in a closet , or attack everyone you see as a threat ........

Absolutely. It's a fine line that needs to be walked.

[enjolras]

Thank you, F_B! It's clear as daylight that the responses on this thread so far come from men -- and all hetero white men at that, I'll betcha.

Regards,
m.

I'm commenting more on the general culture of fear that we live in... I don't mind someone carrying a taser (hell I'll probably buy one for my wife). I do think there is something to the idea that we have gotten a bit skittish, however.

[Rohirrim]

Thank you, F_B! It's clear as daylight that the responses on this thread so far come from men -- and all hetero white men at that, I'll betcha.

This article is not about "a nation of fear" in reaction to 9/11 or warmongering. It's about women feeling and responding to a reasonable need to protect themselves against assault.

Regards,
m.

Sorry. I was too afraid to read the article.

[L.A. BRONCOS FAN]

Sorry. I was too afraid to read the article.

Ha!

[L.A. BRONCOS FAN]

This article is not about "a nation of fear" in reaction to 9/11 or warmongering. It's about women feeling and responding to a reasonable need to protect themselves against assault.

I was wondering when someone was going to mention this.

I good female friend of mine who lives in Grand Junction, CO has been attacked twice in the last six months by two different scumbags. One was a repeat offender who is now back in prison, and the other was a POS whose advances she refused on the job (his answer was to wait until they were alone and try to force himself on her.)

Do I have a problem with her leaving the house strapped?

Not in the least.

[Arkie]

I like Cincinnati. There's a nice steak house down there by the river. There's a floating Hooters for those who can't wait for the steak house. I can't remember the name.

[baja]

Cabo is getting dangerous to the extreme.

[alkemical]

I know my one buddy doesn't like his wife going to the grocery store after dark by herself - because something might happen (Mind you, we live in dangerous suburbia). As well as some other friends who subscribe to this 'bogeyman' that's always out to get us.

I honestly don't get it. ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN ANYTIME, ANYWHERE! Well, no ****. I can have something "bad" happen at any moment anytime. Just prefer to LIVE life, instead of fearing it.

I don't really understand FEAR. But FEAR shuts off logic circuits in the brain:

http://www.newsweek.com/id/78178

The Roots of Fear

The evolutionary primacy of the brain's fear circuitry makes it more powerful than reasoning circuits.


"The evolutionary primacy of the brain's fear circuitry makes it more powerful than the brain's reasoning faculties. The amygdala sprouts a profusion of connections to higher brain regions—neurons that carry one-way traffic from amygdala to neocortex. Few connections run from the cortex to the amygdala, however. That allows the amygdala to override the products of the logical, thoughtful cortex, but not vice versa. So although it is sometimes possible to think yourself out of fear ("I know that dark shape in the alley is just a trash can"), it takes great effort and persistence. Instead, fear tends to overrule reason, as the amygdala hobbles our logic and reasoning circuits. That makes fear "far, far more powerful than reason," says neurobiologist Michael Fanselow of the University of California, Los Angeles. "It evolved as a mechanism to protect us from life-threatening situations, and from an evolutionary standpoint there's nothing more important than that."

[TailgateNut]

I know my one buddy doesn't like his wife going to the grocery store after dark by herself - because something might happen (Mind you, we live in dangerous suburbia). As well as some other friends who subscribe to this 'bogeyman' that's always out to get us.

I honestly don't get it. ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN ANYTIME, ANYWHERE! Well, no ****. I can have something "bad" happen at any moment anytime. Just prefer to LIVE life, instead of fearing it.

I don't really understand FEAR. But FEAR shuts off logic circuits in the brain:

http://www.newsweek.com/id/78178

The Roots of Fear

The evolutionary primacy of the brain's fear circuitry makes it more powerful than reasoning circuits.


"The evolutionary primacy of the brain's fear circuitry makes it more powerful than the brain's reasoning faculties. The amygdala sprouts a profusion of connections to higher brain regions—neurons that carry one-way traffic from amygdala to neocortex. Few connections run from the cortex to the amygdala, however. That allows the amygdala to override the products of the logical, thoughtful cortex, but not vice versa. So although it is sometimes possible to think yourself out of fear ("I know that dark shape in the alley is just a trash can"), it takes great effort and persistence. Instead, fear tends to overrule reason, as the amygdala hobbles our logic and reasoning circuits. That makes fear "far, far more powerful than reason," says neurobiologist Michael Fanselow of the University of California, Los Angeles. "It evolved as a mechanism to protect us from life-threatening situations, and from an evolutionary standpoint there's nothing more important than that."

Embrace your fears! I remember the first time I jumped out of a plane, I was petrified until I did. The first time i went over the side of a thirty story bldg, in a man-basket, I was petrified, until I did. The first time I rapelled out of a chopper, I was petrified, until I did. I've always been sort-a, kinda afraid of heights, but I've alway disregarded what my brain told me.
I guess I don't listen very well!;D