The Mostly Silent Destroyer

By Kellene Bishop

Silence.

Loneliness.

Darkness.

Fear.

Most humans feel such troubling emotions at some point—however brief or extended—in life. We struggle to fight against their powerful grasp. In desperation we look to others for comfort and love and support, and when achieved, we eventually move forward stronger than before. But what if those people we trust to pull us out of the misery are those who darken and destroy—the very manufacturers of our fear?

This is the reality for more than 200,000 American women every year.

Rape is a disgusting and horrifying crime, and to most women, their greatest nightmare. The very thought of the word repulses most. According to FBI records, more than 90,000 attacks are reported every year in the U.S. That number, though high and unfortunate, pales in comparison to what’s really happening. The U.S. Department of Justice estimates that more than 300,000 women are forced to survive a rape each year. But according to other studies, less than one in three women reports their real-life nightmare to police or other authorities. Additionally, it’s important to understand that the numbers which the FBI reports are conveyed to them by police stations all over the U.S. Unfortunately countless police stations are found to be inconsistent in properly reporting rapes as well. To me this is akin to assault on the woman. And it’s nothing short of shameful.

In addition to the callous approach the police departments employ in reporting rape statistics to the FBI, “shame” also has a lot to do with many women not reporting such attacks. Alcohol consumption and drug abuse are often familiar prequels to rape, and no women would want to be labeled as an abuser or out of control. And due to natural side effects of substances, it’s common the victim is entirely unaware of what, if anything at all, even happened. Also, in some micro-cultures which have filtered into the U.S. from regions worldwide, rape victims are inexplicably seen as dirty, shamed, and of less worth to their families, recognized as being at fault for having lead-on the attacker. Having to relive the horrors of the incident to fill out a report and even testify in court understandably seems too much to handle. Ironically, many take an even more difficult path which requires silence, but ultimately does more damage emotionally, as well as physically and subsequently financially.

As is presently reported, the majority of rape victims, 52% in fact, are females younger than 26. Many are in college and pursuing goals and careers. These are independent women with oft-heard opinions and strong voices. So why are they suffering their assaults in silence? Because two-thirds of all perpetrators are either friends, regular associates, or even intimate partners. Sixty-four percent of the time the woman is raped by a trusted companion! That’s a particularly dangerous problem because the ripple effect brutalizes them once again at close range. Oft times the woman victim has deep emotional feelings and even sincere love for the attacker so the crime is never reported, opting instead to give the perpetrator another chance.

According to the justice department, it’s rare that attackers use extreme force or brutality during the rape, even though psychologists believe it to be an act of dominion and power. Consequently, it’s rare that there is an abundance of physical evidence surrounding the attack. This is another reason why more rapes aren’t reported by victims and police departments, and why more perpetrators aren’t taken to court. Without physical evidence, and because of the commonality of alcohol and drug abuse during the act, the charge seemingly amounts to little more than a victim’s personal vendetta against her attacker. It’s her word against his, and he’s innocent until proven guilty.

The nightmare continues. The survivor sits alone in silence, darkness, and fear… unless.

What if women stopped relying on the police departments to protect them from this heinous crime? What if, instead, women took their safety into their own hands by becoming fully informed and educated on how to recognize a looming rape occurrence and how to successfully thwart it? A physical self-defense series. A self-defense firearm training class. All of these are ideal counter-measures to ensure that you never have to become a survivor and be left to simply dance to the present music that’s played nationwide. If a rape is fought back with skill and a pre-conditioned mind, then the survivor will be able to much better cope with the incident, leaving it behind with a sense of conquering evil rather than being trampled in its path.

Copyright 2009 Kellene Bishop. All rights reserved.
You are welcome to repost this information so long as it is credited to Kellene Bishop.

Why We Fear Guns

If guns are good for us, then why are they so controversial? Why are we afraid of them?

Well, the answer is short and sweet—manipulation.

Even in the movies we love, guns are typically portrayed in a negative light. They are used by “bad guys” to commit unspeakable horror, and they are used by “law enforcement officers” to fight the bad guys, they are used in times of intense war, or they are used by decent people who mistakenly take the law into their own hands.

Additionally, the media in general has cast an ugly skewed shadow on the consequences of having a gun in the home, the stereotype of those who carry guns, and the supposed harm that such items cause to an otherwise civil society. In fact, even the word “assault weapon” was created by the anti-gun individuals and the media as an accomplice to impose a derogatory and frightening mental picture associated with any firearm resembling a rifle (The phrase “assault weapon” is clearly one of many mischaracterizations of a firearm. The word “assault” denotes an act of aggressive proactive behavior. If that were really the case, perhaps we should call all fishing rods an “assault rod”).

In other words, the first reason why we’ve come to fear guns so badly is because the only education we receive typically is at the hands the media or the movie industry. Now that I think about it, with the exception of the movie The Patriot, I don’t recall seeing any movie that promoted the right to keep and bear arms and the necessity of such to ensure a free country in an appropriate light. In a movie we see and hear the big blast of a firearm, see the ensuing (and predictably obligatory) blood splatters, and that’s the picture we have training our mind about guns. We never get to see and thus to better feel the relief one would have in truly being able to defend themselves from a violent crime on the big screen. And rarely, if ever, do we hear in the media of all of the crimes that are prevented by the use of a firearm in the hands of a responsible and competent citizen. Nope. The only way you can find out about that is to join some kind of 2nd Amendment activist group or purchase books which look like they were produced with a small budget.

Do you have any idea of how hard I had to search just to find the FBI statistic which states that the mere presence of a firearm in the hands of our citizens prevents over 5,500 crimes PER DAY? Nope. You’ll never see a mainstream newspaper put that in their headlines.

In other words, all of our firearm education is through the stunning special effects and loud professional voices of manipulation by those who would have us believe that the use of a firearm for self-defense is a barbaric tactic.

Not to say that your parents were wrong in the choices they made in raising you, but they have a great deal of responsibility in your feelings towards gun as well. In their defense, they were fed the same “state of reality” growing up through the movies, media, etc. I’m curious how far back in history I’d have to go to find a time when we actually taught about all of the components of the Constitution in elementary or middle school. Regardless, your parents didn’t have such education. AND they weren’t raised in a time where thousands of gangs roam our nation committed to wreaking terror and death throughout, periodic invasions from foreign terrorists, a stark imbalance between law enforcement protection and the citizens, record numbers of overcrowding in our jails, rampant substance abuse, the highest level of violent crime in the history of our nation and a laissez faire attitude and naïveté that opens us to even more crimes. I could point out many more societal changes which may dictate that we have more reasons to take personal responsibility for our own effective self-defense today rather than yesterday, but I don’t really want this to appear too doom and gloom. I guess I could have summed this part up by simply saying that your folks were raised in a different time of violence and crime and thus the likelihood that you were raised unaware and uneducated in matters of firearm defense is very likely. They were subjected to the same glitzy, high-budget media and movie education that everyone else is.

Now I don’t know about you, but when I find that I’m being manipulated, I tend to resist—fiercely. In fact, when I’m listening to a professional speaker on a stage who is so predictably trying to get the audience to bob their heads in agreement or to contrive a laugh from the audience, I personally rebel and refuse to submit. So, when I see that I’m being manipulated by one side of the topic, I make it a point to get the whole story…full education. As a result, I’ve come to believe strongly in the necessity of learning how to use a firearm in self-defense AND ensure that such a right as a citizen of this nation is never threatened.

The myths are that guns are symbols of violence, whereas I now see them as a symbol of enduring peace in a violent world around me.

The myth is that guns are used by insecure, mentally deranged people. I find that my ability to competently use a firearm eliminates fear in my life and thus I’m able to replace that fear with confidence and unmask other positive attributes which I possess.

The myth is that guns kill lots of people every year. The fact is they do, but typically in the hands of criminals. The biggest killer of our American citizens is medical errors, followed by heart disease, and then cancer. Seriously, statistically, doctors who cause death by dereliction are 9,000 times more dangerous than guns held by legal gun owners! And yet no one has ever run a news story that paints doctors and hospital staff in the same barbaric light as gun owners.

Additional consideration is the number of violent crimes that are committed by illegal immigrants in our country. Illegal immigrants kill over 8,000 legal American citizens in our country every year, and are also responsible for sexually assaulting over 2,000 of our children every year and yet we can’t seem to lobby against them.

Lastly, there’s the myth is that a gun in the house will result in a fatal accident among children or others. The fact is if you don’t know how to use and be safe with a firearm, your chances of an accident happening are sky-high – not just in your home, but in the home of your neighbors whom your children visit. If you don’t know about firearms and their workings, how do you know you’ll act appropriately if you walk in on a child who has one in their hands? Education is the key. Curiosity and ignorance is a deadly combination and is what causes accidents. Not guns. Attempting to say as much is like saying that pencils cause spelling errors.

I’m completely accepting of the fact that someone chooses not to have a firearm so long as that person makes the decision with full knowledge of the facts rather than the myths. So please, get informed and then make your decision. If you do choose to get educated on the USE of a firearm, Women of Caliber will be here for you with the most expert training available for women—by women.

Copyright 2009 Kellene Bishop. All rights reserved. You are welcome to repost this information so long as it is credited to Kellene Bishop.