Always thought carrying pepper spray was paranoid until an off-duty cop at my diner showed me how he used it to break up a fight last Tuesday without throwing a single punch.

I switched from a pocket knife to pepper spray on my keychain after he explained it gives you distance from an attacker, and now I just wonder how many close calls I had before that guy set me straight.

2 comments

2 Comments

richardk2611d agoTop Commenter

Huh. Never thought of it that way. Distance changes everything.

taylorm8911d ago

Distance is the whole game. People think a knife gives you an edge but you have to get close enough to use it which puts you right in their reach. With pepper spray you can tag someone from six feet away and still have room to move back or run. That off-duty cop probably knew how fast a fight can close the gap and he wanted to keep the gap open. Ngl it changed my whole thinking about self defense too because I used to carry a little folding knife and now I just keep a small spray can on my keys. Pepper spray also works on multiple people if theyre all in the same area which a knife cant really do.