Maybe that’s where one can act to reduce instances of the behavior. Increase expected associated risk by a significant amount. Make it so that it no longer pays off. Unfortunately there seems to be no way to actually enforce a law or norm against street harassment, or to take any action that is both 1) a sufficiently strong deterrent and 2) within the bounds of legality and legitimate self-defense.
Not sure about self-defense, but it might be legal to pull a gun on them on the basis that you wee afraid of rape or something. That should shut them up.
I strongly recommend against deploying a weapon as an empty threat. Don’t pull a gun unless you expect to have both the intent and the willingness to kill. Otherwise you just gave them a weapon and an excuse.
Don’t pull a gun unless you expect to have both the intent and the willingness to kill.
As if the fulfillment of this condition makes it good advice to respond to verbal aggressiveness with gun threats. Worse still, someone who is actually capable of shooting people over lewd remarks would probably be considered too much of a psycho to have been allowed a gun in the first place. (Not disagreeing with you there, just pointing out that there are stronger objections to be raised against that recommendation—from the point of view of legal consequences, not just of immediate safety.)
A not-loaded gun is still a weapon, it’s just one that isn’t useful to somebody lacking in upper-body strength. And they might have loaded guns, and then you’re in a western standoff (cue whistling, tumbleweed) and you’ve brought an awkward metal club to a gunfight. Lets not do that either.
Not sure about self-defense, but it might be legal to pull a gun on them on the basis that you wee afraid of rape or something. That should shut them up.
I strongly recommend against deploying a weapon as an empty threat. Don’t pull a gun unless you expect to have both the intent and the willingness to kill. Otherwise you just gave them a weapon and an excuse.
As if the fulfillment of this condition makes it good advice to respond to verbal aggressiveness with gun threats. Worse still, someone who is actually capable of shooting people over lewd remarks would probably be considered too much of a psycho to have been allowed a gun in the first place. (Not disagreeing with you there, just pointing out that there are stronger objections to be raised against that recommendation—from the point of view of legal consequences, not just of immediate safety.)
I never said the gun should be loaded …
In all seriousness, though, you’re right. Pulling a gun would be a terrible idea, no matter how much the idea amuses me.
A not-loaded gun is still a weapon, it’s just one that isn’t useful to somebody lacking in upper-body strength. And they might have loaded guns, and then you’re in a western standoff (cue whistling, tumbleweed) and you’ve brought an awkward metal club to a gunfight. Lets not do that either.
Not arguing with you there. Funny and safe are entirely different things.