My letter to the editorial of a local rag

[jeepmor]

This is a letter I submitted to the Portland Tribune regarding the Portland Police's unsolved rape cases. The Tribune is a local free rag that's actually pretty decent IMO. Interpretation, fairly straight forward with their delivery of facts instead of lots of slant to one side or the other as typical in rags like Willamette Week or the Oregonian. I was pleasantly surprised to be contacted by the editor asking permission to print the letter. Not sure if it will print or not, but the fact that they even got back to me bolstered my respect for their points of view, or willingness to at least consider printing a pro self defense stance. My only chink I can see would be my acceptance of these rapists being injured and/or killed and not feeling sorry for them. Might be a rather callous approach to a soft readership, but we are talking about rapists here, not fuzzy bunnies.


Original story link so you can verify my source and honesty in posting it w/o alteration.
http://www.portlandtribune.com/opinion/story.php?story_id=118245714662664800

City must do more to solve rape cases
The Portland Tribune, Jun 22, 2007

Portland’s unacceptably low rate of solving rape cases demands immediate action.

A report released this week by city Auditor Gary Blackmer is an indictment of this city’s entire system for responding to reports of sexual assault. High turnover, poor case management, a lack of training and a failure to aggressively pursue cases are among factors leading to Portland’s dismal 16 percent rate for solving rape cases.

That’s one of the poorest response rates of major U.S. cities. The immediate goal for Portland Police Chief Rosie Sizer and her department must be to bring Portland’s capabilities in line with national averages.

But Portland residents shouldn’t be satisfied simply with being “average” when it comes to rape investigations. City, county and law enforcement officials must immediately address residents’ expectations for far better public safety.

Certainly, Portland ought to be at least as prepared to respond to sexual assaults as other major cities. But such a measurement is frankly inadequate for a city that aspires to be safer and to offer a higher quality of life than merely the norm.

My response
LETTER_CONTENT: pertaining to the unsolved rape cases.


I fail to understand how finding these rapists will be more effective for society as a whole. Sure, it will put the offenders away. However, this is America, and we have a right to bear arms. Also, this is Oregon, a shall issue state for concealed handgun licenses. From a pro-active approach, we should be encouraging women to get their CHL and train to defend themselves. The community, papers like the Portland Tribune, should then be boasting the high percentages of women carrying concealed weapons per capita. This would create a deterrent before the fact.


Recent events have made my wife feel this way. Why should she be expecting the police to find the offender when the offender should be dealt with proactively instead of after the fact. Sure, some offenders will be injured, some fatally, at least we can hope so for these type of predators deserve this type of treatment in my opinion. However, for the most part, they will simply turn tail and run, leaving the woman uninjured without her having to go through an earthshattering event on her psyche.

Regards,
Tom

 

[jeepmor]

Any inputs?

How'd I do?

I appreciate any critique because I find myself responding to these issues quite often and want to be careful to help our cause, not hurt it. I really can't sway some of the emotional responses that typically ensue over the RKBA issues from the non-beleivers. We can all agree that women should not be victims in the first place regardless of what a police bureau does to solve crimes.

 

[armedandsafe]

I do agree with your surmise that being crass about the possibility of a rapist or other violent criminal being injured or killed might turn some people off and thus ignore the point of your sermon. However much I might agree with your sentiments, we must remember that we must bring these people along gently.

Good letter. Well composed and logical. Well done.

Pops

 

[Baba Louie]

Devil's Advocate

I really can't sway some of the emotional responses that typically ensue over the RKBA issues from the non-beleivers. We can all agree that women should not be victims in the first place regardless of what a police bureau does to solve crimes.

To sway some, it might be a tactic worthy of consideration to take the other road, (tongue in cheek) i.e., that of the avowed "anti-gun" position and claim that it is better for society overall to have 100 victims of this despicable crime than to have one poor misjudged violent sexual predator killed or injured at the hand of some wiley gun toting female who is lying in wait to ambush an "alleged" rapist, a policy you have accepted over the years and learned from the Brady Campaign, VPC, and the Million Moms March movement. In other words, play the "Devil's Advocate". That it is far, far better to "Let the Police" solve the crime after the fact than to take the law into one's hands.

Such a slant would probably garner several dozen or scores of response follow up letters rebutting the position stated above. (Editors love it when they have controversy that actually gets read.) Of course you'd end up having your clock cleaned by any and every right thinking individual who writes in response to such a position not to mention you'd have to stomach bearing false witness...

Naaaah. Never mind. While I'm sure it would work to generate lively rebuttal and make some people think, it's not worth selling your soul over.

Per your letter, any woman who actually did take matters into her own hands and successfully defended her life would still, probably find herself

having to go through an earthshattering event on her psyche.