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PaperclipPerfector  11d ago (text post)   2465 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for February 21, 2025

Be advised: this thread is not for serious in-depth discussion of weighty topics (we have a link for that), this thread is not for anything Culture War related. This thread is for Fun. You got jokes? Share 'em. You got silly questions? Ask 'em.

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I've been doing this on and off for years now, ever since I moved to Sydney.

Typically I don't carry anything to defend myself, which is maybe not smart - I'm a fairly small guy too so it'd be hard for me to actually physically protect myself if I ever needed to use my fists. I do keep my wits about me and am often prepared to flee the scene if anything occurs (I am reasonably fit, so I do have that going for me), but maybe it's a good idea to bring some means of self-defence just in case.

I'm just inherently not a very fearful or neurotic person. Sydney isn't exceptionally dangerous, and perhaps my threshold for unacceptable risk is a bit skewed because of where I hail from - growing up in a third-world country where one's baseline risk is much higher does things to your risk-aversion. I certainly do have my limits though, there are parts of the city I wouldn't do this in.

How did you identify the actually dangerous parts of the city? Just the poverty and news headlines heuristic, or?

I've thought of wanting some sort of self defense means for walking alone at night/traveling alone, but haven't figured out what. Would a pepper spray be sufficient? Hm.

Just the poverty and news headlines heuristic, or?

Yeah, that's a big consideration, I would be careful in parts of Western Sydney. Frankly, a non-insignificant part of it is also just me going off vibes; it's generally not hard to tell by sight alone which parts of the city are less friendly or maintained and where you might have a higher risk of being jumped. Some element of common sense in there too. Don't walk down back alleys where your avenues of escape are limited, for example, make sure you have ways to remove yourself from the area if a situation arises. Sometimes I do flout that rule, but it's not hard-and-fast, it's just one element that can be used to evaluate on the spot. It's all pretty ad hoc.

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