OC Spray: Of Increasing Importance During Social Decay

I am not sure why so many gun carriers still resist the very notion of also carrying OC (pepper) spray.  For some reason, many can’t come to grips with the fact that they are two different tools, designed for two different reasons.  Here we go, class:

A firearm is for defending yourself or another innocent part against DEADLY ASSUALT.

OC Spray is for defending yourself against SIMPLE ASSUALT.

I am not going to provide the definitions of these two categories of assault here, if you don’t know the difference then you should set that as your top priority rather than your next trip to the range or to the gun store.

As our society deteriorates and certain segments of it feel entitled to get increasingly aggressive with those who simply disagree with them on political and social issues, carrying OC spray is becoming even more important.  It is becoming more of a likelihood that you can be picked out while minding your own business as someone who does not fit in with the mob, and the next thing you know you are being assaulted by some blue-haired social justice warrior activist. 

The argument against carrying OC spray because you carry a gun is a complete fallacy as, again, the two tools are for two different tasks.  For those who argue against carrying OC spray because they are “good with my hands,” I want the large male gym goers who tend to say that to ask themselves, what if you are assaulted by a woman (such as the afore mentioned blue-haired activist)?  Do you really want to be in a position where knocking her out is your only option?  How is that going to look after the fact? 

Even if dealing with another man, I have a hard time agreeing with the notion of going to hands and risking injury and blood-born pathogens rather than being able to spray and break contact.  The ability to force a break in contact is what the citizen self-defender should be after. 

Sure, OC spray is not 100 percent effective, and most weapons are not.  However, it is effective at taking the fight out of an aggressor most the time.  Spray and get away.  Break contact.  Much of the resistance to OC spray that comes from the law enforcement world is because cops need to take custody of the person they just doused with spray, so they end up wearing it as well.  This is completely irrelevant to the citizen, as the foremost mission is to make distance and break contact with the aggressor. 

The reason that I propose OC spray to be the single best less-lethal weapon for the citizen is that it fosters a possible break in contact more than any other option.  As opposed to contact distance weapons, such as impact tools, OC spray provides some standoff distance.  You don’t want to make contact if you don’t have to, as you are most vulnerable to injury at contact distance. 

Further, OC is considered less force than either impact tools or your hands.  impact tools can quite readily fall into the “lethal force” category depending on how they are used, as can hands, whereas OC spray is almost universally considered less-lethal when used appropriately in a defensive capacity.  The ability to force an aggressor to stay at a distance is of enormous advantage.  Even if the opponent fights through the spray, vision is most often impacted to the point that you can break contact with them far more easily than if they have full capability. 

Although I am not affiliated or endorsed in any way by POM, I recommend what works best, and I truly believe that POM OC spray is the best option available.  The standard personal defense canister from POM (their larger options are too large for most people to carry on a daily basis) is ideal in form factor, strong in potency, and offers good range for such a small unit.  Further, the stream pattern from the POM unit is very resistant to wind, blowback, and cross-contamination. 

Equip yourself with OC spray, and, preferably, get some training in its use and deployment.  It is every bit as important as your firearm, and it is a weapon you are, statistically, more likely to use.