Why should walkers, runners and hikers carry pepper spray?

Why not? Women and men should always carry self defense products if they are walking, running or hiking alone.

This statement was not acceptable in a women's message board I posted recently. I contributed to a "Walking" discussion on a well known women's publication, which shall remain anonymous. A particular woman had posted that she was getting ready to go on her walk and was taking her cell phone for safety. I replied to her post that she would be much safer carrying a pepper spray or stun gun instead. Well, a few minutes later, the moderator of the message board for walking women, reprimanded me. She mentioned that I should not scare women and that I should only post the pleasurable things about why they walk. She also mentioned that women should not be constantly worried about their safety while walking and that doing so would make their walks less enjoyable... Of course, I didn't want to be banned from this discussion board, so I did not comment back. But, I can think of many reasons why my comment was necessary and important for walkers, runners and hikers.

A question I would have liked to have asked the walking women's moderator was, 'Do you buckle up when you get in your car to drive?'. This is a very fair question and analogues to the topic in question. Most all of us do buckle and forget about it and continue to drive. Well, the same thing applies while practicing personal safety by carrying a personal spray or self defense spray that you can put on your keychain, belt or in your pocket. It's a habit that you develop and also a good one! You don't drive down the street constantly in fear of an accident, just because you have your seat belt fastened, but you do feel safer knowing that you're buckled up! The same applies to self defense products such as a pepper spray. Walkers, runners and hikers that carry a personal spray, can actually enjoy more of their training routine because they know that they are carrying some sort of personal protection. There are other similar comparisons to using self defense products such as, 'Why wear a helmet while riding your motorcycle?' or 'Why put on knee pads when skating?', etc... All of these personal safety habits we practice, keeps us safer and NO, they do not make our time less enjoyable, on the contrary, it makes us feel protected.

Whether you carry a personal spray, stun gun, personal alarm or even a taser, you will certainly feel more at ease knowing that you have some sort of personal safety!