# RAAP (Rape Assistance & Awareness Program) volunteers **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [November 7, 2013, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/raap-rape-assistance-awareness-program-volunteers/673333 "2013-11-07T15:14:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2013, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/raap-rape-assistance-awareness-program-volunteers/673333/41 "2013-11-08T15:58:01Z")
Me thinks chacoguy is of the offenderati and take great joy in going around looking for things to get offended about. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2013, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/raap-rape-assistance-awareness-program-volunteers/673333/42 "2013-11-08T16:59:53Z")
> [@Drunky\_Smurf](#): > > Me thinks chacoguy is of the offenderati … Perhaps, but he certainly knows how to lay down a curse. I might just have to drop that one on the next person who pisses me off. ---
**Author:** ![thisishowwepray](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7feea3/32.png) [@thisishowwepray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thisishowwepray)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2013, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/raap-rape-assistance-awareness-program-volunteers/673333/43 "2013-11-08T18:52:50Z")
> [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](#): > > If she’s wearing a parka, she’s just asking for it. Am I the only one who finds it odd that the OP found what she was wearing and her body size (down to her estimated weight) relevant at all to the topic? Would it have been a different situation in terms of the OP’s perceived “irony” if she had been wearing something else or was a different size? ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2013, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/raap-rape-assistance-awareness-program-volunteers/673333/44 "2013-11-08T19:22:42Z")
> [@thisishowwepray](#): > > Am I the only one who finds it odd that the OP found what she was wearing and her body size (down to her estimated weight) relevant at all to the topic? I thought they were both pretty obviously relevant to the woman’s perceived ability to defend herself, which was the whole point of the OP. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2013, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/raap-rape-assistance-awareness-program-volunteers/673333/45 "2013-11-08T20:12:42Z")
> [@chacoguy](#): > > You Sir, are a vile piece of shit. The fact that you “Casually” check out a woman’s ability to defend herself or flee disgusts me. I hope you die naked, cold an alone after the Aryan Nations has traded you like cigarettes in the Kingdom of the Damned. [Moderating] Wishing death on other posters is a violation of the board rules. Don’t do this again. No warning issued. [/Moderating] ---
**Author:** ![Penfeather](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penfeather/32/384_2.png) [@Penfeather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Penfeather)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2013, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/raap-rape-assistance-awareness-program-volunteers/673333/46 "2013-11-08T21:00:26Z")
> [@The Great Sun Jester](#): > > Meh, I’ve been in property/casualty insurance so long that hazard assessment and loss mitigation come to me like breathing. Women are not property to be assessed. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2013, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/raap-rape-assistance-awareness-program-volunteers/673333/47 "2013-11-08T21:10:26Z")
> [@Penfeather](#): > > Women are not property to be assessed. Yeah, _that’s_ what I said. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2013, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/raap-rape-assistance-awareness-program-volunteers/673333/48 "2013-11-08T21:50:18Z")
> [@Penfeather](#): > > Women are not property to be assessed. In English the word just before the noun is often used to describe that noun. In that sentence he says “hazard assessment.” If he was assessing property he would have said “property assessment.” I’m glad I could work that out for you. ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_Door](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@Bill\_Door](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_Door)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2013, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/raap-rape-assistance-awareness-program-volunteers/673333/49 "2013-11-08T21:53:32Z")
> [@The Great Sun Jester](#): > > Meh, I’ve been in property/casualty insurance so long that hazard assessment and loss mitigation come to me like breathing. (snip) You’re not very good at it, are you? You figure rapists work from home waiting for drop ins? Maybe pickpockets too, sure they don’t get much traffic, but the commute is a dream. ---
**Author:** ![Penfeather](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penfeather/32/384_2.png) [@Penfeather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Penfeather)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2013, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/raap-rape-assistance-awareness-program-volunteers/673333/50 "2013-11-08T23:04:29Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > In English the word just before the noun is often used to describe that noun. In that sentence he says “hazard assessment.” Yes, and he assesses hazards to what, precisely? ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2013, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/raap-rape-assistance-awareness-program-volunteers/673333/51 "2013-11-09T01:01:30Z")
> [@Penfeather](#): > > Yes, and he assesses hazards to what, precisely? In this case, personal safety. ---
**Author:** ![Human\_Action](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ac91a4/32.png) [@Human\_Action](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Human_Action)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2013, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/raap-rape-assistance-awareness-program-volunteers/673333/52 "2013-11-09T01:37:24Z")
> [@Penfeather](#): > > Yes, and he assesses hazards to what, precisely? People, evidently, if not solely: > [@The Great Sun Jester](#): > > When I go into a new house a part of my brain assesses fire hazards, egress routes, theft deterrence, etc. ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2013, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/raap-rape-assistance-awareness-program-volunteers/673333/53 "2013-11-09T02:15:31Z")
Can someone start a no emotions allowed board? Thank you. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2013, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/raap-rape-assistance-awareness-program-volunteers/673333/54 "2013-11-09T02:22:32Z")
> [@Human\_Action](#): > > People, evidently, if not solely: Pretty much, yeah. Houses and cars and such can be fixed or replaced. People are different, the attractiveness of **grude** ’s proposal notwithstanding. ---
**Author:** ![Human\_Action](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ac91a4/32.png) [@Human\_Action](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Human_Action)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2013, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/raap-rape-assistance-awareness-program-volunteers/673333/55 "2013-11-10T00:06:42Z")
> [@The Great Sun Jester](#): > > Pretty much, yeah. Houses and cars and such can be fixed or replaced. People are different, the attractiveness of **grude** ’s proposal notwithstanding. I added that because of “theft deterrence”, which certainly sounds like a threat to property and not people. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2013, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/raap-rape-assistance-awareness-program-volunteers/673333/56 "2013-11-10T01:19:14Z")
FFS, did people and others come into this thread looking for reasons to be offended? Hazard assessment is a profession that requires him to consider possible hazards to both life and property because they often go hand in hand, and it isn’t something he switches off at 5PM. Any other idiot can figure that out without cue cards. It is unwise to send an attractive, petite woman, with or without a parka, canvassing alone after dark. And if that type draws in extra donations they should be sent out in pairs to get even more money. ---
**Author:** ![MsRobyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90ced4/32.png) [@MsRobyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsRobyn)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2013, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/raap-rape-assistance-awareness-program-volunteers/673333/57 "2013-11-10T02:11:59Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > FFS, did people and others come into this thread looking for reasons to be offended? Hazard assessment is a profession that requires him to consider possible hazards to both life and property because they often go hand in hand, and it isn’t something he switches off at 5PM. Any other idiot can figure that out without cue cards. It is unwise to send an attractive, petite woman, with or without a parka, canvassing alone after dark. > > And if that type draws in extra donations they should be sent out in pairs to get even more money. I came in to post this. In a perfect world, rape would not exist. Sadly, it does. And I know I’m going to be verbally flayed for this, but sometimes it’s a crime of opportunity, and people have the responsibility to reduce that opportunity. When I walk alone at night, as I periodically do, I make it a point to know exactly where I’m going; to stick my ID, cash, and debit card in my back pocket so I don’t have to carry a purse; to carry a cell phone; and to wear flats. It’s not that high heels make women look like whores, it’s that I don’t want to have to worry about tripping and falling if I have to run. I still risk being attacked, but my goal is to make it harder by making myself less of a target. Frankly, the volunteer in the OP could stand a little training in body language to make herself less of a target. ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_Door](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@Bill\_Door](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_Door)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2013, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/raap-rape-assistance-awareness-program-volunteers/673333/58 "2013-11-16T06:04:48Z")
> [@MsRobyn](#): > > I came in to post this. In a perfect world, rape would not exist. Sadly, it does. And I know I’m going to be verbally flayed for this, but sometimes it’s a crime of opportunity, and people have the responsibility to reduce that opportunity. When I walk alone at night, as I periodically do, I make it a point to know exactly where I’m going; to stick my ID, cash, and debit card in my back pocket so I don’t have to carry a purse; to carry a cell phone; and to wear flats. It’s not that high heels make women look like whores, it’s that I don’t want to have to worry about tripping and falling if I have to run. I still risk being attacked, but my goal is to make it harder by making myself less of a target. Frankly, the volunteer in the OP could stand a little training in body language to make herself less of a target. But the fact is that women don’t usually get raped by knocking on people’s doors. Women typically get raped in their own homes by someone they know. Assuming that a random person whose door you knock on is a rapist is a piss poor threat assessment. Yeah, if someone came to her door she would be well advised to be more cautious, but statistically in the situation descriped in the OP she’s more of a threat to him than he is to her. A lot more people are assaulted by the one who comes to the door than vice versa, and someone who assesses threats for a living ought to know that. The danger comes from the one who knocks. Now in the street, you’re a target of opportunity for all sorts of criminals, but rapists, like muggers, don’t wait at home for drop in trade. There’s no percentage in it. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2013, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/raap-rape-assistance-awareness-program-volunteers/673333/59 "2013-11-16T16:20:13Z")
> [@Bill\_Door](#): > > But the fact is that women don’t usually get raped by knocking on people’s doors. Women typically get raped in their own homes by someone they know. Assuming that a random person whose door you knock on is a rapist is a piss poor threat assessment. Yeah, if someone came to her door she would be well advised to be more cautious, but statistically in the situation descriped in the OP she’s more of a threat to him than he is to her. A lot more people are assaulted by the one who comes to the door than vice versa, and someone who assesses threats for a living ought to know that. The danger comes from the one who knocks. > > Now in the street, you’re a target of opportunity for all sorts of criminals, but rapists, like muggers, don’t wait at home for drop in trade. There’s no percentage in it. As with anything in life you weigh the risks. Yes you are correct, the percentages are low. But that one guy who really can’t control himself is going to be horrific and you probably won’t get out alive. Some sex offenders really can’t help themselves. Faulty wiring. I just locked up a guy who went out and reoffended (not as serious a charge as this thankfully) _even though he was wearing a GPS tracking unit_. He just couldn’t stop himself. The percentages are still in your favor but bad things do [happen](http://articles.philly.com/1999-03-20/news/25509975_1_sexual-assault-charges-of-felony-murder-first-degree-murder). Yeah I know that is an old case but it was a huge story here at the time and it changed some laws so I remembered it. ---
**Author:** ![you\_with\_the\_face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ecccb3/32.png) [@you\_with\_the\_face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/you_with_the_face)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2013, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/raap-rape-assistance-awareness-program-volunteers/673333/60 "2013-11-16T17:18:06Z")
For all the OP knows, the woman was packing a loaded gun, a switchblade, and some mace under her parka. So much for that 3-second hazard asssessment, right? This thread is nonsensical on so many levels. When did 7pm become late hours? In what world is it irresponsible for a woman to knock on a stranger’s door alone when the national news isn’t even on yet? What criminal is stupid enough to attack a visitor when it would be ridiculous easy for them to be tracked down? Why didn’t I get the memo that as a woman, I’m being reckless by simply by being outdoors in front of someone’s house without a body guard? Is the next stranger who knocks on my door stupid because I could be the kind of crazy mofo who’d stick a gun in their face and mug them? Even a big strong powerful guy like the OP can’t compete against a gun, and buddying up won’t help either. By golly, the mere idea of this scenario, not matter how unlikely it is, should make everyone worried, right? So let’s stop all door-to-door canvassing. The next time a stranger knocks on my door and fails to brandish a weapon which will enable me to accurately assess his ability to defend himself against me, I will start a Pit thread just like this one. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/raap-rape-assistance-awareness-program-volunteers/673333.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/raap-rape-assistance-awareness-program-volunteers/673333.md?page=4)