Do normal people fence?
464122
I took it at my YMCA, and yes, pretty much everyone taking the class was normal.  The downside was that I was 29 years old, and the average age of the person in my Y class was probably 16.  Seems to be kind of cool with the kids, not so much the adults.  There were 2 other guys that were of similar ages to me, but they only lasted about 3 weeks.  Then the cheese stood alone.  I lasted about another 3 weeks before quitting, I would have kept going had there been someone closer to my age I think.
901413
I'm an ex-cutter myself; congratulations on giving up the habit--we both know that takes guts. Tell you the truth, it isn't as "bad" as people think it is; it's just socially unacceptable, dangerous in a minor way, and an ineffective way to cope with emotional problems.\n\nCutting is very socially unacceptable, except in very specific cultures--it might be accepted among "goths", or, if it is decorative, among people who are into body modification.\n\nHere's why cutting is socially unacceptable:\n\nWe are all born with a huge instinct for self-preservation. People do amazing things when their lives are in danger; look at any account of people who have survived things like fires, or being trapped in the wilderness, or plane crashes... Human beings are very, very motivated to survive.\n\nThe very strange thing is that you probably cut yourself because it was a last-ditch effort to survive. But other people didn't understand that.\n\nThere's a visceral reaction that people have when they see someone else with an injury--a psychological sympathy-pain reaction, I suppose. Whenever I see someone else with an injury, I know I kind of cringe in sympathetic pain... I don't know if you feel it the same way, but there's always a sort of knot in my stomach when I see someone else has been injured.\n\nThe second reason is that people see anyone who hurts themselves deliberately as mentally ill, and that there is a huge stigma associated with mental illness.\n\nBecause cutting is so "dramatic", and people can't imagine themselves doing it, they often think that it is much more severe than it actually is, or that it is a suicide attempt. In reality, superficial self-injury is usually an indicator of a relatively common mental illness like depression.\n\nPeople are afraid of those with mental illnesses. There are a lot of reasons for that:\n--Horror movies have a lot of villains who are psychopaths or otherwise insane... Despite that a murderer or other violent criminal is very likely to be perfectly sane, people associate mental illness with violence.\n--People are often afraid that they will "catch" your mental illness.\n--There's a certain social code that people follow. Whatever language you speak, that's only about half your communication to other people. The other half is nonverbal... gestures, clothes, the way you walk, your posture. People with mental illnesses often don't follow these unwritten codes; and people who see them don't "speak" the same nonverbal language. Therefore, people will often ostracize those with very mild problems... just because they can't predict their nonverbal actions.\n--People are afraid of what they don't know and can't predict. Prejudice against the unfamiliar--whether it's a different culture, or a different sexual orientation, or whatever--is very common. And those with mental illnesses, even common ones like depression or PTSD, are just different.\n\nWhen people see your scars, they know you have broken a taboo: The unwritten rule that one must always act to protect one's physical health. That rule is imprinted on your instincts.\n\nThe reason you broke that rule is because you knew that, with your limited options, you might hurt yourself worse if you didn't hurt yourself superficially. It's like getting a splinter out of your skin, so it doesn't get infected... It hurts, but it'd hurt a lot worse if you didn't.\n\nBecause you had limited options, you chose to hurt yourself in a small way to avoid big emotional pain. Now that you have more options, mentally and emotionally, to deal with emotional overload, you no longer need such a drastic coping strategy. Cutting really doesn't work all that well, anyway; so once you find a better way to deal with life, why go back?\n\nBut people don't understand that you felt you hadn't any other options. They jump
493458
Why would we have to check with anyone to build a wall on our land?  Do you have to consult your neighbor to put up a fence on your property?
318585
I'm sure they are fairly normal\n\nI write, mainly short stories and novels.\nI decorate and sell baskets for weddings or whatever.\nI make jewelry, hair accessories, purses.\nI cannot make clothes, but I buy clothes from the thrift store and cut and "fix" them up nicely!
617513
I believe the original saying is "Good fences make good neighbors."  The idea is that you keep yourself separate enough not to be involved in their private business, but remember, good fences have gates (and walls have doors), and good neighbors knock and go through the door/gate when invited.  So this does not imply that you keep yourself totally isolate.
570103
dammit,JD. NO!!!!!they are human beings,you don't start shooting ppl just because of what one person did.Put a damn fence.
565889
No, it is not normal, Sorry, I don't mean to disrespect you.\n\nIf you are scared of what may happen to you, you will be scared of what happen to others, not necessarily by you, but also, under the hands of others.\nNow, you may say I am not scared of this, that or the other thing, yet, you may not worry or take a second look at your own neighbor, and say things happens.  \n\nYou don't have to live in fear, and you shouldn't, but those who would see your un-fearable side, may take advantage of you, and show you how to be scared!!!  It is not stupid, it is only human nature, to worry about what we don't know, or understand.\n\nPeace
874457
Personally, a few times.\n\nIt's perfectly normal either way. There are lots of people who do and and equal number who don't.
331763
Living in deep S. TX, the answer is NO!!!! most of the people here have 8 ft. fences, guard dogs, bars on the windows, I could go on and on. The only problem is, which house is the drug runners, or the every day average Joe?\nExcellent question. Our government needs to run the borders, North and South, the same way.
1185029
Not 100%, but it will help.  Any effort is better than no effort. You could volunteer to help the Minutemen patrol and  report to border control.  Just the extra people to keep a watchful eye out is a good thing.  The fence will help slow the intruders down to give the border patrol a little more time to get to the scene. And, no, any money spent to secure our border is not a waste of resources.
456231
Because they are not grounded (i.e. they are making contact with nothing but the line) the electicity doesn't flow through their bodies. \nI lived on a farm as a kid and when we were wearing rubber boots we could touch the electric fence without getting zapped for the same reason: the rubbed didn't conduct so we weren't grounded.
245312
I was 3 and running around in the back yard. We had a lovely dog that would always try to get out of the fence. So my parents wrapped the bottom 2 feet of the fence with electric wire. I don't exactly remember how but I got all tangled up in it and had to just lay there and cry and cry whilst being shocked till my parents finally came to my rescue. Now I know how the dog must have felt.
791363
People who walk often would know the answer to this.  I sometimes walk/run in the street because a lot of people with fenced yards keep dogs in the front yard.  I'm sure they are just tired of getting the crap scared out of them every day.
402064
I don't know the context of Camerofj's original post, but when you equate "normal" with "essential" and "instinctive" may you be oversimplifying it?  In many primitive human societies (for instance as witnessed by Darwin in South America), getting your own way (be it by cheating, stealing, whatever) is normal.  In morally educated society we are taught right from wrong and we then choose whether to obey those rules or not.\n\nWhilst I agree with your posit that "CHEATING is a choice, as are stealing, murdering and lying, etc. And, poor choices at that." *for us*, I would also admit that in other societies (even micro-societies like ghettos or gangs or even clubs) normal might be defined very differently.
621303
No.  \n\nYou know, couldn't we monitor this with a satellite that's tuned into the the temperature of humans?  Humans are pretty much always 98.6, and if they're not, then they won't get far.\n\nAnd as for the fence, it is supposed to be fancy.  It will be like three walls, one of which is going to be concrete and about 13 feet high, from what I've heard.  It may not stop them but it will sure slow them down.  The trick is putting it in the right places.\n\nAs as for landmines, this is out of the question.  But what about landmines that only broadcast that they've been stepped on, and the weight that was exerted on them (so we can tell the difference between a rabbit and a human)?\n\nAlso, regarding those citizens that want to get involved, we should all independently investigate companies to look for those that employ illegals.  This should seriously increase enforcement.
111898
Fences on the border.
777983
fencing (n.) The art or sport of using a foil, épée, or saber in attack and defense. one of the last original sports of the Modern Olympics. In the broadest possible sense, fencing is the art and science of armed combat involving cutting, stabbing or bludgeoning weapons directly manipulated by hand, rather than shot or thrown (in other words, swords, knives, pikes, bayonets, batons, clubs, and so on). \nfencing (n.) Skillful repartee, especially as a defense against having to give direct answers. \nfencing (n.) Material, such as wire, stakes, and rails, used in building fences.\nfencing (s) Buying and selling of stolen goods & materiels.