My blog has moved!

You should be automatically redirected in 5 seconds. If not, visit
http://thegirlrevolution.com
and update your bookmarks.

Thursday, May 1, 2008

Empowering Girls: 2 Girls 1 Finger - Parents Should Know


I'm profoundly disturbed by a phenomenon I witnessed yesterday on YouTube.

Apparently, there is a clip from a real porn movie called Two Girls One Finger. The clip is so sick and wrong that the above girl actually vomits.

(Please note the video above is not the porn clip, watching it is disturbing, but it is not pornographic.)

I'm not going to watch the actual video because I already have a collection of images in my brain that I wish I'd never seen and I don't want to add to that. From the reactions I saw, I gather it's nude Asian girls who vomit and defecate into each other's mouths.

Like an extreme truth or dare kids are recording their own video reaction to the sick and depraved activities depicted.

Knowing what I know about the human trafficking of girls in Asian countries (UNICEF estimates that one million children are forced into prostitution or used to produce pornography each year) - it makes me wonder if viewers of Two Girls 1 Finger and it's predecessor Two Girls One Cup are participating in both the human sex slave trade and child pornography. Certainly it's not out of the realm of possibility that the girls in the video were both under duress (who would WANT to do that?) and under the age of 18.

I keep hearing the argument that parents should be monitoring their kids Internet use and making sure their children have no access to bad influences. It appears to be an argument that it's parents' sole responsibility to protect their kids and the marketplace bears no ethical or moral responsibility to society or its' children.

Okay.

HOW?

I wrote about this yesterday on Blog Fabulous and one woman said she had accidentally seen it by innocently following a blind link.

I emailed Jace Shoemaker-Galloway over at InternetSafetyAdvisor.info to find out if parents really do have the tools available to protect their kids from pornography and other forms of inappropriate content on the Internet.

"I have personally watched several of these types of videos. When I watched them, I had no idea what the content was or what they were about. I just knew they were disturbing yet popular. Words can not adequately describe or convey my thoughts. Those videos were not only disgusting and vile, they saddened me to watch. I asked my teenager children if they knew of these videos, and both did. Neither had personally viewed them, but they were being heavily discussed amongst their peers," Jace said.

"Unfortunately, we're seeing more and more of these 'shock-type' viral videos, Jace said. Other content includes vicious beatings of other children and throwing puppies off cliffs. Adults too are participating, Jace warned. Jace added that the average age of first-exposure to pornography is 11 years old and she fears the age will become younger.

Will monitoring or ratings software filter out this type of video? I wanted to know.

It is important to note that filters or parental controls are not fail-safe. Similar to anti-virus software, no matter how often we update our anti-virus software, new viruses and computer threats occur on a daily basis. Also equally important, many computer-savvy children find ways to circumvent parental controls at home and at school, Jace explained.

Are good and responsible parents expected to monitor every second of Internet use in person? I asked her.
Jacer answers to the heart of my concern with the same questions I have:

Whose responsibility is it? Parents or educators? Internet Service Providers or individual websites? That is the question, isn’t it? Parents can not possibly monitor every child, every moment of the day. Even if they could, what happens when the child accesses the Internet from the Library or from a friend’s house? The values and the information MUST be instilled in our children.

Though Jace encourages communication she cautions against going into the details about viral videos with children, especially younger children. You don't really want to pollute their brains with the same information you don't want to pollute their brains with.

This type of information commonly causes parents to want to isolate their children in the name of protection, cutting off computer use all together.

Jace cautions against this strategy.

This is the main reason why children do NOT tell an adult when something has happened. If children think their computer or wireless device will be taken from them, they will not tell. It is crucial we tell our children they MUST come to us if they see something online that is upsetting or disturbing. Banning computers or electronic devices is not the answer, in fact, that approach will backfire.

Internet Safety Advisor has tons of information about the alarming prevalence of child pornography (increased 1500% since 1988) and exposure of children to pornography on the Internet (and moving to the cell phone).

I loath feeling powerless, both as a parent and a human being.
I want to know if there is legislation that protects my family's right NOT to watch this type of material as equally as free speech of pornographers is protected.

There are 9 bills before the Senate and 13 before the House of Representatives according to Congress.org.
Presidential candidates John McCain and Hillary Clinton have co-sponsored the SAFE Act of 2007. The Senate and House bill sit in a Judiciary Committee. To send a letter to your representatives follow this link to Congress.org and enter your zip code.

The Association of Sites Advocating Child Protection has a list of resources to help parents keep their kids safe online.

GetNetWise recommends making a contract between parent and child about Internet use. Follow this link to view a sample contract.
GetNetWise also has a search tool that will allow you to find the right filters for your computer, software and content filters. Follow this link for that.

15 comments:

Scott said...

You are so correct about some of the videos that are avaliable to children. I too could name a few I wish I had never seen but I won't further the trash by typing the names ,lest someone get curious and search for them.

I see you have a link to GetNetWise, I found a lot of useful information there and can highly recommend it.

One of the programs they have a link to is called Spector Pro. After reading their review of it my wife and I bought Spector Pro and it has been a life saver.

It lets us see EVERYTHING our children do on the computer without them knowing. I used to lose sleep wondering 'what if they are doing this or that', now I don't have to wonder I KNOW exactly where they go and what they do on the Internet.

Just search for Spector Pro in Google or on the net wise site and I'm sure you will be as pleased as we are.

Tracee Sioux, Sioux Ink: Soul Purpose Publishing said...

Thanks so much for the link Scott. I appreciate it. I wonder if it works on a Mac?

Anonymous said...

You should watch the video. It's quite lulzy. After all, you can't criticize something you haven't seen. So you should watch it and then write an in depth blog about how outraged you are.

Unknown said...

Freedom comes with a hefty price in such incidents. Porns as far as I'm concern is out for kids.

Unknown said...

Freedom comes with a hefty price in such incidents. Porns as far as I'm concern is out for kids.

Tracee Sioux, Sioux Ink: Soul Purpose Publishing said...

I'm not sure what lulzy means. Do you think just because it was set to hoaky music it isn't damaging?

Are you suggesting this is something appropriate for children and teenagers to see?

I don't have to personally witness rape and murder to know me and my children don't want to watch it.

Violet said...

Most parents I know complain about the internet, but very few take even cursory steps to control it. I'm completely shocked at how many friends I have who let their kids have unlimited internet access in their rooms.

You may not be able to always block everything your child sees, but you can limit it. I'm less concerned about gross videos than chat room talk with adults.

I've never used it, but friends swear by Dan's Guardian filtering software.
http://dansguardian.org/?page=whatisdg

Spector Pro is hard core. It records every keystroke, every email, every search. But that is what parents might have to do to keep tabs on the kids. (yes it is available for Mac)

I know someone who used it to spy on her husband though!

Violet said...

lulzy = laughable

Anonymous said...

Ok. I'll probably come across as the person with the least desirable opinion here, but here goes...

First, I just hate the use of the stats. Of course pornography on the internet has increased in the past 10 years...10 years ago I was still using text based terminals in a lot of libraries and places and everyone was coding everything in HTML. I don't think that there's any more porn in the world than there ever was...it's just easier to share it.

With that said, do I want my children watching it? Of course I don't! That's ridiculous! But I'm also REALLY hesitant to support a lot of the bills that are out on the table right now. Here's why...

I'm a library media specialist. I work with kids during the day to teach them about internet safety, how to find reliable sources, how to conduct research, how to cite information, and how to keep themselves safe online. I work hard to not be preachy at them and to get them using Web 2.0 technologies in an educational setting in a positive light. However I fight on a daily basis to keep that technology turned on in schools. It's constantly being blocked, filtered, and turned off. While I understand the need for filtering in schools, and I know that it's tied to the very funding that gives us those wonderful computers, you can understand in my job when you find yourself beating your head against the legitimate search for breast cancer, or you find you can't watch the educational streaming video through PBS because all streaming video is blocked...it does get frustrating....

Many of these bills on the table right now only seek to tighten these things even further. Seems a bit counterproductive to me. If we're so worried about our kids getting into trouble online then isn't it logical that we need to TEACH them to use these tools properly?

There are some fabulous pieces of software out there. My own children are too young to be online alone (toddler aged) so we haven't bothered installing anything yet. However I'm also a firm believer in a little moderation as well. I'm sorry, but I don't care what my kid tells me, not every homework assignment needs to be done online..I can guarantee that even in the 21st century. You take care of business and the computer goes off or away. There's no need for a kid to sit in front of it the entire time and doe their homework. If they're typing a paper then the net can be disabled. I sometimes worry that the software gives people a false sense of security.

I also totally agree with the commenter that computers in bedrooms are just an invitation for trouble. I rather enjoy the idea of having the computer right out in the open where I can see them. They'll get enough time to post ridiculous photos of themselves in college...gulp!

I guess I would just say in closing that I think a combination of all of the above is great. Add some software, keep the computer in the open, physically monitor your child and TALK to them about what they do online, TEACH them about safe things (and no..teaching is not scaring or nagging), TEACH YOURSELF how to do everything they're doing online (notice how MySpace is full of middle-aged people these days? All it took was parents flocking there to spy on their kids and it instantly wasn't cool anymore.)

Be wary of giving away too many internet freedoms. Honestly, this internet thing is a pretty sweet deal they way it's been going. If it were 100% free for all it would be perfect, but I'm willing to pay every month for it. But I'd be careful what I wish for...asking for too much of a crackdown and you may see the end of places like this where we can freely comment. :)

(And hopefully I'm not flamed too badly)

;)

Jen

http://furoreandfrenzy.com
http://parents2parents.org

Tracee Sioux, Sioux Ink: Soul Purpose Publishing said...

Jennifer - at the risk of outing myself in public, I recently followed a post from a seemingly innocuous Mommy blog titled "sex stuff."

The blind link too me to a shockingly vast - and I mean I am literally shocked and I'm a freaking liberal who's seen a lot porn before - universe of free porn with not a single protection on it.

I was disturbed - not as much by the fact that porn is available. But, by the nature of the porn. These are not just photos of people having sex.

There were blogs and blogs of stories written from the perspective of victims of rape, kidnappings, child molestation and murder - saying they LOVED the role of victim.

I am alarmed at the connection that's being made in people's brains - both men and women - between violence and a hard on.

So, I think you're wrong about the amount of porn available. We've gone from having a few porn producers to everyone - including the teenager with a cell phone taking pictures of his friend's girlfriend - being a pornographer.

I also believe the nature of the porn has changed from sex to sexual violence.

But, I do agree with you that it's less clear what to do about the problem.

I do know this - I am right to be disturbed. I also know that it's a huge detriment to society to fill children's brains with this. Their brains will become hard-wired to need violence to get off if they absorb too much of this.

I'm no fan of censorship. But I am a fan of boundaries. My right not to see has to be considered EQUAL to their right to see. My issue is with the matter of "choice" - following a blind link is not making a choice to view a porn movie.

You are right in your basic premise that there is no easy answer to the problem.

Anonymous said...

Don't knock it til you try it toots.

Anonymous said...

2 girls 1 finger was made in Japan and NO, the girls were NOT performing under duress. The Japanese have a far different view of sex and bodily functions than Americans. For them, scat videos are not that big of a deal, in fact they're quite popular over there.

Tracee Sioux, Sioux Ink: Soul Purpose Publishing said...

Hopefully it's not contagious.

I would like my kids growing up NOT connecting sex to vomit and crap

Anonymous said...

mmk so this is Gabypink from youtube.
I see you posted my video, well me and my friend only made that video because we were requested to do this after my reaction to 2 girls 1 cup.
I'm pretty sure i'm scarred for life, but who knows? Half the stuff I've seen might not be real.
Also, I must say that those videos are stupid and disguisting .. but it gets my channel more views.
For the simple fact that you say "children" shouldn't see these things on the internet, we are teenagers not children.


We KNOW more than you think you know. Adults think "Oh, well if we hide this and that from them they won't understand what that means." Wrong. Things spread like wildfire, if one teen knows something sexual or bad, they're gonna tell someone about it, and it's going to spread on and on till' each and every teenager knows.


I mean, showing this to a 10 year old or an 8 year old is bad, but showing this to a 13 or 15 year old would either make us laugh or throw up (like I did). I just wanted to put this out to you because I don't think a teenager has posted anything in these comments and you should get a point of view from us.

Tracee Sioux, Sioux Ink: Soul Purpose Publishing said...

Whether it's real or fake seems pretty irrelevant. You'll still never forget it and it still distorts the way you think about sex. Which really isn't good.

Not for adults. Not for kids. Not for teenagers.

You'll notice I, an adult, CHOSE not to look. To protect my own brain. Perhaps, in the future, you'll try the strategy of self-protection.

Thursday, May 1, 2008

Empowering Girls: 2 Girls 1 Finger - Parents Should Know


I'm profoundly disturbed by a phenomenon I witnessed yesterday on YouTube.

Apparently, there is a clip from a real porn movie called Two Girls One Finger. The clip is so sick and wrong that the above girl actually vomits.

(Please note the video above is not the porn clip, watching it is disturbing, but it is not pornographic.)

I'm not going to watch the actual video because I already have a collection of images in my brain that I wish I'd never seen and I don't want to add to that. From the reactions I saw, I gather it's nude Asian girls who vomit and defecate into each other's mouths.

Like an extreme truth or dare kids are recording their own video reaction to the sick and depraved activities depicted.

Knowing what I know about the human trafficking of girls in Asian countries (UNICEF estimates that one million children are forced into prostitution or used to produce pornography each year) - it makes me wonder if viewers of Two Girls 1 Finger and it's predecessor Two Girls One Cup are participating in both the human sex slave trade and child pornography. Certainly it's not out of the realm of possibility that the girls in the video were both under duress (who would WANT to do that?) and under the age of 18.

I keep hearing the argument that parents should be monitoring their kids Internet use and making sure their children have no access to bad influences. It appears to be an argument that it's parents' sole responsibility to protect their kids and the marketplace bears no ethical or moral responsibility to society or its' children.

Okay.

HOW?

I wrote about this yesterday on Blog Fabulous and one woman said she had accidentally seen it by innocently following a blind link.

I emailed Jace Shoemaker-Galloway over at InternetSafetyAdvisor.info to find out if parents really do have the tools available to protect their kids from pornography and other forms of inappropriate content on the Internet.

"I have personally watched several of these types of videos. When I watched them, I had no idea what the content was or what they were about. I just knew they were disturbing yet popular. Words can not adequately describe or convey my thoughts. Those videos were not only disgusting and vile, they saddened me to watch. I asked my teenager children if they knew of these videos, and both did. Neither had personally viewed them, but they were being heavily discussed amongst their peers," Jace said.

"Unfortunately, we're seeing more and more of these 'shock-type' viral videos, Jace said. Other content includes vicious beatings of other children and throwing puppies off cliffs. Adults too are participating, Jace warned. Jace added that the average age of first-exposure to pornography is 11 years old and she fears the age will become younger.

Will monitoring or ratings software filter out this type of video? I wanted to know.

It is important to note that filters or parental controls are not fail-safe. Similar to anti-virus software, no matter how often we update our anti-virus software, new viruses and computer threats occur on a daily basis. Also equally important, many computer-savvy children find ways to circumvent parental controls at home and at school, Jace explained.

Are good and responsible parents expected to monitor every second of Internet use in person? I asked her.
Jacer answers to the heart of my concern with the same questions I have:

Whose responsibility is it? Parents or educators? Internet Service Providers or individual websites? That is the question, isn’t it? Parents can not possibly monitor every child, every moment of the day. Even if they could, what happens when the child accesses the Internet from the Library or from a friend’s house? The values and the information MUST be instilled in our children.

Though Jace encourages communication she cautions against going into the details about viral videos with children, especially younger children. You don't really want to pollute their brains with the same information you don't want to pollute their brains with.

This type of information commonly causes parents to want to isolate their children in the name of protection, cutting off computer use all together.

Jace cautions against this strategy.

This is the main reason why children do NOT tell an adult when something has happened. If children think their computer or wireless device will be taken from them, they will not tell. It is crucial we tell our children they MUST come to us if they see something online that is upsetting or disturbing. Banning computers or electronic devices is not the answer, in fact, that approach will backfire.

Internet Safety Advisor has tons of information about the alarming prevalence of child pornography (increased 1500% since 1988) and exposure of children to pornography on the Internet (and moving to the cell phone).

I loath feeling powerless, both as a parent and a human being.
I want to know if there is legislation that protects my family's right NOT to watch this type of material as equally as free speech of pornographers is protected.

There are 9 bills before the Senate and 13 before the House of Representatives according to Congress.org.
Presidential candidates John McCain and Hillary Clinton have co-sponsored the SAFE Act of 2007. The Senate and House bill sit in a Judiciary Committee. To send a letter to your representatives follow this link to Congress.org and enter your zip code.

The Association of Sites Advocating Child Protection has a list of resources to help parents keep their kids safe online.

GetNetWise recommends making a contract between parent and child about Internet use. Follow this link to view a sample contract.
GetNetWise also has a search tool that will allow you to find the right filters for your computer, software and content filters. Follow this link for that.

15 comments:

Scott said...

You are so correct about some of the videos that are avaliable to children. I too could name a few I wish I had never seen but I won't further the trash by typing the names ,lest someone get curious and search for them.

I see you have a link to GetNetWise, I found a lot of useful information there and can highly recommend it.

One of the programs they have a link to is called Spector Pro. After reading their review of it my wife and I bought Spector Pro and it has been a life saver.

It lets us see EVERYTHING our children do on the computer without them knowing. I used to lose sleep wondering 'what if they are doing this or that', now I don't have to wonder I KNOW exactly where they go and what they do on the Internet.

Just search for Spector Pro in Google or on the net wise site and I'm sure you will be as pleased as we are.

Tracee Sioux, Sioux Ink: Soul Purpose Publishing said...

Thanks so much for the link Scott. I appreciate it. I wonder if it works on a Mac?

Anonymous said...

You should watch the video. It's quite lulzy. After all, you can't criticize something you haven't seen. So you should watch it and then write an in depth blog about how outraged you are.

Unknown said...

Freedom comes with a hefty price in such incidents. Porns as far as I'm concern is out for kids.

Unknown said...

Freedom comes with a hefty price in such incidents. Porns as far as I'm concern is out for kids.

Tracee Sioux, Sioux Ink: Soul Purpose Publishing said...

I'm not sure what lulzy means. Do you think just because it was set to hoaky music it isn't damaging?

Are you suggesting this is something appropriate for children and teenagers to see?

I don't have to personally witness rape and murder to know me and my children don't want to watch it.

Violet said...

Most parents I know complain about the internet, but very few take even cursory steps to control it. I'm completely shocked at how many friends I have who let their kids have unlimited internet access in their rooms.

You may not be able to always block everything your child sees, but you can limit it. I'm less concerned about gross videos than chat room talk with adults.

I've never used it, but friends swear by Dan's Guardian filtering software.
http://dansguardian.org/?page=whatisdg

Spector Pro is hard core. It records every keystroke, every email, every search. But that is what parents might have to do to keep tabs on the kids. (yes it is available for Mac)

I know someone who used it to spy on her husband though!

Violet said...

lulzy = laughable

Anonymous said...

Ok. I'll probably come across as the person with the least desirable opinion here, but here goes...

First, I just hate the use of the stats. Of course pornography on the internet has increased in the past 10 years...10 years ago I was still using text based terminals in a lot of libraries and places and everyone was coding everything in HTML. I don't think that there's any more porn in the world than there ever was...it's just easier to share it.

With that said, do I want my children watching it? Of course I don't! That's ridiculous! But I'm also REALLY hesitant to support a lot of the bills that are out on the table right now. Here's why...

I'm a library media specialist. I work with kids during the day to teach them about internet safety, how to find reliable sources, how to conduct research, how to cite information, and how to keep themselves safe online. I work hard to not be preachy at them and to get them using Web 2.0 technologies in an educational setting in a positive light. However I fight on a daily basis to keep that technology turned on in schools. It's constantly being blocked, filtered, and turned off. While I understand the need for filtering in schools, and I know that it's tied to the very funding that gives us those wonderful computers, you can understand in my job when you find yourself beating your head against the legitimate search for breast cancer, or you find you can't watch the educational streaming video through PBS because all streaming video is blocked...it does get frustrating....

Many of these bills on the table right now only seek to tighten these things even further. Seems a bit counterproductive to me. If we're so worried about our kids getting into trouble online then isn't it logical that we need to TEACH them to use these tools properly?

There are some fabulous pieces of software out there. My own children are too young to be online alone (toddler aged) so we haven't bothered installing anything yet. However I'm also a firm believer in a little moderation as well. I'm sorry, but I don't care what my kid tells me, not every homework assignment needs to be done online..I can guarantee that even in the 21st century. You take care of business and the computer goes off or away. There's no need for a kid to sit in front of it the entire time and doe their homework. If they're typing a paper then the net can be disabled. I sometimes worry that the software gives people a false sense of security.

I also totally agree with the commenter that computers in bedrooms are just an invitation for trouble. I rather enjoy the idea of having the computer right out in the open where I can see them. They'll get enough time to post ridiculous photos of themselves in college...gulp!

I guess I would just say in closing that I think a combination of all of the above is great. Add some software, keep the computer in the open, physically monitor your child and TALK to them about what they do online, TEACH them about safe things (and no..teaching is not scaring or nagging), TEACH YOURSELF how to do everything they're doing online (notice how MySpace is full of middle-aged people these days? All it took was parents flocking there to spy on their kids and it instantly wasn't cool anymore.)

Be wary of giving away too many internet freedoms. Honestly, this internet thing is a pretty sweet deal they way it's been going. If it were 100% free for all it would be perfect, but I'm willing to pay every month for it. But I'd be careful what I wish for...asking for too much of a crackdown and you may see the end of places like this where we can freely comment. :)

(And hopefully I'm not flamed too badly)

;)

Jen

http://furoreandfrenzy.com
http://parents2parents.org

Tracee Sioux, Sioux Ink: Soul Purpose Publishing said...

Jennifer - at the risk of outing myself in public, I recently followed a post from a seemingly innocuous Mommy blog titled "sex stuff."

The blind link too me to a shockingly vast - and I mean I am literally shocked and I'm a freaking liberal who's seen a lot porn before - universe of free porn with not a single protection on it.

I was disturbed - not as much by the fact that porn is available. But, by the nature of the porn. These are not just photos of people having sex.

There were blogs and blogs of stories written from the perspective of victims of rape, kidnappings, child molestation and murder - saying they LOVED the role of victim.

I am alarmed at the connection that's being made in people's brains - both men and women - between violence and a hard on.

So, I think you're wrong about the amount of porn available. We've gone from having a few porn producers to everyone - including the teenager with a cell phone taking pictures of his friend's girlfriend - being a pornographer.

I also believe the nature of the porn has changed from sex to sexual violence.

But, I do agree with you that it's less clear what to do about the problem.

I do know this - I am right to be disturbed. I also know that it's a huge detriment to society to fill children's brains with this. Their brains will become hard-wired to need violence to get off if they absorb too much of this.

I'm no fan of censorship. But I am a fan of boundaries. My right not to see has to be considered EQUAL to their right to see. My issue is with the matter of "choice" - following a blind link is not making a choice to view a porn movie.

You are right in your basic premise that there is no easy answer to the problem.

Anonymous said...

Don't knock it til you try it toots.

Anonymous said...

2 girls 1 finger was made in Japan and NO, the girls were NOT performing under duress. The Japanese have a far different view of sex and bodily functions than Americans. For them, scat videos are not that big of a deal, in fact they're quite popular over there.

Tracee Sioux, Sioux Ink: Soul Purpose Publishing said...

Hopefully it's not contagious.

I would like my kids growing up NOT connecting sex to vomit and crap

Anonymous said...

mmk so this is Gabypink from youtube.
I see you posted my video, well me and my friend only made that video because we were requested to do this after my reaction to 2 girls 1 cup.
I'm pretty sure i'm scarred for life, but who knows? Half the stuff I've seen might not be real.
Also, I must say that those videos are stupid and disguisting .. but it gets my channel more views.
For the simple fact that you say "children" shouldn't see these things on the internet, we are teenagers not children.


We KNOW more than you think you know. Adults think "Oh, well if we hide this and that from them they won't understand what that means." Wrong. Things spread like wildfire, if one teen knows something sexual or bad, they're gonna tell someone about it, and it's going to spread on and on till' each and every teenager knows.


I mean, showing this to a 10 year old or an 8 year old is bad, but showing this to a 13 or 15 year old would either make us laugh or throw up (like I did). I just wanted to put this out to you because I don't think a teenager has posted anything in these comments and you should get a point of view from us.

Tracee Sioux, Sioux Ink: Soul Purpose Publishing said...

Whether it's real or fake seems pretty irrelevant. You'll still never forget it and it still distorts the way you think about sex. Which really isn't good.

Not for adults. Not for kids. Not for teenagers.

You'll notice I, an adult, CHOSE not to look. To protect my own brain. Perhaps, in the future, you'll try the strategy of self-protection.