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Silly or Discerning?

My good friend Mary has a very strong post up on this topic of modesty. Whereas my previous post dealt with it from the perspective of pleasing God with your clothing choices hers is coming at it from the perspective of safety. She got to thinking about it after reading this post.

All of it made me think of a talk show I saw sometime recently. I don't remember which one it was but the episode dealt with broad daylight attacks on women. One woman was brutally attacked, beaten, and raped inside a department store in the toy section by the bicycles. The guy grabbed her and began repeatedly banging her head into the floor. So she was immediately incapacitated. It all happened in only a minute or two and was caught on the surveillance camera. Her baby was strapped in the buggy the whole time.

Another woman told a similar story about her experience at a different store, different place . When she came out of the store she noticed a man watching her in a strange way. She returned her shopping cart to the front even though he gave her an uneasy feeling. As she reached for her door handle she was swiftly grabbed from behind and thrown to the pavement between her van and the SUV parked beside it. Then she was viciously beaten and raped. Her baby was strapped in the carseat right above her.

The first woman thought she was safe because she was inside the store with store employees and other customers. Surveillance tapes showed customers just a few aisles over who were oblivious to what was going on. The second woman thought she was safe because she was parked in about the second or third space at the front of the parking lot at a busy store. People were literally walking past as she was attacked, also oblivious to what was happening a few feet away.

I was just floored that it could happen in such public places. Daylight, carrying a cell phone, surveillance cameras, and people around. None of that mattered. We all need to be aware of that.

Last summer I was in Wal-Mart in the big city. The FisherMan had taken the girls with him over to the lawn and garden section and I had Cornbread in his carrier in my buggy. I was over getting pet food and came up the back aisle by the fishtanks. Two guys were standing in the aisle talking up ahead of me. I got this wary feeling and immediately decided to turn up the side aisle. Just that fast they were in front of me, attempting to block my path, so close that my buggy hung up on the end display. They started the whole "Hey, baby, can I help you?" routine and then started in about how they knew what I needed, etc. I won't go any further as I'm sure you know how the talk went. Since I had started to turn up the aisle I was in the position to push past with the buggy and GO! I never slacked up until I was in the middle of the store. If I had not heeded that little discerning nudge they would have been able to block my way and who knows if it would have ended with filthy talk? They were both much larger than me.

My point is to stay aware. You aren't always safe just because you are in public and it is daytime. Which should tell you how safe you are if it is late and the building or parking lot is deserted. (or even has a few people...the one story above was a crowded parking lot!) Listen to your gut. Many times victims say they had an uneasy feeling prior to an attack but they told themselves they were just being silly. So what if you are? As long as you are safe who cares if you are being a little silly?

What if you aren't being so silly after all?

Comments

  1. Thanks for recommending my post! Wow, that is stunning that those women would be attacked and raped right there in a store with customers there!!!

    My mother in law says that where she lives, women will go to a shopping mall, and come out loaded down with packages. As they go to get in their cars, a man hiding underneath the car will pull the women's legs out from under them and then crawl out and assault her and steal her purse, etc.

    Also, at the mall, which is very large, men will go up to a woman in a car and say, "I came out of the wrong door at the mall and realize that my car is over on the other side of the mall...can you give me a ride over there?" And then, you guessed the rest.

    It is getting so you cannot go anywhere alone.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Mary,
    It is amazing at how brazen the crimes are becoming. We have to be just as bold in protecting ourselves and our children with prevention.

    ReplyDelete
  3. My sister works in the corrections and she says that numerous attacks happen in large department store parking lots. They were advised to never go to these places at night. If you must...park up front or wait for a safe parking place. Also during the day you should always be aware and scream if you feel threatened...even by the LOOK of someone.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Lorrie,
    You are so right...it isn't always some back alley.

    ReplyDelete

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