I read Sean Dietrich's column every day and the one for today is particularly poignant because it talks about runners doing a memorial run for a young mother named Eliza who was killed in Memphis last week by a man who never should have been out of prison.
Sean quotes a father who says: "I don’t want my daughter growing up in a world where women have to be afraid."
I have news for you, Sir: there are two kinds of women in the world. Those of us who are acutely aware that we aren't as strong or tough as guys, and we take precautions to stay out of situations where we could be hurt, and women who think the world is a safe place. It's not. Eliza went out jogging at 4:30 a.m., alone. Bad idea. I am NOT "blaming the victim." She should have been able to jog safely.
However, the man who abducted, raped and killed her, was out on the street, not behind bars, as this article says: If he had not been released early due to sentence-reduction credits, he would have been behind bars during both the attacks on Fletcher and the other woman.
He was supposed to serve 24 years but he only served 20, according to this article. I blame the politicians who allowed him to go free. THEY should be publicly apologizing to Eliza's family.
Years ago when I got out of college and got my first apartment alone, my brother gave me intensive self-defense instruction. He also bought me a .38 pistol and showed me how to use it. If Eliza had had a pistol -- or even pepper spray -- she might be alive today.
Newsflash: 99% of all women in the world are simply not as strong as men. We don't have the size or strength of men. We HAVE to be cautious. We SHOULD worry about our own safety. We should never assume we are safe in ANY neighborhood.
Below, some great advice for young women about being safe.
