Comments:

Amy - 2005-10-24 16:03:50
Wow, Jennifer, this was chilling because it is so true. I too remember several incidents when I was so naive, and wanted to be nice, that I could have gotten myself into real trouble. You are right that being a parent makes you see all of this in a new light. I have three daughters- EEK. I want to teach them so much better than my parents did. And it does come down in so many situations to being aware of and trusting your own instincts.
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tali - 2005-10-24 16:43:59
So true, Jen...Last new years when Artboy and I accepted that ride back to the hotel from that stranger, everything in me was screaming, "Don't do it!" Even tho it WAS Flagstaff and probably quite okay..I still didn't listen to my instincts. We were fine...but it could have easily gone the other way. It's sad that we can't trust ppl...but we DO need to trust our instincts.
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Jilly - 2005-10-25 10:20:05
I like Gavin DeBecker's two books - The Gift of Fear and Protecting the Gift. The first one is about keeping yourself safe, and he talks A LOT about how women in particular are socialized not to be rude and that predators know that and take advantage of it. His basic advice is, if you get a weird vibe, TRUST IT and be rude, just get the hell away. The second book is about how to protect you kids, and while I think a lot of the advice is kinda over the top if you're not rich and famous, I really liked his take on teaching your kids when and how to talk to strangers. It boils down to, teach your kids that if they get lost they should pick out a woman and ask her for help. If they wait for someone to approach them, that may be a predator. The odds of a random woman that your kid picks out being a predator are minescule, and if they specifically ask her for help 99% of the time she won't turn them down.
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