[lit-ideas] Re: more cell phone spottings
- From: Judy Evans <judithevans1@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sat, 19 Nov 2005 18:16:17 +0000
Saturday, November 19, 2005, 4:06:35 PM, Eric Yost wrote:
> Judy: Paranoid? Sensible, I'd say. If I think I might be being
> followed and it's dark I vary my pace, and if there are other
> people on the street I slow my pace so the man has to pass me.
EY> Eric: I didn't qualify this phenomena enough. These are usually
EY> women in their twenties, and Manhattan is very safe (believe it's
EY> 55th in crime of any US city and this despite its size). Even at
EY> night, Manhattan is well-lit everywhere, has flocks of
EY> surveillance cameras, and is heavily patrolled by police. Plus
EY> the streets are full of people 24/7 and people here DO help if
EY> there's a problem.
Much depends on the neighbourhood, I agree; I was assaulted in a part
of North London where many women didn't go out at night. I could
afford a cab home -- I'd go by tube or bus to Kings Cross then get a
cab from there. I found too that other women would team with me,
sometimes tacitly (only a smile as our paths eventually diverged
acknowledging the teaming). But I was young then, Eric; young women
may be able to cope better with an assault but are also more likely to
be assaulted.
But not all depends on the neighbourhood or city. Cardiff is really
pretty safe and my street is mega-safe; but a young woman was raped
at the corner of the street by a man who'd followed her from three
streets away.
EY> I'm not trying to be insensitive to your experience, just to
EY> indicate the circumstances are different here. If it were the
EY> Bronx or parts of Brooklyn or Queens, the behavior could be
EY> sensible. Here it's just plain paranoid.
The assault on me was minor and there was a large police station (as I
pointed out to my attacker) just across the street (!). But there may
be a woman reading this who's been badly assaulted, or a man who has a
woman friend who has been -- or a man who has been -- who would feel
your insensitivity more strongly than do I. (And you did say "side
street".)
EY> And what would a cell phone do anyway? At the range where the
EY> cell phone defense is employed, a male could grab the cell phone
EY> before the woman could dial 911.
A police whistle, a personal alarm, and a readiness to shout "Fire"
(they say one should shout "Fire", not "Help" or "Rape") are probably
better in the event of an attack; but a cell 'phone might put an
attacker off,
EY> To me it looks like a symptom of further alienation from one's
EY> environment.
Alienation from some environments makes sense
--
Judy Evans, Cardiff, UK
mailto:judithevans1@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
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