Tuesday, June 24th, 2008
Jogger fights off would-be rapist I don't know if any of you read this story in the SJR this morning. My dad called me this morning to ask if I ever went out on the Wabash Trail by myself. I told him that sometimes I took the dogs for walks or rode my bike by myself. Of course that piqued my curiosity, so I asked him why. He told me that a woman was attacked on the trail on Sunday morning. The man had a knife and attempted to rape the woman. She fought him off and called 911 using her cell phone. That frightened him off. (For more details, read the article.)
I run several times a week by myself (usually in my neighborhood). I also bike and walk on both the Interurban and Wabash Trails. Most of the time, I'm out on these trails in the mornings. Very rarely do I carry my cell phone with me, not because I think I couldn't possibly be attacked, but because it just doesn't occur to me that these things happen.
I grew up in a small town. We not only knew all our neighbors' names, but the names of nearly everyone in our town. People waved when they saw one another. The worst that ever happened when I was growing up was Christmas lights being cut. The small town culture raised me to be very trusting. This is no excuse to do silly things (running by myself without a cell phone). My father tried to instill caution in me. I just don't think about it most of the time. (End first tangent.)
(Begin second tangent.) It's sad that a woman can't run by herself without worrying about being attacked. Several of the comments on the SJR website say that women shouldn't go out by themselves. (They also refer to the attack on the woman in Washington Park and say that it isn't just the bike trails, but everywhere.) That limits our independence. I enjoy working out by myself. I enjoy setting my own pace and challenging myself. I also enjoy the alone-time running gives me. That's time I don't want to share with someone else. Quite honestly I more than likely won't give up my alone-time (especially since there's no way I'll get Mr. Shoo up to run with me in the mornings), but I will be more cautious.
I don't know that giving up our independence and always insisting on having someone with us is the answer. I do believe that we (read: I) need to be more cautious. I know I will be carrying my cell phone with me from now on. I will also be more aware of my surroundings. Usually I am so focused on my pace and such that I don't always notice what's around me. I'll have to multi-task from now on. I think if we simply refuse to go out by ourselves, we are all becoming victims, and I won't do that. (My daddy will be very bothered by this.)
What do you think? Should we give up our independence because someone is victimizing others? Is this being safe and smart? Or is this being afraid to live because of a few isolated incidents? (End second tangent.)
What I was really impressed by while reading this article was the woman's clear head while being attacked. I know humans are programmed to protect themselves in any way possible, but her cool head was so inspiring to me. I'm sure this is what saved her.
Anyway, I just wanted to share this because I know I'm not the only Humzoo-er who uses the Springpatch bike trails, and I'm sure I'm not the only one who enjoys walking, biking and running alone. So, be cautious!!

(Finally, check out the comments on the article regarding concealed carry. I love how people can turn anything into a political discussion. I have to wonder though if she did carry a .22 while running if it would end up shooting her on accident rather than an attacker during an attempted rape.)