“Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave?”
As my phone buzzed in class, so did the other phones in the classroom. When I picked up my phone, I was not surprised to see what was on my screen–another amber alert. I sighed and put my phone away. So did all my classmates. My teacher did the same as well. This was a routine now. In Colorado, frequent amber alerts didn’t surprise anyone anymore. Another child missing? Well, at least it wasn’t us.
From young, we were all taught to not take candy from strangers because as we all know, Stranger Danger! As I grew older, warnings of strangers became more emphasized. Out of the five places I lived in, Colorado was the place where my mom grew really overprotective over me. There would be shootings in movie theaters and nearby shops. A few times, there were warnings about a strange man who seemed to be waiting on the outskirts of the premise of the local elementary school–the same one that I attended. I was in multiple lockdowns at my middle school, but none of them were drills.
When I entered my teenage years, I became more aware of the danger that surrounded me. Sometimes, I would like to walk around alone during the nighttime. When a car slows down where I was walking, I would pick up my pace, praying that whoever was in that car didn’t have it out for petite Asian girls. My sister gifted me pepper spray for my walks because she also became paranoid. With two quick movements of my index finger, I could render my attacker powerless. For one summer, I took karate lessons because my mom thought it was important for me to learn how to defend myself. Whenever I went out alone with my guy friends, my mom would tell me not to drink from my cup because I would never know if it had been roofied. She told me stories of girls who got drugged by their own friends.
I always thought that catcalling was a myth because who in their right mind would catcall to a woman on the streets; Even more so, who would want to catcall a girl on the streets? It was during my junior year of high school. I was at a volunteer event for school when two guys walked past me whistling, “Ay yo, you’re hot!” Chills ran down my arms as I proceeded to avoid eye contact and walk faster. I’ve been told stories about these notorious catcallers. Often times, they would follow the girl around relentlessly. Luckily for me, these guys didn’t do that. But from this experience, I learned to keep my head down and avoid eye contact.
Needless to say, I live by a set of rules that keep me safe and hopefully, you too. Keep your head down and avoid eye contact whilst walking down the streets. Use your peripheral vision to be aware of your surroundings. While you’re alone, keep pepper spray in your hand and keep that hidden in your pocket. Never go to a bathroom in a crowded place alone. If you see a strange object on your car, other than a ticket, do not touch your car. In fact, zip ties are common signs. You should immediately call the police because you could be the next potential sex trafficking victim. If people follow you around advertising to you, be careful; these people are most likely going to lure you into a dangerous situation. Always lock your car when you are driving because when you are a stoplight, anyone can jump into your car. When you are at your house alone, lock all the doors and do not answer the door for anybody, even a fellow classmate.
With all of this in mind, let me ask you this: is America really the land of the free? Or is our national anthem just a travesty of freedom?
I think the way you described our familiarity with tragedy was just as beautiful as it ws tragic. Our increased technological connection allows us to stay aware of/prepared for the world around us, but at the same time, cannot help but overwhelm us with all the evils which seem to happen every second of every day; it has allowed us to realize and ruminate in the fear of just how awful humanity can truly be. Like in your example with the cat callers, everything turned our relatively “fine,” but there were so many ways whihc we’re constantly warned about that it could’ve gone wrong. You’ve probably heard of the story, but over the summer kids discovered ways to make seemingly empty water bottle bombs which would explode strongly enough to amputate limbs when people picked them up to throw them away; sometimes it feels like noting is safe anymore and it’s bettwer safe than sorry… Bleak tone, but thanks for sharing your story.
As a life long resident of Naperville, your blog post truly was impactful. Almost too often I read of tragic stories from dangerous cities in the news. On one hand, the regular dosage of such news builds tolerance as one sadly shifts these occurrences to the back of their mind as norm. But just as prominent, a disconnect between this harsh reality and most Napervillians’ personal experiences make their prevalence hard to believe. Your post, even if it is a bit depressing, is certainly not only helpful as a reminder of the extremes of a present American condition, but also great in its safety tips for dealing with dangerous situations.