Friday, October 05, 2007
Be careful... ie full of care
This morning I read a news item, about a Jo'burg mum who'd survived an attempted hijacking on her way to pick her daughter up at school. Turns out that family has survived four hijackings in the past few years. She had her Merc window smashed and was shot at, coming off lightly with a grazed shoulder, and the guys made off without her car. The principal of the school she was on her way to, declared that it was a warning to parents and the public in general to be more careful.
I thought about this for some time. Armoured cars are constantly being attacked and regular heists, some successful, some less so, are in the news at least once a week. Strangely, no-one makes them out to be careless and slack about security. Could it be that they are pretty-nigh invincible? They still get attacked. Why are we, the general public, the ones to blame when the criminals decide it's our turn today? We are soft targets, when we decide to drive with our windows open because it's a stinking hot day. On the same day as the hijacking above, two people were attacked and robbed as they were eating takeaway lunches in their car under a tree. The news report tsk-tsked that their windows were wound down...
Well, if we want to be above criticism ('commenting on the rape, Captain/Station Commander xxxx once more reiterated that women should avoid high-risk areas...) we should definitely invest in more armoured cars and try to stay well-armed (and stick to bright, busy places). Surely nothing could be brighter and busier than the Long Beach Mall on any ordinary day. In broad daylight, robbers attacked the Mugg and Bean, sending people screaming in all directions. There were two other incidents, I think, that month, not counting about 10 cars that were stolen from their open-air parking lot.
It's not on record whether anyone called for the public to be more careful in future, on that occasion. Do we still go to Long Beach Mall? It wasn't the first robbery or the last one there in recent times. Or Blue Route Mall, where there was a rape in the toilets? (Management advised women not to use the toilets if there was no-one else about)... Hell no, we're like the gazelles on the savannah, we have to eat, we have to pee, and we hope the predators get someone else when next they feel the urge.
It's high time we stopped blaming the victims/survivors for the crime wave. ¶ 4:50 AM
I thought about this for some time. Armoured cars are constantly being attacked and regular heists, some successful, some less so, are in the news at least once a week. Strangely, no-one makes them out to be careless and slack about security. Could it be that they are pretty-nigh invincible? They still get attacked. Why are we, the general public, the ones to blame when the criminals decide it's our turn today? We are soft targets, when we decide to drive with our windows open because it's a stinking hot day. On the same day as the hijacking above, two people were attacked and robbed as they were eating takeaway lunches in their car under a tree. The news report tsk-tsked that their windows were wound down...
Well, if we want to be above criticism ('commenting on the rape, Captain/Station Commander xxxx once more reiterated that women should avoid high-risk areas...) we should definitely invest in more armoured cars and try to stay well-armed (and stick to bright, busy places). Surely nothing could be brighter and busier than the Long Beach Mall on any ordinary day. In broad daylight, robbers attacked the Mugg and Bean, sending people screaming in all directions. There were two other incidents, I think, that month, not counting about 10 cars that were stolen from their open-air parking lot.
It's not on record whether anyone called for the public to be more careful in future, on that occasion. Do we still go to Long Beach Mall? It wasn't the first robbery or the last one there in recent times. Or Blue Route Mall, where there was a rape in the toilets? (Management advised women not to use the toilets if there was no-one else about)... Hell no, we're like the gazelles on the savannah, we have to eat, we have to pee, and we hope the predators get someone else when next they feel the urge.
It's high time we stopped blaming the victims/survivors for the crime wave. ¶ 4:50 AM
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