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From: saquigley@watmath.UUCP (Sophie Quigley)
Newsgroups: net.women,net.singles
Subject: Re: Rape: TUT:  Walking Alone at Night
Message-ID: <10391@watmath.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 13-Dec-84 15:58:12 EST
Article-I.D.: watmath.10391
Posted: Thu Dec 13 15:58:12 1984
Date-Received: Fri, 14-Dec-84 05:07:30 EST
References: <1855@sun.uucp>, <2182@randvax.UUCP> <475@hou5g.UUCP> <1031@hcrvx1.UUCP>
Organization: U of Waterloo, Ontario
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Xref: watmath net.women:3780 net.singles:4857

> 
> 	If you (a man) are walking alone at night (or with other men)
> 	and see a woman walking alone toward you, then cross the street
> 	and let her walk in peace.
> 
> I'd rather smile at her when I pass.  That way she'll have a tremendous
> feeling of relief, rather than feeling that all men are either rapists or
> simply avoiding her.  Really, this is a nonsensical suggestion.  Why don't
> I also cross the street for members of visible ethnic groups, who might fear
> racial harassment?  While I am at it I could also cross the street for
> people I suspect are deeply religious as they could be offended by the air
> of atheism about me.
> 
I personnally prefer men who ignore me to men who smile at me when I am in a
situation where I feel threatened.  When men smile, I always wonder whether
it is a trick or not.  Call me paranoid if you wish, but I am certainly not
the only paranoid around, and in certain cases, it is better to be paranoid
than dead.   

If you think your solution is a good idea, I beg of you to ask other women what
they think of it.  I doubt very much that most will agree with you.

The difference between women and members of other minorities (I assume you are
talking about men now) is that women in general are weaker than men, in worse
shape than them, and usually wear more constrictive clothes, all of which
means that they don't stand as much a chance of winning a physical fight against
a man than another man would.  Also unlike men, women have more to fear from
other men: while homosexual rape does exist, and people of both sexes can get
just as easily tortured, most assaults against men are non-sexual.

> 	Also, speaking of anger, here is a time when anger comes in handy.
> 	If you look and feel angry as you pass people on the street. . .
> 
> Everyone will think you are a nasty creep and you'll get ulcers.

That's right, and I (and other women) resent this very much, and are very
angried by this, but a lot of us would rather have ulcers than be raped.
> 
> 	. . .they are less likely to annoy you (as observed by me walking in
> 	New York).  Anger should not be given up lightly by women.  It works
> 	for them at least as often as it works against them.
> 	
> Hey!  I like your either/or approach to problem solving.  Dogs.  What about
> dogs?  Since some dogs are likely to bite people we should kill all dogs!
> Seriously:  have you never thought of acting *appropriately* rather than
> picking one behaviour?  If you always look angry you are going to help create
> a nasty place to live.  Stay off my street, please.  If you teach yourself
> how to not look like a victim and how to look confident you may discover
> similar results without putting the world off.  Looking angry should be
> reserved for when you really need it.
> 
The problem with your suggestion, is that often by the time you figure out what
an "appropriate" behaviour is, it's too late.
>                               Tracy Tims    {linus,allegra,decvax}!watmath!...
>    Human Computing Resources Corporation             {lbl-csa,ihnp4,utzoo}!...
>  Toronto, Ontario, Canada.  416 922-1937                   ...hcr!hcrvax!tracy