Thursday, October 27, 2011

How you should not convert people

So because of one of my tags from yesterday it made me think of another story.

I was walking to a friend's party a few years ago. My friend's apartment was situated in amongst a lot of apartment blocks so very little parking in the area so I had to park pretty far away. This wouldn't have bothered me normally, except the road was having light problems so there were no streetlamps on, and I was startled to suddenly catching sight of two men walking on the other side of what I had previously thought was a deserted road... who obviously spotted me at the same moment and made a bee line across the road towards me. I couldn't make them out at all in the dark and got kind of freaked out. I kept walking and one of the guys went to get ahead of me. They were cutting me off from getting to my friend's place a block and a half away. There was a van in between us (why they had to split up) so I stepped further off the sidewalk onto the grass towards one of the apartment blocks thinking about running behind the buildings. Wondering if that would place me in more or less danger, get a head start? Or isolate myself?

But before I could head that way they spoke to me. It took a moment for my brain to process what they were saying. Mormons. I felt like yelling at them. I wouldn't allow myself to drop out of my fight or flight mode. I kept distance between us and edged away.

I was only half listening to the conversation (thankfully I can make small talk in my sleep). I was mad, thinking: Which of theses idiots thought it was a good idea to come up to a woman on her own at night? And then I got analyzing why I was mad. I had been scared. Scared that these unknown guys were going to attack me. I calmed down some as I talked with them a bit, slowly walking around them. Putting me closer to my friend's building. I finished with them and walked away thinking: Wouldn't it be a perfect way to rob someone by saying "don't worry we're Mormons"

I always like going for walks on my own and I like talking to Mormons... but that night really made me question going out at night on my own.
Could I have defended myself? probably not
Would anyone have been able to help me? ...no
Did it stop me from going for walks on my own? No.

As I'm reminded of this I think it is time for me to look into taking a level in bad ass.

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