So I was on Facebook, procrastinating as usual, when I came across this group “Tips for all women… please join… and pass on.”   The group has posted safety and self defense tips for women, like if someone asks for your wallet, throw it instead of hand it to them  because you can run.  Or, if you are ever locked in a trunk, kick out the back window and waive your arm like crazy.  Or what to do if you are in a car with a gun held to your head.

I absolutely do not want to be insensitive to women who are victims of crime, and I definitely agree it is always better safe than sorry.  Raising awareness of how to be safe is always a good thing.  But I feel like I want to draw a line between being safe and being obsessed and having irrational fears.  Reading this Facebook page, I couldn’t help to think about when we stop becoming safe and start becoming irrational.  Advice for getting into a car in the parking garage:  “If you are parked next to a big van, enter your car from the passenger door.  Most serial killers attack their victims by pulling them into their vans while the women are attempting to get into their cars.”  I’m up for discussion, but I get the feeling that statements like this can create an irrational fear of serial killers in mall parking lots.   

What do you all think?  Do we create irrational fears?