Tuesday; April 23

Being a victim of crime can be a scary thing for people.  We live in a time when, with 24/7 media, there is a lot of coverage of the bad things that are happening – not just in our community, but throughout our nation and around the world.  In addition to accounts that can be validated, social media is filled with stories about friends of friends of friends that may (or may not) be true.  There is a lot of talk about victimization and that can be troubling.
While being a victim can’t always be avoided (there are times when we can just be in the wrong place at the wrong time), the are a few things we can do to lessen our propensity to be victimized:
1.  Choose our friends and acquaintances wisely.   Even if we make good choices, we can find ourselves in the vicinity of those who don’t.  When that happens, we can be impacted by what might be termed collateral damage by their poor decision-making.
2.  Choose our times and locations wisely.  If your Mom was like mine, you probably heard something to the effect of “Nothing good ever happens at midnight”.  While that may be a simple overstatement, there is some legitimacy to it.  When we add to it that certain places have a tendency to attract trouble – time and place can enhance our problems.
3.  Choose our activities wisely.  Nothing can absolutely be considered inherently safe, but there are some pursuits that are apt to be more dangerous than others.  If we think something has the potential to create harm for us, let’s make sure our action is worth the risk.
          No, we can’t guarantee our safety, but we can do some things to help us avoid hazards.  Let’s live wise and stay safe.
          Think About It

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