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Are You a Victim Or a Survivor?
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Greetings!
I had an
interesting discussion with a friend just the other day. We were talking about the
pervasiveness of violent crime and how the headlines seem to be getting uglier.
Are we living in
an increasingly sick society? Are our public policies failing us? Are we on a downward
slide to oblivion?
Surprisingly, my
friend had a unique take on the situation. She doesn’t believe that criminals are
mushrooming in number, nor does she believe that these criminals are becoming more
violent than they were in previous decades.
Naturally, I
expressed my scepticism at this. If criminals aren’t becoming more brazen, then
why are we experiencing so much anxiety about crime? Why do we keep hearing about
it? It can’t just be collective moral panic.
My friend rolled
her eyes and put the blame squarely on the kind of society we live in today. We
have become increasingly urbanised. Grown dependent on modern conveniences. And
survival skills that were common only two or three generations ago have been
lost. As a result, we have become less self-reliant and more naïve.
My
friend recited
a statistic to drive home her point. At the beginning of the 20th
century, 90% of people were self-employed. They were farmers, artisans,
craftsmen. Today that number has shrunk to 2%. We are now almost
entirely a society
of corporate rats and cubicle dwellers. Self-sufficiency, it seems, is
no
longer fashionable.
To make matters
worse, our senses are no longer as sharp as they were in previous generations. My
friend offered an example of this. In 1950, if a young man ventured outdoors
for a walk, he would probably have the habit of pivoting his head from side to
side, and his eyes would constantly be scanning his environment. Fast-forward
to 2014, and that same man would probably be texting on his smartphone or
listening to his iPod. He won’t see danger coming. He won’t even hear it.
My friend summed
it up like this – it’s the number of victims that have soared rather than the
number of criminals. Through a combination of ignorance, apathy and
distraction, people are setting themselves up to be targets of opportunity. And
unless that mindset changes, we won’t be seeing a drastic reduction in violent crime
anytime soon.
While I have
trouble wrapping my mind around some of the more controversial aspects of her
theory, the gist of my friend’s argument is still sound. What separates a victim
from a survivor is the mindset. And if you’re constantly studying your environment
instead of squinting down at your smartphone, you’ll become a harder target for
a criminal to strike at.
Prevention, as
they say, is better than the cure. And making sure you don't become a crime statistic is even
better.
Do you have questions?
Comments? Perhaps you have a real-life story of your own to share? I'd
love to hear from you. You can get in touch with me by visiting my website.
Until next time, stay aware and stay safe!
Best Wishes
John Ling
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