Do SOMETHING
I have to head out of town for the day right now, but I thought I’d leave you with this post from Meg Cabot. It’s serious, for once, but necessary.
And let me just say, as someone who has taught girls’ and women’s self-defense for several years, I absolutely second what Meg’s brother Officer Cabot has to say about the do something rule. One of the things I and the other instructors teach is that even though it’s not the most pleasant thing in the world, spend a few moments every now and then imagining yourself in really dire, frightening circumstances. Imagine what you might do first in a lot of different scenarios: someone trying to pull you into a car, someone grabbing you from behind, someone trying to force his way into the house, etc. Like I said, not pleasant.
But what you’re trying to do by imagining these scenarios is preparing yourself not to freeze. If you’ve seen a situation before–even if it’s just in your head for ten seconds–the chances are better that you’ll do something besides just stand there.
So as much as I hate to say it, maybe we all need to take a few minutes right now to picture a situation like the one at Virginia Tech. Picture yourself running, calling 911, hiding–whatever you think fits within your own set of skills.
Then, like working a muscle, let your brain go back to resting. You don’t have to dwell on these things, just work them through your imagination every now and then.
As I said on Kelly’s blog the other day, I wish so much that these lunatics would reverse the order of their to-do list, and just shoot themselves first. But until I get my way, let’s all give a thought to how best to take care of the treasure that is our own lives.
Thanks.
Technorati Tags: Self-Defense, Safety Tips, Meg Cabot
April 19th, 2007 at 1:26 pm
Thanks for that idea. I had seen a book not long ago in the library that taught your kids how to respond to attacks, and at the time I thought it was too…direct, I guess, for kids. But part of me now sees that those kids become teenagers and those teenagers go off to college, and maybe we don’t prepare them to do something in an emergency. I know that some of the kids at VT did act and react, but still, it makes you think about being prepared.
April 19th, 2007 at 6:31 pm
My mom always encouraged us kids to be pro-active in emergency situations;granted it comes naturally to her,being a nurse but the simple idea of DO SOMETHING! is one that everyone can get onboard with.
Just the other day,we had a small fire in our building(it was in one apartment only and no one was hurt)and the three of us sprang into action to get the heck out of Dodge. The only thing slowing us down was containing our cat to be carried outside(he’s skittish even on a normal day)but we quickly managed a way to do so. We’ve been thru a worse fire several years ago,where my brother and his friends were getting folks out of the building before the firemen arrived. They did something.
The VT situation is so incredibly sad,and while I understand the need for people to dig into the killer’s background and so forth,I think it would be a positive thing to focus more attention on those who showed bravery in the face of that danger,like the professor who blocked the door of his classroom with his body and gave his students a chance to escape out of the windows. A good example of “Do Something” right there.
April 19th, 2007 at 6:53 pm
Lady T, I couldn’t agree with you more about focusing on the acts of bravery, rather than the sickness of the killer. He’s already gotten too much of our time. He doesn’t deserve a minute more.
Mother Reader, I understand that concern. You don’t want to unnecessarily freak your kids out. I heard a good suggestion on NPR today about what to tell the younger kids: that someone hurt a lot of people with a gun, and we’re all incredibly sad about it. Then use that as an opener to talk about what we do when we see guns: run away and tell someone. Don’t touch the gun. It’s a good opportunity to start drilling that into the young ones’ heads.
April 22nd, 2007 at 2:12 pm
To tie this in to YA lit: I cannot stand YA lit where the something has happened to the girl and the end resolution specifically excludes the police; instead, its whether the girl feels better, or confronts the person, or does something that is believed to “end” the problem. All of that is great…but pressing charges is also a good thing. And I can think of a few titles where this doesn’t happen. Realistic…yes. But pressing charges is good thing.
April 22nd, 2007 at 5:47 pm
Liz, I agree with you a hundred percent. Young people get so much information from books, movies, and TV, and it is our responsibility as storytellers to give them good, honest, useful information. It’s why I appreciate YA authors who include with their sex scenes discussions of birth control and protection against STDs. And you’re so right about bringing these crime stories full circle. We can show kids through our fictional characters that it’s important to report assaults, threats, abuse, etc. One of the issues with the VT shooting is whether things might have been different if the girls the killer had been stalking a few years ago had pressed charges, giving him a criminal record that might have thwarted his gun purchases. Those kinds of “what ifs” can drive you crazy, but it’s worth considering our responsibilities when we witness or are victims of crimes.
Our actions today in speaking up can save someone else down the line.