I Thought I Was Fearless
I went to the Thrashers game last night with an old friend. We were supposed to meet and ride down together, but he was running late leaving work, so we agreed to meet at the CNN Center. At first, this seemed pretty reasonable to me; I would drive to Inman Park and then take Marta down to the Georgia Dome station. I had done it plenty of times before, but I had never done it when I knew I would be coming home after dark, by myself. I realized when I was getting ready to leave my car and walk into the station that i was not as comfortable with the thought of returning at 10 pm that night as I thought I was. Turns out I was kind of scared.
This really struck me like a ton of bricks. I consider myself an independent modern woman. I go places by myself and in fact like to be on my own around town. I like to eat alone, I play trivia on Tuesdays and park and go by myself. I like to go to movies by myself. But last night, I realized i was scared and nervous to get back on Marta after the game and come home by myself. Even worse, I knew it wasn’t a baseless or irrational fear. If anything, it was smart.
You see, the night before, neighbors had been mugged at gunpoint, in the middle of a busy street, with joggers and dog walkers and diners out and about, not a tenth of a mile from where I had parked about 20 minutes before. To top that off, a friend of mine in Grant Park came home that very same day to find cops surrounding her house after an attempted break-in. That’s two acquaintances within a couple of miles each other who were the victims of crime or attempted crime on the same day. If two people I know experience crime on the same day, how many hundreds of people in Atlanta are affected by crime day in and day out?
I know people are probably sick of my posts about Atlanta’s crime, but I am downright preoccupied with it recently. I no longer go running by myself in my own neighborhood. I used to, but now it just seems risky to me. A year ago, I wouldn’t have thought twice about taking Marta by myself. Last night, I took Marta down to Phillips, but when it came time to head back, I opted instead for having my friend drop me off at my car.
And you know what? It really sucks being scared and feeling limited in my actions, and feeling helpless to protect myself against the wastes of oxygen who are out there preying on Atlanta. It really pisses me off.
Thanks, Kortez for the comments.
james, is it really that commented on? Will have to go check it out. . .
yup….13 more comments than bakra house on the karachi metblog.
well 14 now.
I hear exactly what you’re saying, Annie. I took the train from Inman Park to meet a buddy of mine from North Atlanta for the Hawks game on Monday and had a bit of a panic when the game was over. So much so that I let my fears take over and offered to drive my friend home if she would take the train back to my car with me.
It wasn’t the train I was afraid of…it was the parking lot.
I hear exactly what you’re saying, Annie. I took the train from Inman Park to meet a buddy of mine from North Atlanta for the Hawks game on Monday and had a bit of a panic when the game was over. So much so that I let my fears take over and offered to drive my friend home if she would take the train back to my car with me.
It wasn’t the train I was afraid of…it was the parking lot.
Thanks, Tori – I agree – the parking lots are the scary part.
Mr T. You need to read more carefully. I wasn’t defending Franklin at all, I was just repeating the "excuse" (in response to the above post) I had heard on the news. Unsurprisingly it turned out to be incomplete, thanks for the clarification.
I’d like to ring in and second the notion that it’s not the ride, but the parking lot. Lots of parking lots, not just MARTA. And not only in Atlanta, but most places. And while, yes, we womenfolk are common targets, parking lots are pretty fertile ground for assualt and robbery of both men and women. So, it’s a security issue.
If you’re walking to your car, you probably have your drivers license, which is likely in your wallet, which probably has a little bit of money – or at least credit cards. These are crimes of opportunity, and there are things that can be done by the property owner, the community, and the individual that can aid in reducing the criminal opportunity. Lighting would help. More security presence would help. Awareness of surroundings is essential.
Also, I ride MARTA quite often and commuted daily on the system for two years until I began working from home. I can walk to the station closest to me, but there are no sidewalks. The bus at the end of my road comes – like a previous poster noted – every 30-90 minutes. It’s a service and infrastructure problem, too.
May not be a constructive addition to the conversation, but my two cents nonetheless.
Thanks for your comments, Sadie!
Violent crime in Atlanta is 3.30 times the National Average.
http://www.cityrating.com/citycrime.asp?city=Atlanta&state=GA
By comparison, New York is only 1.23 times the National Average.
http://www.cityrating.com/citycrime.asp?city=New+York&state=NY
So, yeah, you have a right to feel concerned, and be careful. Fearlessness is overrated.