To dana about attack

[Guest guest]

dana wrote:

 

>> i was attacked today two blocks from my house by a drunk homeless guy.

>> it was 3 o'clock, broad daylight on a busy street in front of a

>> church. i live in san francisco. nice part of town. I was walking up

>> the street and saw this guy who was so drunk he couldn't walk straight

>> so i stayed to the side of the sidewalk, he suddenly dropped his

>> bottle and came toward me, i said NO (i read this somewhere), he

>> grabbed me holding me and i started screaming help me or something and

>> flailing my arms and running away, the guy chased me for about a block

>> and then gave up...no one around did anything...afterwards a guy

>> pulled up in a car and said he saw the whole thing and we called the

>> police, who were really nice...we never found him...

 

 

 

 

Dear dana ~ I'm glad you shared this. I am so sorry this happened to you. I

think sometimes in our quest for Love and to be Loving we ignore the very real

dangers that may be around us. This same thing happened to me when I lived

in the Washington, DC, area ... actually more than once. I was in Adams Morgan

(slightly downtrodden but on the way to yuppification area) one day, broad

daylight, walking, enjoying the day. Ahead I saw this man. He was yelling at

the sky. I don't know if he was drunk; I just thought he wasn't quite right

in the head. As I got closer to where he was, I moved over so that I would be

further away from him as I passed. To my amazement, he came after me. Really

before I could even do anything, he walked up to me and punched me in the arm,

really hard. Then I ran. He followed for a bit, and then, as in your case,

gave up and turned his attention to a nearby car. I went to the nearest phone

booth and called the police. A few minutes later a cop car showed up and

picked him up. I felt bad because I didn't know what would happen to him after

that, but I knew I had to be as sure as I could that he wouldn't punch anyone

else that day.

 

I worked on 8th Street in SE DC, which was a very bad neighborhood, despite

the fact that the marine barracks were right across the street from my office.

The three block walk from the subway to my office was sometimes wonderful,

with seagulls circling above, with trees showing soft buds in the spring, etc.

But sometimes it was quite scary. I had a man start chasing me once for no

reason I could think of, and, thank goodness, I was close to the 7-11. I ran

inside and hid until he went away. I also learned to look the other way if I

saw a mother hitting her children. Once when I attempted to intervene, the

mother came after me.

 

So I understand the shock. And, in some ways, though the incidents are not

so huge as, say, a terrorist blowing him or her self up in the subway or on a

busy street, I believe the feeling of shock, disorientation, fear and

confusion are much the same. How could this happen here? How could this happen

to me?

There are no sane answers to these questions. Bad things can happen

anywhere, anytime to anyone. You are very right to share your experience with

the

group as well as your tips for dealing with this type of situation.

 

And then, once we get passed the shock, we have to find a way to not let the

experience ruin our life experiences. I had to find a way to still love the

circling gulls and the strutting mating dance of the male pigeons; to still

love the walk through this very dangerous neighborhood when it was fall and the

streets were a riot of color. But it takes time, and we also have to be very

gentle with ourselves and honor the emotions that experiences like this

bring up.

 

My heart and prayers are with you, dana ~ Linda

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

I keep thinking as I read this thread, "These people should move to

Fairfield." It's not Shangri La, but it's a peaceful little town. You feel

pretty safe around here. I wouldn't want to live in a big city.