1. Notes: 394 / 1 year ago  from sheasylvia
    shea sylvia [blog edition]: A Cautionary Tale

    Mom, don’t read this post.

    I work in online marketing and it’s no secret that I actively blog, tweet and check in on Foursquare. It’s not just my profession - it’s fun. Social media is largely responsible for some of my closest friendships. I’ve never felt unsafe participating and generally…

    This is a bit of a long entry, but Shea’s post reminded me of some anti-terrorism training we received after getting back from my first deployment to Iraq. When Marines head home on leave or travel from one unit to another via air, we often wear a variation of our service greens or dress blue uniforms. For a time, we were told to travel in civilian attire when flying to keep a low profile, despite how incredibly easy it is to spot a Marine in civilian clothes if you have the slightest idea of what to look for. We were also given some additional training for protecting ourselves on American soil.

    I don’t remember whether this was in response to a specific situation that occurred or just a general precaution to address increased hostility towards American troops, but the training that resulted was very valuable.

    I can’t speak for other countries, but we’re often extremely lax and oblivious to our surroundings in America. We have this naive, false sense of security and believe that nothing will ever actually happen to us. This may very well be true for a large percentage of people. Unfortunately, gambling on chance by not taking some simple precautions may lead to you learning the hard way. Sometimes, learning the hard way doesn’t leave you with an opportunity to apply what you’ve learned in the future.

    Below is a list of pretty straight forward guidelines for staying safe and prepared. There are some guidelines that are a little more relevant to women, but most of these simple precautions apply to anyone.

    • Be unpredictable. Change up your routine and route often. If you meet friends on a specific day each week at a specific time and at a specific restaurant, you’re leaving yourself embarrassingly vulnerable. Take different routes to work. Leave early occasionally. Mix it up.
    • Most reported violent crimes happen in parking garages or parking lots. If in a parking garage, alley, or another isolated, obviously dangerous place, do NOT allow yourself to be distracted. Hang up your cell phone and pay attention to what’s going on around you. Try to minimize your exposure to these kinds of places as much as possible. If you must be there, try to bring a friend or ask a security guard to escort you if you can.
    • Get into the habit of locking your doors as soon as you get into your car. When you leave your car, make sure the windows are completely rolled up and lock your doors behind you.
    • Keyless entry is your friend. Learn how to get into your car quickly, but do a quick scan of the back seats and passenger seat before unlocking your door.
    • If you must park your car in a parking garage, try to park near well lit areas. In this case, being close to a parking garage exit/stairwell is not necessarily a good idea as it makes you a more tempting target for people who want to make a quick escape. Parking way out away from potential help is another bad idea. Find a balance between the two.
    • If entering an isolated area like a parking garage, look for people sitting in parked cars or standing around. Avoid corners and walls that someone could hide behind. Look between cars as you walk. Glance over your shoulder often. If something doesn’t feel right, trust your gut and get to a safe, populated area immediately.
    • Numbers typically equal safety. Increasing numbers increases safety.
    • If attacked in an isolated area, do not yell “help,” “rape,” “I’m being robbed,” etc. People will often avoid a dangerous situation. Yell “Help, fire!”. For whatever reason, people will typically flock to see a fire.
    • When at airports or other crowded places, sit with your back to a wall if possible. If you can’t find a place against a wall, try to keep the majority of people in front of you and be aware of who’s behind you.
    • Be aware of your surroundings. When entering an area you plan to spend some time at, pay special attention to exits, security points, and potential bottlenecks. Make a mental layout of the place. After you find a seat, mentally create an escape route, then make a alternate escape route.
    • Don’t broadcast when you’re leaving or where you’re going to everyone, especially not on the Internet. Posting your plans on the Internet ridiculously trusting, which is just a nice way of saying “stupid”.
    • Be a people watcher. Ideally, you want to be discrete and not creepy/obvious. Don’t openly gawk like an idiot. Learn take quick mental snapshots that you can evaluate after you drop your glance. The number of details you can retain after a quick glance will increase with practice. Look for unusual things. Look for strange behavior and people watching you.
    • If you stay at a hotel, try to get a room with no windows and close to an exit. If you must have a room with a window, sleep away from it. Sleep on the other side of the room, if possible. If not on the ground floor, try to be near a stairwell rather than an elevator. Elevators are obvious bottlenecks.
    • Do your research. Look up crimes happening in your area at sites like CrimeReports.com. This will give you an idea of hotspots you should avoid.
    • Every situation is different. You need to be actively aware of your surroundings so that you can make good judgments based on your unique circumstances at the time.
    • As stated earlier, trust your gut. Police reports show that people will often feel that something is wrong before being attacked or robbed.

    These may seem like unnecessarily rigid rules, but they really are just simple, good practice. The more you apply them, the more they’ll become second nature until you’re not even thinking about what you’re doing. You may think that this post is overly paranoid, but what is your safety and possibly your family’s safety worth? If applying some simple safety tips can keep you out of unnecessary trouble, isn’t it worth it?

    I encourage you to read Shea’s complete post too. It really is something that people need to hear right now. Neither of our posts are meant to induce fear, but to warn people to be cautious. Trust is something that should be carefully given to those who have earned it. You can’t trust everyone by default and that’s exactly what you’re doing when you tell anyone who wants to know exactly when, where, and what you’re doing.

    As a side note: It may be obvious that I don’t believe geo-location should be integrated with social media. I know the results can be fun and I realize that we, as people, are becoming more integrated, but the risks are simply too high in my opinion.

  2. Notes

    1. samsung-galaxy-s3-deals reblogged this from sheasylvia
    2. maldives-holidays reblogged this from sheasylvia
    3. trace-cell-look-58 reblogged this from sheasylvia
    4. halloweenchick007 reblogged this from sheasylvia
    5. blog-u-like reblogged this from sheasylvia
    6. lawyerssandiego1-skyrock reblogged this from sheasylvia
    7. cheap--hosting reblogged this from sheasylvia
    8. unableregion45 reblogged this from sheasylvia
    9. istoselidon0i reblogged this from sheasylvia
    10. istoselidon4u reblogged this from sheasylvia
    11. istoselidon1j reblogged this from sheasylvia
    12. istoselidon1a reblogged this from sheasylvia
    13. istoselidon9t reblogged this from sheasylvia
    14. xn----ylbaboebotbdcs8cycfbfdiq reblogged this from sheasylvia
    15. istoselidon4c reblogged this from sheasylvia
    16. istoselidon2f reblogged this from sheasylvia
    17. istoselidon2g reblogged this from sheasylvia
    18. xn----ylbandbmrbccr2ax8cfbiip9g reblogged this from sheasylvia
    19. istoselidon0v reblogged this from sheasylvia
    20. istoselidon3c reblogged this from sheasylvia
    21. istoselidon7z reblogged this from sheasylvia
    22. xn----slbefaduec3bfcs8cycfbfdiq reblogged this from sheasylvia
    23. sheasylvia posted this
avatar_128
 
 
I'm a full time Web designer who co-founded an (over)active Web design firm. You can find me on http://Twitter.com/nb109 and probably some other places if you look around a bit.
 
 

Following

laughingsquidheadunderwaterhomedesigningherochancaptchartgregbabulamike3kftblogclientsfromhellpacalinarchitectureblognudgeupadobegripesfilmgirl9-bitssubtilitasjyosephmattschwarzstaffteamcococosfailtumblrbotlivejamierubodewigbanksystreetarttumblndicewbotdtmblgshbricsshouseofbuttonsesbuenojayteejoshkneppernotchgleepdowdingstevencopleyshitmykidsruinedjqtoucherror601stevemaillrockettjordandobsonterrystorchecommerceforbeginnersiwantrobotsstrakerobertpalmerbasilthebarbariansimplebitsmybestcigarsthebigcaptionadiigavinsteelespaceshipcollabojeffrey-waystrangerthanevictionstratocasterdrewdouglassdigisplicer
 

Tumblr