Oh. So that's why the big adrenaline rush when neighbor-I've-never-met yelled at me while I was walking the dog. Right.

I think about safety, but I feel pretty confident about it. Strangely enough, the thing that makes me feel the most confident is having been mugged and almost raped.

The way I fought back at once got me (a) beaten up and (b) got me out of being raped and/or murdered. So it makes me feel better that I've been in a situation that was violent and I walked away from it. I'm aware, but not freaked; I don't feel like I am a victim. And I don't feel like because I'm a girl, I'm in more danger (although statistically, I suppose I am.)

I just feel like the world is as it is, it sucks, we should change it, but until that happens, don't fuck with me because I will try my damnedest to FUCK YOU UP.

And I know I will. So that makes me all mellow., conversely.

ARGH, why haven't we heard from the sellers? How long does it take to decide what a counteroffer should be? (Rhetorical question-- I know it can vary.)

But still... I WANNA HEAR NOOOOOOOOOOOW.

< /memememe>

ah! that's what I was going to ask. last week, new co-worker said something along the lines of "one in three girls will be inappropriately touched during her childhood. And coincidentally enough, that is about the same odds of women getting raped." Which really floored me. Both stats. Is that anywhere near accurate?

There was no good luck at the flea market. I came out in negative numbers. It was so cold no one came, and then it started raining. Also, my truck wouldn't start. A kind person helped me jumpstart it. I swear there wasn't anything on, so I don't know what is going on. When does the do-over start?

"one in three girls will be inappropriately touched during her childhood. And coincidentally enough, that is about the same odds of women getting raped." Which really floored me. Both stats. Is that anywhere near accurate?

When I organized Take Back the Night it was "1 in 8 women will be sexually assaulted in her lifetime" but I recall reading somewhere recently that that statistic was bogus. I haven't had any luck so far on Snopes.

If asking someone not to touch you and having them persist is inappropriate touching I doubt anyone my age grew up without it. And nobody ever who has a sibling.

Aw, Ginger. That sucks. I'd check the battery cables and terminals for corrosion, and also consider having the entire charging system tested, as it may be the alternator. It may well be something else entirely, but these are the ones that have happened to me.

My friend Jude says that the only way that there will ever be true gender equality is when a woman can feel as safe walking down a dark street by herself as a man typically does. There's a lot of sense in that.

Yeah, but even if we get that, we're still out being equally safe to get drunk in mixed company.

last week, new co-worker said something along the lines of "one in three girls will be inappropriately touched during her childhood. And coincidentally enough, that is about the same odds of women getting raped." Which really floored me. Both stats. Is that anywhere near accurate?

According to RAINN [link] 1 in 6 women are victims of sexual assault. And here is a fact page from the Child Molestation Research & Prevention Institute on child molestation that gives an estimate of 1 in 10 children [link] . Incidentally, official training materials for my job, I have been told that 1 in 4 developmentally disabled adults is a victim of rape or molestation. So it looks like your co-worker was not correct, but the numbers as estimated - must be estimates, because so many victims never report the crime - are still staggering.

Even 10% is crazy high, and that is the lowest estimate given. Crazy I say.

Even 10% is crazy high, and that is the lowest estimate given. Crazy I say.

What's crazier to my mind is the fact that the vast majority of sexual assault is not the stranger breaking into someone's home, or dragging the victim into a dark alley, but is committed by someone the victim knows. Mad Men is apparently portraying rape in an accurate way. Dunno. Don't watch the show.

[link] Here is a cute bat taking a drink of water on the wing, just for a change of pace.