Knife Party

This blog post is a little different that what I usually discuss on here, but it is something that i feel needs to be said, so here it is. Sometimes, I come to the realization that I am extremely naive. Last night was one of those nights.

A lot has been on my mind lately, so I decided to walk around my college's downtown area (if you can even really call it that because it's so small). After an excessive amount of cat-calls and creepy comments, I decided to call it a night and head back to my residence hall.

I walk alone a lot at night, usually because I like to leave parties early. When I tell people this, they say something along the lines of "you shouldn't do that, you're asking for trouble/that's really dangerous". However, when a guy walks alone, he is generally not bothered (at least not to the extent that women are). I understand that the world is not perfect, and there isn't really a whole lot I can do to remedy this situation, minus locking myself in my room at 7pm.

Here's what really grinds my gears though. Recently, I acquired a knife that I carry around with me in my pocket when I walk around alone at night in order to defend myself, due to all of my nightwalks. Keep in mind that lots of guys carry knives, even during the day, and no one says a whole lot about that. But when I mention this to anyone, I swear this is what they see

No. No. No no no no no. Definitely not. I am not going to turn into a slasher/murderer just because I have a weapon. I am then asked why I don't just carry around pepper spray or a rape whistle. Maybe because sprays have a tendency to go bad and not work, and how is a whistle (if you can even muster up the breath to blow it) going to help, especially if you are in an out-of-the-way area? I mean, come on, how many rapes/killings/muggings happen in an area where a rape whistle would actually be beneficial? Very very few.

A knife, however, is easy to grab, and is useful in most situations. Also, the attacker will most likely be caught off-guard by the fact that a woman is wielding a knife, giving her an advantage. Who wouldn't want those odds?

Sexism is still alive and well. I would like to be as well. Oh, and this happened, which was pretty awesome. Gotta love people who appreciate self-preservation.