Comments on: Friday Question of the Day

By: K

Sat, 19 Jul 2008 06:15:23 +0000

Listen, if you are so incredibly afraid of crime I think you shouldn’t live in the city. You obviously will be too paranoid to enjoy all it has to offer. One of the best parts of living in an urban area is walking everywhere, no matter what time it is and not having to worry about drinking and driving.

I live at 10th and Florida and walk home at all hours of the night, by myself, and haven’t had any problems. That being said, several people I know have been mugged all over the city. I think it’s more important to discuss what we can do about crime rather than hand-wring and indulge our fears. One life, people.

By: Prince Of Petworth

Prince Of Petworth — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 18:46:41 +0000

I hear you M, one post out of 75 this week was (nominally) about crime. Good grief!

By: M

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 18:38:22 +0000

Anonymous – never mind we will never agree and you cannot judge my logic. I’m done with this blog. Tired of talking about crime

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 18:02:00 +0000

@M, you just confirmed my suspicion about the type of logic you use (despite your assertion otherwise).

By: M

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 17:48:17 +0000

@anonymous 12:24.

Yep, no different. In April of this year there was a shooting on 10th and Randolph St. at 5 in the afternoon. My friend was mugged on Quincy and 10th at 6pm. I don’t have any flawed logic, just experience.

If people really don’t want to walk alone at night with a dog, without a dog, drunk or not drunk in Columbia Heights, Friendship Heights or Petworth, then they need to move out of the city. Like I said just be smart all the time!

By: Perplexed

Perplexed — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 17:47:23 +0000

Coming from the metro, I would think it depends on distance and direction. I feel reasonably comfortable walking three blocks up Georgia from the metro, since it seems to be lit up like a football field and fairly open most of the way. I don’t know if I’d feel the same way if I had to go up New Hampshire or down towards Liquor Store Row on Georgia.

I’ve always had a theory that would-be muggers are more likely to be trolling around fancier neighborhoods late at night than they are in their own ‘hood. I got mugged at gunpoint near 23rd and Virginia in Foggy Bottom once. The cops said the same guy had mugged a couple in Georgetown a half hour earlier.

By: dreas

dreas — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 16:39:03 +0000

Someone was giving me (and my husband) a hard time just last night after I mentioned being out alone (I’m female) with our dog at 3am. Not that it happens often, but I don’t worry very much at all when she’s with me, even at more normal hours. Like JC said, I’ve got a cell phone (maybe), and that’s it, so I’m not worth mugging. And my dog is not going to let someone threatening anywhere near me, period. Yeah, someone could shoot or otherwise kill the dog, but if they’re that determined… well, I probably didn’t stand much chance to begin with, dog or not.

That said, I’m not stupid and don’t zone out just because I’m walking with a dog. I still pay attention to what’s going on around me and I stick to the busier streets – easy, because we live on 13th. But I do refuse to feel threatened every time I leave the house.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 16:24:38 +0000

@M — you really believe that walking alone at 3am and 3pm are no different?

It seems that logic often goes out the window when it comes to crime on this blog. I’m always amazed at the people here who argue that Columbia Heights is no more dangerous than any other neighborhood, including even Friendship Heights. The only way I can see that one can come to this conclusion is via perverted logic that goes something like this:

A person was mugged in Friendship Heights.
A person was mugged in Columbia Heights.
Therefore, it is possible for a person to be mugged in either Friendship Heights or in Columbia Heights.
(No problem up till here, but the leap is coming….)
Conclusion, Columbia Heights is no more dangerous than Friendship Heights.

By: ds

ds — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 15:37:21 +0000

Totally different between walking and biking. After 10 or so I’d take a cab rather than walk alone. I would bike home alone at any hour.

By: Kalia

Kalia — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 15:29:46 +0000

JC are you a woman or a man? I think that makes a big difference too. I heard on the radio a woman had a big dog and would take it out running at night alone thinking the dog would deter people. They just killed her dog and she ended up in Rock Creek Park. I don’t think people should expect this every time they go out walking, but it happens and having a dog, a bike, a weapon etc. shouldn’t really be a reason to let your guard down. I don’t think women should have to walk around afraid we are going to be targets every where everytime, but I don’t think we should ignorant to the facts just because we don’t think its right we are more often the victims.