I just finished reading a book called "Protecting the Gift" by Gavin De Becker. It's about keeping your kids safe from predators. Mr. De Becker has an obvious evolutionary worldview, and if you can get past all his talk comparing people to animals, I would recommend this book for parents. He advocates being aware of warning signs about people, and also listening to that still small instinctive voice (God-given, not evolved) that we sometimes discount because it seems irrational. He also gives great advice to women about how to avoid becoming a victim of violence. This is especially timely given the horrible news about Kelsey Smith's abduction and murder. For those of you who haven't heard, Kelsey was an 18 year-old girl, who just graduated high school, who was abducted in neighboring Overland Park on Saturday. She was leaving Target when a man abducted her in broad daylight. De Becker's book reminded me that you always want to fight for your life before you are taken to a secondary location; even if you are injured in the fight, it's likely better than what will happen to you if you are taken to a more private location. Sorry to be a downer today, but thinking about these awful possibilities and preparing for them is better than burying your head in the sand and being unable to protect yourself from people with evil intentions...
Thursday, June 07, 2007
Protecting the Gift
I just finished reading a book called "Protecting the Gift" by Gavin De Becker. It's about keeping your kids safe from predators. Mr. De Becker has an obvious evolutionary worldview, and if you can get past all his talk comparing people to animals, I would recommend this book for parents. He advocates being aware of warning signs about people, and also listening to that still small instinctive voice (God-given, not evolved) that we sometimes discount because it seems irrational. He also gives great advice to women about how to avoid becoming a victim of violence. This is especially timely given the horrible news about Kelsey Smith's abduction and murder. For those of you who haven't heard, Kelsey was an 18 year-old girl, who just graduated high school, who was abducted in neighboring Overland Park on Saturday. She was leaving Target when a man abducted her in broad daylight. De Becker's book reminded me that you always want to fight for your life before you are taken to a secondary location; even if you are injured in the fight, it's likely better than what will happen to you if you are taken to a more private location. Sorry to be a downer today, but thinking about these awful possibilities and preparing for them is better than burying your head in the sand and being unable to protect yourself from people with evil intentions...
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1 comment:
Thanks for the recommendation. I followed Kelsey's story via msn.com, and wondered how it would affect your communities. The whole thing is really unimaginable, and yet I wonder if it happens to more people that we don't hear about.
Loved reading the last post.
(from Rana) uklopnmbgilovemommy
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