The Wannabe

I pick up hitch-hikers…or at least I did until I got married.  I see it as a helping hand to someone in need.  Shanan sees it as a quick way to get killed/raped/robbed/assaulted/etc.  Well yesterday she sends me this article from KGW about a woman who was assaulted and nearly raped by a “stranded motorist” pretending to need help. Shanan’s comment was, “This is why we don’t stop to help people.  It is sad but a reality…”

While I completely agree that it does happen, and it certainly is tragic when it does, my response is that we can’t live our lives in fear.  One of my favorite quotes is, “The brave may not live long, but the cautious do not live at all.”  I’m sorry, but I refuse to lose faith and trust in the whole of humanity simply because a few people act like monsters.  I know sometimes it seems like there are more than a few, but think of it this way: they don’t write a news story every time a stranded motorist DOESN’T try to rape the person who’s helping them.  I personally have picked up more than a dozen hitch-hikers and each and every one has been kind and thankful.  Just my two cents…