MYTHS and URBAN LEGENDS
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Myth Busters:
“Safe” Neighborhoods

Do Myths and Urban Legends endanger your safety? Myth Busters debunks the urban myths, urban legends, and folklore that make you easy prey for predators.

Predators have all heard how naïve people in “safe” neighborhoods actually brag about not locking their doors. Yet unlocked doors allow roughly half of the 8,000 home invasions daily (in the U.S. alone).

The second most common home invasion is a Push-In – when a predator rings or knocks on a door and a victim blindly opens it. That's always a gamble. Why do they risk it?

Myths and Urban Legends lead to
THE NAÏVETÉ OF THE PREY

SUBURBAN ILLUSION
Even after three unrelated, vicious slayings of women in their own homes within one week, suburbanites north of New York City still tend to cling to the illusion that they have “location immunity.”

It’s the “it can’t happen here” attitude that afflicts low-crime neighborhoods everywhere. Oh, after a shocking local murder, some people might start locking their doors and turning on their alarm systems, and foregoing their solitary walks and jogs through parks, but within a few months it’ll be back to the same old sloppy security as usual.

See what happened in a wealthy Connecticut neighborhood: The Media Whispers the Truth about the Petit Family Massacre.

Myths and Urban Legends:
VICTIMS ARE NEVER TO BLAME

Myths and Urban Legends
lead to
PREY LAYING OUT WELCOME MATS FOR PREDATORS

People who don't expect to be victims are the easiest targets by naïvely clinging to illusions that soften the world: “We don’t bother to lock the doors – nothing ever happens around here.” “Hey, I’m not worried. I can take care of myself – I grew up with three brothers.” “Ah! Who wants to live like that – living in fear – always looking over your shoulder?” “It only happens to people on the news – not to me.” “I don’t think negative thoughts so I don’t attract negative things.” “Oh, don’t worry! Be happy!”

Myths and Urban Legends
and
THE ILLUSION OF SAFETY

Your “safe neighborhood” is a mirage – it doesn’t really exist. Even an isolated town has its homegrown lunatics – as well as the occasional visiting monster. They’d love to meet you face-to-face. There you are – carefree, trusting, polite, naïve – a dream-come-true for a predator. Crime survivors always say, “I never thought it would happen to me.”

You can be murdered in the safest area, or live a lifetime without a scratch in a murder capital. But since anyone living in or near any metropolitan area lives near thousands of paroled – and mobile – violent felons, your odds are always a gamble.

Myths and Urban Legends
IMPROVING YOUR ODDS

1. carefree/careless (assuming no one wants to harm you, you act carelessly);
2. too trusting (if someone seems harmless or has a good story, you’re gullible);
3. mirror imaging (assuming a predator shares your morals, you try to reason with him rather than outsmart him); and
4. location immunity (assuming you’re in a “safe” area, you turn off your danger radar and fall into one of the first three traps).

NEVER drop your guard, and NEVER let anyone you don't know and trust get near you (in a vulnerable location) or isolate you (no matter how friendly they appear). See how to Set Your Boundaries in Outdoor Safety - Friendly Predators.

You can deter a predator by carrying a Personal Security Alarm (a.k.a. screamer or noisemaker) & Pepper Spray in plain sight.

Remember: gamble in Vegas – not in your life.

Pages related to Myths and Urban Legends:
Predators Favorite Targets
Wolf in Sheep's Clothing
Predatory Mind
Intuition
Outdoor Safety - Overview
Myth Busters
Urban Myths

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