Hi Gizmogle,
You are not alone in feeling vulnerable, as older people like myself also feel more unsecure as we get older and find an ever changing world, which we cant quite understand or find any reason for. Guns, real or imitation certainly are not the answer. The main thing is to to keep aware of your surroundings and have a set line to get you to your destination. If you know the area, work out alternative routes. Try to keep to reasonably lit areas and if other adults are going about their business keep reasonably close to them. Mentally check out the street you have to use, as far as you can see and if you see anything/one acting a little suspicious, if its possible, turn back and try an alternative route. Muggers are usually very sad, scared people and more insecure than most of us and they think acting like that makes them feel 'big' but, alone they are just as scared as anyone. In most cases you are going to be perfectly safe. Much of the fear is in your own mind, aided by the continual scare publicity in the media. In most cases you really do have to be in the wrong place at the wrong time to get serioiusly involved in an incident.
I find it very sad that young people today have such fear, which never existed when I was your age. There were strange characters about, and I was approached by one or two, but you just had to keep walking on, they never followed, but they were few and far between and seldom if ever reverted to vilolence or attacked children or women, but then, drugs were hardly known and wouldn't be part of the equation. I was only be aware of drugs from American films. Noeone I knew ever mentioned them. However, even in the 70's, when I worked at Marylebone Depot, I had to start at odd times of day and night and would have to walk too and from Paddington station, yet I don't recall ever feeling unsafe walking the streets. In my 40 odd years of this type of work, I or the majortity of my colleagues never got caught in anything serious, though you would hear the odd cabin talk about seeing odd characters along the way or of seeing police chasing someone.
From the 80's something certainly changed and I have no doubt that drugs are the main reason. But likewise, we never had 24 hours a day TV spewing out the same 'horrible' news day and night, and talking heads disecting every event, which makes it sound as if the World is really falling apart. I have virtually given up watching TV news for that reason alone.
At the moment you are just feeling insecure but as you get more 'street wise' you will feel more comfortable about going about on your own at odd hours. Afterall, everyone has to, eventually, and as proven, in most cases everthing is well. Try not to worry about the news media and use your own intellegence and on-going experience to keep yourself safe. The more you worry about it, the harder it will be to break out of that insecurity.
I trust that this may be of some help. But the only one that can really help is youself, in facing up to any uneccesary fear. Thankfully, in most cases, they prove unfounded. You have already started on that road by writing to this Forum and sharing your fears with others.
Regards.
BillEWS.
