Safety in Numbers

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I actually got the last seat tonight on the 5:00 commuter bus that goes from UIC to Union Station. Certainly ridership goes up when it's cold, but this is the first time I've ever seen people having to stand. The real reason, I think, is that there have been 3 strong-arm robberies on the West Side of campus already this week including 1 right outside the building where I work at 6:00 pm. Took away our illusions that these only happen on the East Side of campus and later at night. So I figure that all of the folks who would normally hang around a bit don't want to risk walking to the bus or waiting by themselves. I'm sure that winter garb - hoods and scarves and hats - makes people less able to be aware of what's going on. I've decided to be wary but not afraid. Fear is responsible for so much undesirable behavior in our world. We're afraid of people who are different from us in any way, we're afraid we might lose our high standard of living, we're afraid we won't get 'what we deserve,' we're afraid we might be taken advantage of. I don't want to be afraid. I've just been re-reading Dune - I first read it in the 60's or 70's, close to when it first came out, I think. And there's a Bene Gesserit response to the 'Litany Against Fear' that's repeated at various points in the book. "I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain." I think the real problem is people don't understand that fear is the root of a lot of behavior. They attribute it to something else.

In looking for an appropriately scary image for this post, I found an interesting article by a Vancouver journalist about how the media can contribute (or not) to fear. Here's a link to that blog: http://communities.canada.com/vancouversun/blogs/thesearch/archive/2008/01/26/in-a-culture-of-fear-staying-calm-is-a-political-act.aspx


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