The Fear Instinct

I, for those that do not know, have a degree in criminal justice.  During the course of my studies I took a class on homicide.  The professor of this class had several speakers come in and talk to us and one spoke about the fear instinct.  The gut feeling that women, because it is most often women, get when they come into contact with a person that for some unknown reason feels off.  That little twinge that you get, that tells you this person is or could be dangerous.  He told us that more often than not women ignore this instinct.  We do this mainly because we have been taught for years that it is rude to not speak when someone speaks or it is rude to walk away from someone that is engaging you in conversation.  Now he didn't say that men don't get this but that women are hardwired to have a stronger reaction than men.  I won't get into the huge debate that this could cause, ie women are the weaker sex or whatever because that is not the point of this blog.

What is my point you may ask.  Well this is my point.  I have never had one of those severe instinctual reactions to a person before.  Sure I have had the, this guy gives me the creeps reaction or this will end badly reaction, but never the adrenaline inducing fight or flight reaction.  I got to experience that yesterday.  I was going to the ladies room at the public library and there was a man loitering in the hall by the elevator.  Almost as soon as I saw him, it was an immediate reaction.  I would have turned around and waited to go but I really had to go.  So I kept my pace and he moved further down the hall, closer to the bathroom, and started looking at the bulletin board.  It honestly didn't look like he was reading anything but was simply pretending to read.  I walk right past him and headed into the bathroom.  My heart was hammering and I was completely unnerved.  I went into the stall and was doing what I came in to do when I heard the door open.  Ok so now I was bordering on panic.  I peered under the stalls to see which stall the person went into and sat there a minute trying to figure out what I should do.  Seriously, that is how weirded out I was.  I heard the door open again and a third person came in and went into another stall.  I took this as my opportunity and went to the sink and very quickly washed my hands and got the hell out of there.  I didn't even take the time to dry them.  I didn't see the man on my way out and honestly I have no idea if he was the second person that came in that bathroom.  He could have been completely normal and simply waiting on a friend.  I don't know.  I spent the next half an hour or so trying to calm myself back down but I was never comfortable in the library for the rest of the day.

Here is my whole point in sharing this....if you get that little instinct DO NOT IGNORE IT.  And please teach your children to not ignore it.  Isn't it better for someone to think you are rude than to end up robbed, rapped, or who knows what?  Isn't it better for your children to be considered a brat by a stranger than to be snatched?  I ignored all the bells and whistles that were going off in my head and I shouldn't have.  This time I walked away, next time I may not be as lucky.