Unsafe World

I'm getting ready for work this morning (pretty tired after the concert last night) when I receive a text message from my friend: "I now know what it's like to be held at gunpoint." I of course responded with a "WTF?" and immediately called her. Apparently, she was pumping gas at a Conoco in the city (not the best part of the city I might add), and a heavily clothed male pointed a gun to her head and told her to get in the car. He asked her for $50, which, threw me off a bit, I mean, if you're going to go through all the trouble, why not ask for more? She, like me, doesn't carry cash often, and did not have any on her at the time. The robber instructed her to drive to an ATM, however, she did not have her ATM card with her (her's is different than her debit card). She then drove to a 711 to get immediate cash from a check. The robber stayed in the car while she went in to retrieve the cash he requested. My friend told the clerk what was going on, but not to panic or turn around, just pretend nothing was wrong and give her the cash. The robber must have known something was up, as he jumped in the driver's seat of her car and took off. The cops soon arrived and began questioning my friend. Astonishingly, they accused her of lying. The robber had called the 711 using her cell phone that was left in the car, and pretended to be her ex-husband to throw off her story! It wasn't long before the police found her car wrecked nearby, with the keys still in it. My friend was very lucky. We use to train in martial arts together, and she kept questioning, did she do the right thing, did she make the right decision, should she have fought back? I told her she did the absolute best thing she could in that situation, the proof is she's alive!

How scary is it that we live in a world where anyone can get a gun and use it against you. I'm not necessarily against guns, it's just I don't like the idea of having to carry one just to protect myself. It also makes you feel lucky in a way, since there are places in the world where they MUST carry a gun to protect themselves, they have no other choice.

Also, for the second time my credit card information was stolen and someone tried to make purchase a TV or some such expensive item at Best Buy with it. In the past it seemed terrifying to me, for someone to steal my information and just go on a shopping spree. However, with the fraud systems and procedures banks and credit card companies set up, it's really not a big deal. They investigate the charges for you, issue you a new card immediately, and don't make you pay out of pocket for the fradulent charges. Of course, I guess somewhere in the process we end up paying for it, higher fees, or something.

I think we as a society just need to keep topping the bad guys, we have to continue to protect ourselves with the newest technology. I guess when computers fail, there's always firearms.