Skip the Manners: Why Disengaging in Risky Spots Keeps You Safer

NRA Women makes the case that being polite to strangers can get you hurt, and that your default setting in parking lots, elevators, and other sketchy transition zones should be safety first, manners second.

Key points

• Kindness gets exploited. The article notes that willingness to help strangers, like giving directions, has been used by predators to target victims, especially women.
• Transition zones are high-risk. Parking lots, garages, bus stops, elevators, and metro stations are singled out as places where you owe strangers nothing, not even a conversation.
• You're not obligated to engage. NRA Women argues you can walk away from a stranger approaching you in a parking lot or get off an elevator with an unfamiliar person, no explanation required.
• Three habits matter. Stay off your phone and scan your surroundings, carry a legal firearm or other defensive tool if you can, and if approached in an unsafe spot, keep moving toward people instead of stopping to help.
• Rude beats victimized. The piece bluntly states it's better for a stranger to think you're a jerk than for a criminal to get an opening.

Quick take

None of this is new to anyone who's sat through a self-defense class, but it's a solid reminder that situational awareness starts well before you need to draw on anything. The advice to disengage without guilt, especially in parking lots and elevators, is simple and worth internalizing, particularly for family members who haven't thought about it.

Read the full story: nrawomen.com