lessons in heroism

So lately I've been hooked on a great show called "Heroes," but yesterday a friend sent me an article about someone dubbed a "hero." You can read the article here but essentially a female student was walking home alone late at night in Philadelphia when she was mugged by a man. After she gave the man her purse, she followed her instincts and ran. Unfortunately the man chased her down and began pummeling her on the ground. This is when another young woman Leslie Rogers happened to be walking by on the the other side of the street. She immediately called 911, yelled and began running toward the man. The man heard her calling the police and ran away.

I thought this was a really great act of bravery. Of course in those instances we all know what kind of action we need to take, but I think that in the moment it really takes a lot of guts. But it's in those moments that our true character is revealed. I loved the quote: "I remember, while I was running, thinking maybe this isn't the smartest thing to do," Rogers said. "But I didn't want to wake up the next morning and not be proud of how I handled it."

I think there are a couple lessons to be learned from this story:
1) Please be aware of your surroundings and be SMART. Ladies, this means that when a guy offers to walk you home that you should let him. Also, if no one is offering, you should ask someone. Boys (GCC boys in particular!), you SHOULD be offering to walk girls home. I know it's an inconvenience sometimes and it can really disrupt your studying or schedule, but I see it as a really tangible act of love to our sisters.
2) Consider what you will do in the case of an attack or if you are to witness an attack. If you see an attack you don't necessarily have to go fight off the attacker but you should call the police. The last thing we need is another Kitty Genovese, who was stabbed to death over a span of half an hour with more than 30 neighbors watching.
3) These type of attacks DO happen. Just last year one of the older guys from GCC was mugged about 50 yards from lower quad gate.

I realize that these past couple posts make Philly out to be a really terrible and scary place, but I figure it's better to be slightly on edge and aware than nonchalant about the city.