Paranoia

[Morgana]

 

[user 22017]

Two channels I follow on YT just posted videos about safety on the road/camping.

This woman travels in Canada, including the Yukon territory:



Cheap RV Living covered noisemakers:

 

[towboater]

Lord please no

I

You guys managed to beat a dead horse with another dead horse. Rather impressive. We might need a statistics forum.

believe it was Mark Twain who said that there are 3 kinds of lies: “lies, damn lies, and Statistics”

 

[user 423]

^Yep, statistics get a bad rap and can be manipulated but many times they are much better than what some people happen to just pull out of their a**es to make a point.

 

[Dingfelder]

https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/2019/crime-in-the-u.s.-2019/topic-pages/expanded-homicide

Thank you. Starting in the 70's, stats changed so that people getting murdered had no relationship/acquaintance with their murderers. That is actually quite frightening.

 

[user 22017]

Thank you. Starting in the 70's, stats changed so that people getting murdered had no relationship/acquaintance with their murderers. That is actually quite frightening.

Where did you read that?

 

[user 423]

@Dingfelder:

^Well, it wouldn't make very much difference to me if I was killed by a stranger instead of someone I knew.

Is it supposed to be more comforting that people are killed by a spouse,family member,friend,co-worker,etc.? LOL..

BTW: Except for the last couple of weird years, murder rates had been trending down. Way down from what it was in the '70s. Or was that just the total number of murders? And the rate was up? IDK...we'll have to check the statistics.

 

[Dingfelder]

Where did you read that?

Probably in The Gift of Fear, among other places. I read it numerous times.

 

[Morgana]

Probably in The Gift of Fear, among other places. I read it numerous times.

Hmm, I've read The Gift of Fear twice, and I don't remember seeing that statement in it. Could you be more specific about where you saw it?

When you cite a source for a statement you make, it ought to be something that other people can go check out for themselves. Just vaguely claiming that you read it somewhere is really no different from just making the claim without giving anything to back it up.

I know, sometimes "I read it somewhere" is the best we can do, and it's often still worth saying, but it's not evidence.

 

[Happy Camper]

Statistically, you can't go wrong with small cameras and big turrets. Just saying...

 

[user 423]

^ Yeah but you'd have to really wonder why a guy has to have a big turret.

 

[Happy Camper]

Well, statistically speaking...

 

[user 22017]

^ Yeah but you'd have to really wonder why a guy has to have a big turret.

Because he is compensating?

 

[user 423]

^Of course not. Giant 4x4 trucks are the choice for that.

 

[RoamerRV428]

remember the title of this thread------paranoia
that shows alot here but I second cameras, big turret and a alot of friggin' motion flood lights.....that is all we kinda got to cover a paranoia type issue right? best we can do then is live on, or live thru it, and hope we all friggin' make it thru our day!

 

[Debrajoy54]

You're looking for an external solution to an internal problem. The problem isn't your environment - you've been fine for years - the problem is your mind and anxiety. Your imagination and your lack of faith in your ability to protect yourself are scaring you, not your environment.

I was the same way in my house. I got a security system to rival Fort Knox and I was still pathologically scared for years. A book on cognitive behavioral therapy helped me learn to control my thoughts and the Gift of Fear helped me utilize my fear the way it's suppose to be utilized.

Every now and again the fear still rears its ugly head but I remind myself how many years of rest I wasted lying awake, being afraid, and absolutely nothing happened. Then I remind myself I'm a bad__s who has proven numerous times that I can take care of myself. No use in staying awake and being tired if crap does go down. I need to sleep now so I can be as rested as possible to handle whatever the night brings. And then I go to sleep. That mindset has helped me so much with all my anxiety. "Rest now so I can deal with real life crap later."

I agree that it seems more like an anxiety problem. I lived in a camper van, a big blue one with solar on top, for two and a half years, never had any issues! I am a 67-year-old senior, single, female. I parked in rest areas, 24-hour business parking lots, never had a problem, even on city streets in Oceanside California. I hope you figure this out sweetie, you are safer in your vehicle than you are in a home!

 

[Debrajoy54]

My vehicle is a simple Winnebago Revel van. 19'7". With the cargo tray 23". It is a bit high, 10'6" which is what makes it stand out more than a regular van.

I would gladly spend up to $10,000 to increase my safety or probability of avoiding iffy situations. Like Sun Tzu taught us. The ultimate victory is to win avoiding the battle.

I think your money would be better spent, on a good therapist to can help you with anxiety. Just saying, from a 67-year-old single female who lived in a van for two and a half years. I was never afraid but I was wise and where I parked. Kept the keys in the ignition.

 

[Debrajoy54]

I think your money would be better spent, on a good therapist to can help you with anxiety. Just saying, from a 67-year-old single female who lived in a van for two and a half years. I was never afraid but I was wise and where I parked. Kept the keys in the ignition.

Okay sweetie I just looked up your simple, van. You might want to put some small scratches or dents on that thing along with a little mud! That van just screams, hey I am wealthy and have a lot of expensive stuff in here! I'm not criticizing you for being able to afford that, I'm just saying what it looks like to an outsider. I would also get one of those dog signs that says, pitbull on board! I'm not trying to be funny, I'm trying to help you. My dog was the best alarm system! She alerted to everything! I'm wishing you the best sweetie that kind of anxiety and having to live with it is robbing your life!

 

[Debrajoy54]

You are right that my fears are an internal problem. They are also an internal survival mechanism. Because I am in fear of becoming a victim of crime I am seeking ways to avoid that I will become a victim.

At night, in the van, I am like a snail in its shell. I am seeking to get information and alerts about what is going on outside my shell. Should someone come within a few feets of the van in the middle of the night if I am parked avay from any other vehicle of if there are no other vehicles?

If someone does come suspiciously close to the van, what response/defense/deterrence options do I have?

I don't want an armed or verbal confrontation. I want to get out, get away, speed away, put distance between me and trouble.

What can technology do for me? Is there an ultimate system availale out there?

I never parked where there was no other park to vehicles. Get a good dog, they will alert you to everything!

 

[user 423]

Debra, you're a joy.