The Valdosta Daily Times
VALDOSTA —
From an early age, we are taught to look out for strangers. We hear such advice throughout our lives: Keep your eyes open for anyone acting suspiciously. We hear it in community watch programs: Be aware of anyone who doesn’t belong in the neighborhood.
Good advice. But looking at the rash of crimes during the past few days in the region, this advice seems incomplete.
We should also remember to look out for the people we know.
A man was reportedly stabbed by his former girlfriend’s new boyfriend.
A woman is dead after reportedly being stabbed by her boyfriend.
An invitation to a residence results in a home invasion.
And so it goes.
Three cases where someone was injured, killed, attacked or robbed. Not by a stranger. Not by some unknown person. But by someone they know, an acquaintance, a friend, a romantic interest.
Perhaps, we tell children to look out for strangers because the truth is too bleak. Look out for the people you know.
It is a truth which many children know all too well. Ask the young girl who was sexually abused from the age of 9 to 13. A federal jury in Valdosta recently convicted a man on sexual abuse charges in her case.
This girl may look out for strangers, but she will likely always be wary of the people she knows.
There is no happy ending for an editorial such as this. There is no moral that sweetens this bitter truth. A truth as old as the biblical brothers Cain and Abel.
Tragic and sad, but worth remembering.
Watch out for those you know.
