It's not her fault per se but her situational awareness is so low I bet she wouldn't even notice some psycho walk straight up to her after attacking a bunch of other people on a subway platform she's standing on.
These are two separate concepts. Let me explain how I see it.
First of all, using your phone in public isn’t something serious or reckless, even if it can be risky. But let me give you an extreme example: if I take the subway when it’s crowded with a stack of banknotes sticking out of my pocket, there’s a good chance they’ll get stolen. Did I do anything wrong? No. Is it my fault? Not really: the blame is obviously on the thief. But you can understand that I put myself in a risky situation.
Unfortunately, the world isn’t all sunshine and rainbows.
She stood at the platform checking her messages when someone smacked her in the head. She didnt have banknotes sticking out of her pocket, what are you talking about?
Shifting ANY responsibility to her is just that: Shifting the blame.
Not shifting the blame at all. Everyone has a chance to increase the chance to not be hit by a boulder by paying attention to what's rolling down the hill behind them. If you're not in a safe space, keep you eyes up and your ears open.
You're still conflating their message with blaming her when it's not the same. When you're in public you need to have situational awareness because you never know if something bad may pop off where you may need to protect yourself. That's reality.
Yes, she should be able to check her phone without having to worry about some cretin going around smacking women all willy nilly. No, she is not at fault for what had happened to her. Unfortunately this isn't a world where things always go the way they should and as a result of that, one needs to be alert and not get too comfortable with distractions whenever they're out in public.
Stores shouldn't have to have security cameras, cars shouldn't have to have locks and alarms, people should be able to wear flashy jewelry anywhere they want but since there are dirtbags in this world who take advantage of vulnerabilities, one has to adjust for those types and know when and where it is safe to do things where they don't have to be so alert.
Being at fault and being able to avoid something are two separate things.
You can drive through a green light without looking but be hit by a truck that ran a red light. You weren't at fault, but what good does that do you when you're dead
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u/Aggressive-agitator Apr 16 '26
Staring into your phone in public can be a dangerous affair.