Over 1200 women in the US are murdered every year — over 1/3 of them snuffed by an “intimate” party. Unfortunately, in the closest of relationships, there always seems to be justifiable reasons for spouses, boyfriends and girlfriends to kill the one they love. Concurrent to these lethal events, a rather large number of predators are sexually assaulting 250,000 (give or take a few thousand) women and girls each year. Unfortunately, even with the advantage of social media, it appears that some sensitive men are just not skilled at connecting with willing sexual partners. Also, every year on the home front, there looms the outrage of domestic violence. Unfortunately, over 10 million individuals, male and female alike, suffer from some type of physical abuse. But all violence at home isn’t one-on-one. Home invasion occurs approximately four million times annually — hopefully, of course, not during those occasions when one spouse happens to be battering the other. Discovering the extent of this violence is not unexpected. Not at all. Not considering the historical resume of the human race. In fact, you believe some level of savagery at all levels of society is inevitable, if not ordained. You see it on battlefields, on city streets, in homes, in executive suites, in bedrooms and kitchens and concerts. Even on playgrounds. You have profound sympathy for the victims. But you’re more sick than sympathetic. More angry than sorry. Sick of old and young ladies alike, living alone, totally defenseless, not so much as a BB gun in the house. Angry when half naked, unarmed, painted babes strut their stuff at meat markets, as if begging for some sicko to pay attention. Sick of single moms who tolerate live-in, abusive boyfriends, putting themselves and their kids at risk. Angry when a teenager on a running trail, or a mom in a mall parking lot, is grabbed in broad daylight; and neither victim has a whit of defense — no whistle, no pepper spray, no taser, no knife, no gun — no nothing. Sick of individuals, couples and families who, with premeditation, go camping or hiking in remote areas, without a weapon of any kind — babes in the woods — sitting ducks. Angry when a spouse tolerates a single act of physical violence, or when parents systematically ignore the telltale signs of child psychopathic behaviors. People are free to wear blinders. People are free to think, “It won’t happen to me.” Predators love that kind of thinking. And the predators are out there — out there in concrete jungles — and in sleepy hamlets where neighbors brag they never have to lock their doors at night. Unfortunately, locked or not, millions of Americans asleep at home, on the job, on a date, on a trip, eating out, working out or just hanging out, are in no way prepared or equipped to defend themselves. These millions make up the vast inventory of potential victims for predators who always choose the weak, the gullible, the trusting. You know that bad things happen to good people who happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time — things that could not be prevented. But most victims voluntarily put themselves at risk by being unprepared to defend and save their own lives. To be sure, they don’t deserve their fate. Unfortunately, however, they are guilty — of deadly apathy.