Posted on 09/24/2014 6:17:26 AM PDT by walford
Hannah Graham is straight-A, a second year University of Virginia student who has been missing since September 13th,2014.
Typically, at this stage of the game it isn’t looking good for Hannah. Her parents, as you can imagine, are beyond crushed.
As of yesterday, the police have issued a search warrant for Jesse Matthew, who cops think was the last person to see Hannah Graham before she vanished.
Last weekend Mr. & Mrs. Graham held a press conference thanking law enforcement and volunteers for their search efforts and letting folks know that this is a ‘parents worse nightmare’ and that ‘it could happen’ to others as well.
In 2011 I wrote a book titled, ‘Raising Righteous And Rowdy Girls’ which addressed our violent environment and how parents, in particular the dad, should raise their daughters to avoid being the victim of some murderous moron.
As I read the account of Hannah’s activities, prior to her becoming a missing person, I was grieved to learn how avoidable this was had she followed three simple common sense rules that I lined out in my parenting book.
For instance:
1. Don’t go out alone. All of the surveillance video that I saw of her activities on September 12th show her alone. Good-looking girls, wearing midriffs, should not be walking the streets alone late at night. Too many idiots out there.
2. Definitely don’t drink alone. According to reports she was intoxicated. Girls, if you’re going to drink then bring a posse with you who’ll watch your back and won’t let you get wasted, molested, abducted or murdered. Always have a sidekick ladies. Preferably one who’s a badass.
3. Another thing that I have taught my daughters growing up: nothing good happens after midnight. Don’t forget that, ladies.
In addition to not going out and drinking alone, Dad, make certain that your daughter:
1. Knows martial arts. I don’t know if Hannah knows/knew how to fight, but ladies, you should. Enroll in martial arts today. Learn how to fight, muy pronto.
2. Is armed and dangerous. Given that Hannah was 18-years-old, she was disallowed to carry a firearm on her person because of our lame laws. However, she was not forbidden to carry a stun gun, mace or a Buford Pusser-size baseball bat. Check your local laws, get training and always … always … be armed.
Fathers, simple situational awareness and common sense, non-negotiable, guidelines could keep your kid alive and well.
All we can do now for Hannah is hope and pray the police find her alive. We, however, can use this tragedy to equip our kids to not be the carnage of some murderous mook.
In my world, the good girl should live and the bad guy should die.
That was Morgan Harrington. When you go to this link, click on the black and white thumbnail for the wanted poster for her killer.
The book, “Mind Hunter” written by John Douglas, the FBI profiler, is the best ever and saved my daughter in laws life. I had just read it years ago and our family was out to dinner, and I related some of the tips of the book. One of the tips was, if you are being forced at gunpoint, or whatever, MAKE YOUR STAND right there, be prepared to die in public because your chances of survival are better. Several days later our DIL was at the local Home Depot in her sports convertible. She put some items in the trunk and a young, well dressed black guy came up to her and asked for her shopping cart, which she gave to him. As she got in the car, he jumped in and told her to DRIVE. As she pulled out of the parking space she slowly turned towards the front of the store, then she flew to the building and slammed on her brakes starting to scream and jumped out. A cart boy, heard her and jumped in the car to wrestle with the kidnapper, it was then he pulled a gun on the boy. The kid jumped out and the guy took off in the car. About five miles later he wrecked the car on the freeway, by that time police and helicopters were everywhere. If you can believe this, he hid in the bushes and as cops got out of one of the patrol cars he waited and took their car, went another couple of miles and wrecked it. He was severely injured but lived and was convicted, of course he had a rap sheet a mile long and should have never been on the streets in the first place.
That night when our family was together our DIL, quite brave but shaken said, she could remember us talking about that book and the tip immediately came to her mind and she decided she would not leave the lot alive with that guy, under any circumstance. The cart boy was a hero.
Keep in mind that we're talking about women who are walking around drunk and not paying attention. The "walking around drunk" part is also a negative on advice to carry a gun.
Being a female martial artist may not do as well as expected against somebody who just got out of prison, where he had nothing better to do, all day, every day, for years, than work out and practice martial arts with his buddies.
The best solution is not (1) not be out drunk, (2) not be out alone, and (3) be armed (presupposing (1))
Wow, there are quite a few similarities between the sketch and this current criminal. I like how witnesses or sketch artists go out of their way to make someone’s race vague. That could be a Mexican arab for all we know. I hope the police do a thorough review of previous missing girls and the suspects who may be involved. Thanks for the link!
Anytime.
If you look at that thumbnail pic and picture the sketch with dreadlocks, it really does look like the same guy.
Yep. But it had me at the nostrils.
You’re right. I didn’t notice the first time.
:-)
The girls I knew in college 25 years ago would NEVER walk around campus alone, especially drunk, and their friends wouldn't let them if they wanted to. Including the guys, including me.
Has something changed?
Most college towns do, and it is routinely covered up. Athens GA has a public housing project right across the street from the freshman dorms.
Two responses from me:
WHAT? Break tradition and read first, then comment?!
Second, more seriously, the name is meaningless, the race is what matters.
Had you read my posts before commenting you would have realized my second point.
After my 5’2” daughter finished USMC boot camp, she decided she was tough...so she picked a fight with a 6’2” Army private. He picked her up, tossed her across the room like a rag doll, and said, “You’re cute!”
As she got up, she decided it might be a good idea spending the rest of the evening being “cute” than getting beaten up by a guy who meant her no harm at all. Martial arts can help, and can be particularly good at getting a girl an opening for running away, but they don’t really even the odds between 110 lbs and 205 lbs...
Girls and young women should never, ever go out alone in the evening or at night- daytime in some areas for that matter. Are we sure she was drunk? I have been wondering if she was drugged...
I feel this will not end well, but I can’t say the dad or parents failed. We all do our best and in spite of everything my husband and I taught our daughters- all of what is on the list- our oldest daughter would simply not believe she and her friends were not safe going to Juarez, Mexico, when she was in nursing school in El Paso; even after the Cartel wars began to heat up and there were bodies in the streets. I begged, pleaded, pointed out articles about the violence, she just didn’t believe. One day she and a friend went to Juarez and there were several bodies hanging above a street...she and her friends got the message.
Yes, hats off to the cart boy and what a great thing that you mentioned those tips to your DIL when you did. Incredible story.
Roofies! I don’t know what i’ do if I were raising a girl these days. Definitely, bring your own drink, close top so no one can drop in a pill.
BTW, Hannah Graham’s possible abductor was arrested tonight in Texas. He’s being extradited back to VA.
In the meantime, Hannah is still missing.
After it all happened, we kind of felt it was more than a coincidence that I read the book and then discussed it with her just days before she was attacked. It is a fascinating book with such incredible information, I highly recommend it, especially for women. To this day I still take the precautions recommended, like never parking next to a paneled van, especially a white one, always have car keys ready and finger on the emergency button, things like that. Great read and a life-saver, for sure!
(A) if she was 18 she shouldn't have been drunk in public.
(B) if she was in a bar she wouldn't be able to carry the gun on her person.
(C) (with regards to walking in the company of a man), I've walked women to their car before. I know a girl who walked to her car with a man (who'd been known to fight if needed) and it didn't matter when a gang got the drop on them and a 14 year old held a sawed off shot gun on him while they stole her car.
(D) I had a chinese lady at the DPS office ask ME (a grown and large man) why I was out late one night 2 blocks from home when 2 hispanic yutes put a gun on me and repeatedly called me nigger and ordered me to get down on the ground. It was the "nothing good happens after midnight" mantra that is verboten to blame the victim over when it's a women who's assaulted but popop and their staffers had no qualms about playing that card against me.
Oh man, I spent the 90’s in Athens, and can’t say I never stumbled home drunk alone a few times. I even slept for a spell in the dried fountain of the news building for a few hours at one time. That was the worst. I had a reiki lady once tell me that my guardian angle is a real big dude. I don’t really believe in reiki, but I believe that.
Anyway, Art major...go figure. :/
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.