How Safe is Downtown?

    How safe do you think downtown really is? The question could be answered in so many different ways depending on the circumstances of course, but in this post I am going to be talking about my circumstances and my experience from last night. Trust me, they are worth talking about.
    Let me give you a small recap of my night. My friend Shannon and I went to see the Scottish Ballet at the Orpheum by ourselves and it ended at 10:40 PM. The Orpheum is located on Hennepin and 9th street, unfortunately we parked on Marquette and 6th. So we were dressed up in high heels that were way to high, skirts, and I personally think we looked pretty good. So did many men on the streets on our walk home.
    Everybody knows who I'm talking about when I talk about these guys right? The ones that come out of the alleys (we looked in one and I almost screamed), the ones that wear their pants to the ground, the ones that have never taken a grammar class in their lives, and of course the ones that make rude and inappropriate comments to young girls in skirts. These are the kind of people I am wondering about. I kept wondering to myself last night if these guys were just talking the talk or if they would actually try to touch me. I'm sure in the end it's probably all harassment, but at the time there was no way I was about to risk it.
   Shannon told me that she heard from someone that you should walk with your head down when you pass those people. So we did that, and I just looked up what you should do if something happens. If they speak to you, walk away and ignore them. Did that. If they follow, get into an entrance of a building that looks safe. The problem with this is that we were looking for entrances and there were very few, or they were closed buildings. Also, always try to find a group of people to walk with. We definitely did that and got some very strange looks and comments, but we felt much safer. If they try to grab you run, point a gun at you run, chase after you...run faster. But remember, high heels. There was no running for us. We could do this sort of gallopy looking thing, but if we were being chased, it would be a good night to be the bad guy.
   In the end we got to the car safely, and to be honest the comments did boost our egos a bit, but for future reference I just won't be wearing the clothing I was in downtown Minneapolis at 10:40 PM with my tall, blonde, sixteen year old best friend anymore, because we are bound to get captured and raped. I just know it.  And also, every single one of the solutions I looked up are common sense. So if you are put in this situation, keep your head down, don't talk to strangers, and if anything happens, by all means run your little heart out! Swell travels to you all.