“You can’t live your life scared. . . ” 

was the message on the 10:00 pm news.

And the solution is a 911 app.  It will pinpoint your location in a more precise way than ever before.

These are scary times.  Two high profile murders in our state in the last few months.  The loss of young athletic females. One out running. One out golfing.

Treated totally different in the press.

Treated totally different by politicians.

Treated totally different by citizens.

I’m ashamed.

I’m horrified.

I’m embarrassed.

I’m worried about the inequity of treatment.

I’m fearful of the current vitriol towards immigrants.  The same immigrants that settled the U.S.

I’m worried about our reputation as “Iowa nice”.

And I’m angry. Angry that this conversation is necessary.

The first case, Mollie Tibbetts, still has folks chanting to “Build a wall.” And yet her dad says, “NO!” LInk

The second case, Celia Barquin Arozamena, has barely a mention and she was the Iowa State Female Athlete of the Year as well as ranked No. 69 nationally by Golfweek . Link,

What’s the difference? There are many. It’s easy to oversimplify.

The politicalization of the first. . .

The governor

The Vice President

The President

Both Iowa Senators

ALL

Talked about an illegal alien

 Alien primarily refers to: Extraterrestrial life, life which does not originate from Earth.

Words Matter.

Hurtful

Hateful

One accused is from Mexico.

One accused is a white man.

Did that ethnicity result in different treatment in the press and the eyes of the general public?

And the result:  in order to be safe, women out running or participating in sports should have an enhanced 911 app on their phones so they can be easily located in an emergency.

Think about that for a minute:  an app for safety.

Why? 

Why should women be fearful? 

It’s 2018! 

What is the real message? 

Why do women need an enhanced 911 app?

Thank you, Betsy, Beth, Deb, Kathleen, Kelsey, Lanny, Melanie, and Stacey for this weekly forum from Two Writing Teachers. Check out the writers, readers and teachers here.