Stranger Danger: You Never Know Who You Meet…

Stranger Danger:

You Never Know

Who You Meet…

by Coco Diong

As women, it’s imperative that we become more scrutinizing as we meet up with strangers.  When we meet someone, we are generally excited about all the possibilities because we’re hoping that against all odds, this one is the one.   Unfortunately, too often we get carried away with our feelings and emotions before we have good grounds to do so, and we end up immersed in a relationship with someone who turns out to be the opposite of what we assumed. Here are some examples.

Lynn was on a second date with a guy, whom she felt had serious potential.  All evening she was ecstatic about her good luck.  From the outside, he had it all.  He was fine, well-dressed, polished, and generous.  But when they left a restaurant that night, the police were outside waiting and arrested him for several armed robberies.

Toni was once involved with a guy she thought was a pharmacist until she discovered he was a drug dealer when they were both shot one night while driving down a busy street.  She survived but still shakes from the memory.

Peggy was dating a guy she just knew was an answer to her prayers.  He was quiet, kind, and very dependable.  They had been dating for four weeks when he invited her to his home.  She was excited as she sat on his couch watching him mix an exotic drink.  Suddenly, she heard shouting and an urgent knock on the door.  When the guy opened the door, a woman who turned out to be an ex-wife rushed in and demanded she leaves immediately.  The man didn’t even try to intervene as the woman pushed her out of the door.  When she discovered she’d left her purse behind, she knocked on the door to retrieve it.  The woman answered the door, handed her the purse, and slammed the door in her face.

Kelly was on a second date with a guy when he invited her to a friend’s home for a party.  When she arrived she found that she was the only woman there among four men.  She was attacked and raped by all four men.  Later, she was dropped off at her car after she was threatened with bodily harm if she contacted the police.  She never reported it for fear of reprisals.

Jackie was stabbed by a man she had stopped seeing after dating him for a month.  According to her friends, she had begun to fear him and had stopped answering his calls because of his weird behavior.  One day, he walked up and attacked her as she was leaving work.

I dated a guy once who asked for sex on the first date, and we were still staring into each other’s eyes over drinks.  I refused, but I rationalized that he was kidding.  I went out with him again, because he was so attractive.  On the second date, he tried to rape me when I refused his advances and I filed a police report.  I also busted him out on Facebook.”