Running alone is not the problem

I saw well-meaning "advice" in the newspaper this week that women should buddy up for runs for safety.

F*** that.

The problem is not women running alone.

The problem is that drunk-driving teens shouldn't have thrown a beer bottle at me from their speeding car.
The problem is that drivers shouldn't blow through stop signs.
The problem is that a creeper shouldn't have approached my friend, asking for "directions," and tried to lure her into a canyon.

Don't get me wrong.
I love my running buddies.
But I shouldn't *need* them for safety. And I'm tired of being told I should.

Women already, disproportionately, select their routes and running times based on avoiding the threat that someone might harass or attack them. That's a disgraceful commentary on our society. The blame-the-victim (she shouldn't have been running alone, with headphones, before dawn, etc...) mindset puts it on the runner if someone attacks her.

F*** that. She had the right to run.
Alone.
The attacker does not have the right to attack. The harasser does not have the right to harass.

Runner's World has it right on this.
http://www.runnersworld.com/running-while-female

Source: Runner's World Survey