All the things I should fear

Yesterday my Mum called me. She had seen in the news that a lot of girls have been raped in Bergen lately and women are warned against walking alone when it is dark (which in a month or two will mean pretty much all the time). Since my family view me as a rather reckless person, and know that I seldom watch TV, she thought it best to call me to make sure I was aware of the dangers who lurks around outside my front door.

Now, I don't blame my mum for worrying about me. After all, that is part of the job description for parents I assume. And sure, I can't argue against the fact that there are nasty people out there who sometimes does things to other people which isn't very nice.

What I have a problem with is all the hassle and general lowering of life quality that being afraid brings. Fear can be a very useful trait. Sometimes, like when you think about how fun it is to drive really fast with your car on icy roads, it can even save your life. But if you start making a list over all the bad stuff that can possibly happen to you, you risk ending up with a list that is pretty much endless. Probably you will end up with a life that seems pretty much endless too. Not because it will span several solar years, but because subjective time goes so much slower when you are bored.

I'm an adult. Experience have taught me that sometimes Bad Stuff happens (Actually, bad shit might happen to you when you sit peacefully in your own home minding your own business, and there is absolutely nothing you can do about it). But I'm sick and tired of media, or anyone else who isn't my mother, telling me to be afraid of everything from crossing the road to the evil terrorists who wants to smuggle dangerous weapons aboard aeroplanes in water bottles. If an increased risk of being blown screaming out of the sky in a gigantic fireball is what it takes to let me go through airport security check without waiting in line until the batteries of my mp3 player runs out, I say go for it.
If there is wolves in the forest I will still go for a walk, I won't stay home in front of the computer every night just to be sure to avoid mean people that might pounce on me from the bushes, and if there is a green man I cross the road because it is NOT my responsibility to make sure the cars stop. It is not possible to live a life without risk anyway, so I don't see any reason to make myself miserable by attempting to reach the impossible goal of 100% safety.