The ‘Almost-Victims’ and Why the Left Would Prefer We Didn’t Talk About Them – RedState

Let me tell you the true story of a woman we’ll call Linda.

Many years ago, Linda worked in downtown Charlotte. Instead of taking public transportation, on which she felt unsafe, Linda drove to work every day while she worked for the downtown company, making sure to park in a way that allowed her to walk to her destination with groups of other people heading in the same direction, so she wouldn’t have to walk alone.

One day, some friends of Linda’s who also worked downtown but for another company a few blocks away invited her to meet them for lunch. Although Linda didn’t mind walking, it would have taken her a long time to walk from point A to point B. So her friends suggested she take the streetcar, which had a short run before the light rail system became important in Charlotte’s transportation.

SEE ALSO: New Information About Suspect in Latest Charlotte Streetcar Stabbing Makes Situation Even More Exasperating

So Linda grabbed her bag, in which she of course kept her cell phone, wallet, keys and other essentials, and hopped into the cart for the first time, looking forward to this new experience and thinking it would be a piece of cake.

This was not the case. Shortly after Linda boarded the tram, a group of four guys also boarded. And they headed straight for Linda. While three of them were sitting in neighboring seats, one of them was sitting right next to Linda, looking at her and her bag. She said he bumped her in the side several times and told her how “rich” she must be with such a pretty bag and clothes.

This lasted several minutes and Linda was terrified. She looked around to see if anyone else was paying attention, but they were buried in their cell phones or books. She didn’t know if the man next to her was carrying a weapon, like a knife, and because of that, she was afraid to speak up and ask for help, fearing that she might provoke the man into using the weapon she feared.

When the tram arrived at Linda’s stop, she hugged her bag and left the car. The guys followed her. But fortunately, several police officers were on the corner, near where the tram stopped, and Linda immediately went over to one of them and told them she didn’t feel safe.

When the officer asked her what was putting her in danger, Linda simply told him that it was the guys on the streetcar who had moved away as she got closer to the officer. She wanted the incident to be behind her and didn’t want to have to see them again.

There are many more “near victims” like Linda whose stories never appear in crime statistics, either because a crime wasn’t technically committed or because, for one reason or another, they were too afraid to report it. We heard a lot after the stabbing murder of Iryna Zarutska in August, with the floodgates opening with people coming forward to share their frightening experiences on Charlotte’s transit system.

This is one of the main reasons why, when I hear stories about crime being “down” in blue cities like Charlotte, I’m not so quick to believe them. I worry about numbers being manipulated or rigged, and I also consider the undeniable presence of fear in communities, the feeling of insecurity, because of things you’ve heard about in places like NextDoor or seen with your own eyes on your Ring cameras.

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The left doesn’t want to hear the voices of near-victims because, perhaps like real data-driven crime statistics, they would help completely destroy the narratives the usual suspects try to promote that blue cities are safer than claimed. The voices of near-victims like Linda matter and should always be included in debates about crime, security and the restoration of law and order.

Editor’s note: President Trump is leading America toward the “Gilded Age” while Democrats are desperately trying to stop him.

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