Auntie Cipation
Context Matters.
- Joined
- Jan 17, 2018
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The problem with the 'stranger' theory is that there is nothing, no evidence. Even Jodi Husentruit's apartment had evidence -- her shoes, broken car key, earrings, etc. near her parked car (which could be plants, no doubt).
A 20 y/o college student (unless stunned) would not go without a fight if a stranger grabbed her.
Agreed, but -- what defines a stranger?
Anecdote time: a few years ago a pipeline was built near my area. Some of the workers were on the job for months. One man in particular I recall because he was attractive and obviously bright, and regularly came into the library (where I met him). I never knew him well but after the first few conversations I wouldn't have considered him a stranger.
I actively considered offering him to park his trailer in my empty lot next door to my home. I may have actually given him a ride (or ridden with him) out to an old dump site several miles from town, where people sometimes find old bottles and other collectibles. I definitely trusted the guy at that level. And yet, I had known him for maybe a few weeks or a month or two at the most?
It only takes a few conversations to create a feeling of connection and trust at that basic level, not committing your life to the person but certainly willing to get in a car to help or for a seemingly-innocuous reason. Maybe this is only a rural thing but it's definitely a thing.
So I think we need to look at the area in between the stark black and white of "trusted friends" vs "scary strangers".