independent minded
VIP Member
- May 3, 2016
- 193
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People are claiming that hitch-hiking is once again becoming popular here in the United States, but that is up for debate, as far as Iām concerned. Many people hitch-hiked, especially in the 40ās, 50ās, 60ās, and even throughout the 70ās, but after awhile, hitch-hiking seemed to decline in popularity for several reasons:
A) Itās too risky
B) Increase in car ownership by high school and college students alike
C) Many people have more money than they did back in the earlier part of the 20th century.
D) A number of people believe that many people arenāt interesting in communicating with and relating to other people any more, or helping out strangers, which may be true, but hitch-hiking, imho, is definitely not the safest way to get to know people. Granted, Iāve also read/heard about people whoāve hitch-hiked across the country, or to another place, and met some rather interesting, helpful, benevolent and kind-hearted and honest people, but there are still people out there with bad intentions, who are criminally disposed, or who are just plain crazy, who are out there in their cars, and the risks arenāt worth it to me.
Hitch-hikingās popularity peaked during the mid to late 1960ās, and even the earlier part of the 1970ās. When violent crime began to increase generally here in the United States, there were many well-publicized incidents that occurred when people hitch-hiked, which also helped many people stop hitch-hiking because they felt that it was taking too many chances with oneās freedom, life, and safety.
Of course, in the 1960ās here in the United States, there seemed to be a feeling of community and togetherness among people, but that was kind of a mirage, and rather short. During the early 1970ās, it began to fall apart. The disintegration of the sense of community spirit began to snowball during the 1980ās, with the election of Ronald Reagan as President of the United States, it continued under Carter, and has continued to snowball even today, under both G. W H. Bush Sr, and G. W. Bush Jr. With Obama, it has gotten little or no better, but letās see what happens with the next POTUS election thatās coming up in November.
As a woman who graduated from high school back in 1969, and did some occasional hitch-hiking back in the 1970ās, Iāve now taken a stand against hitch-hiking for a number of reasons:
A) While most people are perfectly normal, honest and okay, itās also true that there are many people with bad intentions who are out there and around in their cars, and one never knows if s/he may get picked up by somebody who has bad intentions.
B) Many places here in the United States have outlawed hitch-hiking, due at least in part due to the fact that a hitchhiker stands a good chance of being hit by a vehicle, having to endure either extremely hot or extremely cold weather while thumbing for a ride, or being without food, water, or shelter for a good, long while.
C) Thereās also a good chance, in many places where hitch-hiking is illegal, that one may get fined, arrested or jailed, if and/or when theyāre caught by cops and other law-enforcement people.
D) Picking up hitch-hikers, too, can be risky, and many highways and thruways here in the United States, generally, have signs that say āPrison Area: Do Not Pick up Hitch-Hikersā, and with ample reason: Who knows if the person one picks up isnāt an escaped convict looking for a way out? Thereās no telling. But itās not worth taking a chance, imho. My (now-deceased) grandfather once told me a rather grisly story about a couple who picked up a hitch-hiker, The driver whoād picked up the hitch-hiker, then noticed that the hitch-hiker, who was in the back seat, had a sledge-hammer, and was about to hit him over the head with it. The driver quickly put his hand to his head to protect it, and the hitch-hiker hit the driverās hand, permanently mashing it out of shape. Although there are instances when people who get picked up do harm, or try to do harm to the driver of the car, itās mostly the people who are picked up that are in the most danger.
E) Reading and hearing about a number of rather grisly incidents of hitch-hikers being badly injured, or disappearing, never to be seen alive, much less heard from again, also turned me off to hitch-hiking. The Boston area, too, had its share of grisly hitch-hiking events. A number of young women, ranging in age from their late teens through their mid-20ās, whoād been hitch-hiking to school or to work, disappeared, never to be seen alive, much less heard from again. Their bodies were found, either in the woods, or on the roadside(s), in very different, and distant places. Boston was in the national spotlight for many weeks, at least in part, due to all of those young women who were brutally murdered and dumped off in distant places, while theyād been hitch-hiking.
In the spring of 1972, three years after Iād graduated from Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School, where Iād graduated from back in 1969, two teenaged couples from that same high school, who had been out on a late Saturday night/Sunday morning date, hitch-hiked home. The two men who picked up the teens were clearly intoxicated, but they didnāt seem hostile. The girls were dropped off first, but then things took a rather nasty turn. The men whoād picked up the teens then drove the boys to a secluded area near the Lincoln-Waltham line (also in Massachusetts), and then physically attacked them. One of the teenaged boys received a concussion due to being hit over the head with a blunt, heavy instrument. The other one almost got mowed down by their attackersā car while they were running to get help.
In March of 1975, two young college men, whoād spent the evening in a bar in downtown Boston, and then hitch-hiked home, were picked up by a couple of rough-and-tough men from South Boston, taken to a secluded spot, and brutally murdered, re-instating dangers of hitch-hiking.
F) While iād done some hitch-hiking myself during the heyday of the 1970ās, and had no problems, there were times when Iād end up worrying and asking āWill I or will I not get to where Iām going, safely, alive and in once piece?ā One time, I even got a ride with a young guy who was a former drag racer, on my way to my music lesson, when I was attending Northeastern University, in the very early 1970ās. It was a rather freaky experience, and my heart was probably in my mouth the entire time (lol), as the former drag-racing guy, who drove a little sports-car, mustāve driven through the Boston traffic and through Cambridgeās Harvard Square, at around 50 miles an hour. I got to where I was going safely, in one piece, and on time, and my music teacher sort of warned me that one day Iād end up getting more than I bargained for if I kept on hitch-hiking. Although I sort of dismissed her warning out of hand, I secretly knew she was probably right. When I told my mom about having gotten a ride with a former drag-racer, my mom said āAt least a former drag-racer knows something about how to drive a car fast.ā My mom, too, had a good point.
I hitch-hiked afew more times after that, but my parents had a good point when they said that hitch-hiking was too risky. I was in my mid-twenties and was still living at home, but their points made great, good sense, when they pointed out that the overall situation here in the United States wasnāt what it had been, and that, if anything, the overall situation was even worse than it used to be.
One day, while at school, I overheard a young woman talking to a friend about how sheād hitch-hiked to school that morning, had received a ride with a pervert, but had gotten to school safely. She was fortunate that sheād been able to get out, especially because many of these guys would remove the handles from the insides of their car doors, to prevent the women from escaping once theyād picked them up.
F) I had at least a couple of weird hitch-hiking experiences, which while I emerged from them unscathed, were rather creepy, and seemed to have to potential for escalating into something much more serious. On both of these occasions, when I was picked up, the guys who picked me up started out with benevolent enough conversation, and they seemed okay. When their talk slid into sexual innuendos and overtones, however, I decided to get out, and I was allowed out of the car, which was fortunate.
After weighing the odds, and due to reading/hearing about grisly incidents, where many young women were never seen alive again, or people being beat-up and seriously injured and even killed while hitch-hiking, I decided that it wasnāt worth risking my safety and possibly my limb and life hitch-hiking. Fortunately, I have my own car, and I drive many places, even long distances, by myself, and Iāve had no problems. Since Iāve lived independently from my family for many years since, and live in the city, rather than the suburbs, I also take public transportation if I have to go downtown for an errand or an appointment. I often walk to places, as well. I frequently also drive part-way to my destination and then walk the rest of the way. Living in the city puts me at an advantage that way, too. If I travel at night, whether it be by car or by MBTA (Mass. Bay Transit Authority), Iām also careful, and donāt take public transportation late at night.
Of course, thereās no guarantee that things wonāt get dicey if oneās walking, or taking public transportation, but at least if a threatening situation develops, if itās on the street, thereās always the possibility of running to higher ground, if one gets the drift. If iām on public transportation, thereās always the option of getting off at the next stop, if things start to get weird, but the latter hasnāt happened to me so far. Paying attention to whatās happening around you, whether oneās in the city or out in the āburbs or boonies, is key.
There are people who pooh-pooh the idea that getting into a car with a perfect stranger is risky, and that one is more likely to be molested or possibly raped/killed by a friend or family member, or who claim āWell, the home I came from is far more dangerous than being in the road, in a car, with a strangerā. That claim, imho fails to hold water. Hereās why:
While some people may argue that one takes his/her chances while driving their car, of getting hurt or killed on the road, or when they meet somebody at a dance, a party, a bar, or a night-club, being careful while driving helps. In the event of meeting people in a bar or nightclub, or a dance or party, thereās always the option of ducking out and leaving quickly if and when things start to get dicey.
When one gets into a car with a total stranger, however, or picks up a total stranger, s/he puts him or herself at the mercy of that person, and, often has little or no control over what may happen. Itās just simply not worth risking oneās limb and life by getting into a car with, or picking up somebody whoās totally unknown, and has never been seen before. Again, while most people are perfectly normal and honest, thereās no telling if and when somebody with bad intentions, is a criminal, is intoxicated or high, or is just plain crazy, will pick you up. Many such people, who are out there looking for victims, put on a benevolent pose, seem and even act and look nice enough, in order to lure victims into a situation where theyāll come to harm, or possibly worse. Many, if not most of these victims are quite young, as well, and have no other means of transportation, or money.
There are people who argue that the incidence of violent crime, or crime...period, has declined here in the United States. That may be so, but that doesnāt negate the risks of putting oneself at the mercy of a total stranger whoās totally unknown in any way, and thereby into an extremely risky, unpredictable situation, by getting into a car with them, especially if thereās more than one person in the car.
There are people who say that they hitch-hike a lot, but have no problems, and dismiss my opinions as a lot of BS, and dismiss me as somebody who cares nothing about helping other people out who are in need. Some people have even accused me, or even the media, of fabricating these horrendous incidents that occurred while hitch-hiking just to get peopleās fears up. If thatās their attitude, wellā¦.thatās their problem...not mine.
People who claim that the 1960ās were a decade of ātogethernessā are not entirely correct, either. There was plenty of divisiveness, meanness, dishonesty and crime, both at the hands of acquaintances and the hands of strangers whoād picked up young, unsuspecting victims in their cars, and either inflicted serious harm to them or even killed them. All told, having said all of the above, thumbing rides with, or even picking up hitchhikers that Iāve never set eyes on before, and/or know absolutely nothing about, are just simply not risks that are worth taking.
.
A) Itās too risky
B) Increase in car ownership by high school and college students alike
C) Many people have more money than they did back in the earlier part of the 20th century.
D) A number of people believe that many people arenāt interesting in communicating with and relating to other people any more, or helping out strangers, which may be true, but hitch-hiking, imho, is definitely not the safest way to get to know people. Granted, Iāve also read/heard about people whoāve hitch-hiked across the country, or to another place, and met some rather interesting, helpful, benevolent and kind-hearted and honest people, but there are still people out there with bad intentions, who are criminally disposed, or who are just plain crazy, who are out there in their cars, and the risks arenāt worth it to me.
Hitch-hikingās popularity peaked during the mid to late 1960ās, and even the earlier part of the 1970ās. When violent crime began to increase generally here in the United States, there were many well-publicized incidents that occurred when people hitch-hiked, which also helped many people stop hitch-hiking because they felt that it was taking too many chances with oneās freedom, life, and safety.
Of course, in the 1960ās here in the United States, there seemed to be a feeling of community and togetherness among people, but that was kind of a mirage, and rather short. During the early 1970ās, it began to fall apart. The disintegration of the sense of community spirit began to snowball during the 1980ās, with the election of Ronald Reagan as President of the United States, it continued under Carter, and has continued to snowball even today, under both G. W H. Bush Sr, and G. W. Bush Jr. With Obama, it has gotten little or no better, but letās see what happens with the next POTUS election thatās coming up in November.
As a woman who graduated from high school back in 1969, and did some occasional hitch-hiking back in the 1970ās, Iāve now taken a stand against hitch-hiking for a number of reasons:
A) While most people are perfectly normal, honest and okay, itās also true that there are many people with bad intentions who are out there and around in their cars, and one never knows if s/he may get picked up by somebody who has bad intentions.
B) Many places here in the United States have outlawed hitch-hiking, due at least in part due to the fact that a hitchhiker stands a good chance of being hit by a vehicle, having to endure either extremely hot or extremely cold weather while thumbing for a ride, or being without food, water, or shelter for a good, long while.
C) Thereās also a good chance, in many places where hitch-hiking is illegal, that one may get fined, arrested or jailed, if and/or when theyāre caught by cops and other law-enforcement people.
D) Picking up hitch-hikers, too, can be risky, and many highways and thruways here in the United States, generally, have signs that say āPrison Area: Do Not Pick up Hitch-Hikersā, and with ample reason: Who knows if the person one picks up isnāt an escaped convict looking for a way out? Thereās no telling. But itās not worth taking a chance, imho. My (now-deceased) grandfather once told me a rather grisly story about a couple who picked up a hitch-hiker, The driver whoād picked up the hitch-hiker, then noticed that the hitch-hiker, who was in the back seat, had a sledge-hammer, and was about to hit him over the head with it. The driver quickly put his hand to his head to protect it, and the hitch-hiker hit the driverās hand, permanently mashing it out of shape. Although there are instances when people who get picked up do harm, or try to do harm to the driver of the car, itās mostly the people who are picked up that are in the most danger.
E) Reading and hearing about a number of rather grisly incidents of hitch-hikers being badly injured, or disappearing, never to be seen alive, much less heard from again, also turned me off to hitch-hiking. The Boston area, too, had its share of grisly hitch-hiking events. A number of young women, ranging in age from their late teens through their mid-20ās, whoād been hitch-hiking to school or to work, disappeared, never to be seen alive, much less heard from again. Their bodies were found, either in the woods, or on the roadside(s), in very different, and distant places. Boston was in the national spotlight for many weeks, at least in part, due to all of those young women who were brutally murdered and dumped off in distant places, while theyād been hitch-hiking.
In the spring of 1972, three years after Iād graduated from Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School, where Iād graduated from back in 1969, two teenaged couples from that same high school, who had been out on a late Saturday night/Sunday morning date, hitch-hiked home. The two men who picked up the teens were clearly intoxicated, but they didnāt seem hostile. The girls were dropped off first, but then things took a rather nasty turn. The men whoād picked up the teens then drove the boys to a secluded area near the Lincoln-Waltham line (also in Massachusetts), and then physically attacked them. One of the teenaged boys received a concussion due to being hit over the head with a blunt, heavy instrument. The other one almost got mowed down by their attackersā car while they were running to get help.
In March of 1975, two young college men, whoād spent the evening in a bar in downtown Boston, and then hitch-hiked home, were picked up by a couple of rough-and-tough men from South Boston, taken to a secluded spot, and brutally murdered, re-instating dangers of hitch-hiking.
F) While iād done some hitch-hiking myself during the heyday of the 1970ās, and had no problems, there were times when Iād end up worrying and asking āWill I or will I not get to where Iām going, safely, alive and in once piece?ā One time, I even got a ride with a young guy who was a former drag racer, on my way to my music lesson, when I was attending Northeastern University, in the very early 1970ās. It was a rather freaky experience, and my heart was probably in my mouth the entire time (lol), as the former drag-racing guy, who drove a little sports-car, mustāve driven through the Boston traffic and through Cambridgeās Harvard Square, at around 50 miles an hour. I got to where I was going safely, in one piece, and on time, and my music teacher sort of warned me that one day Iād end up getting more than I bargained for if I kept on hitch-hiking. Although I sort of dismissed her warning out of hand, I secretly knew she was probably right. When I told my mom about having gotten a ride with a former drag-racer, my mom said āAt least a former drag-racer knows something about how to drive a car fast.ā My mom, too, had a good point.
I hitch-hiked afew more times after that, but my parents had a good point when they said that hitch-hiking was too risky. I was in my mid-twenties and was still living at home, but their points made great, good sense, when they pointed out that the overall situation here in the United States wasnāt what it had been, and that, if anything, the overall situation was even worse than it used to be.
One day, while at school, I overheard a young woman talking to a friend about how sheād hitch-hiked to school that morning, had received a ride with a pervert, but had gotten to school safely. She was fortunate that sheād been able to get out, especially because many of these guys would remove the handles from the insides of their car doors, to prevent the women from escaping once theyād picked them up.
F) I had at least a couple of weird hitch-hiking experiences, which while I emerged from them unscathed, were rather creepy, and seemed to have to potential for escalating into something much more serious. On both of these occasions, when I was picked up, the guys who picked me up started out with benevolent enough conversation, and they seemed okay. When their talk slid into sexual innuendos and overtones, however, I decided to get out, and I was allowed out of the car, which was fortunate.
After weighing the odds, and due to reading/hearing about grisly incidents, where many young women were never seen alive again, or people being beat-up and seriously injured and even killed while hitch-hiking, I decided that it wasnāt worth risking my safety and possibly my limb and life hitch-hiking. Fortunately, I have my own car, and I drive many places, even long distances, by myself, and Iāve had no problems. Since Iāve lived independently from my family for many years since, and live in the city, rather than the suburbs, I also take public transportation if I have to go downtown for an errand or an appointment. I often walk to places, as well. I frequently also drive part-way to my destination and then walk the rest of the way. Living in the city puts me at an advantage that way, too. If I travel at night, whether it be by car or by MBTA (Mass. Bay Transit Authority), Iām also careful, and donāt take public transportation late at night.
Of course, thereās no guarantee that things wonāt get dicey if oneās walking, or taking public transportation, but at least if a threatening situation develops, if itās on the street, thereās always the possibility of running to higher ground, if one gets the drift. If iām on public transportation, thereās always the option of getting off at the next stop, if things start to get weird, but the latter hasnāt happened to me so far. Paying attention to whatās happening around you, whether oneās in the city or out in the āburbs or boonies, is key.
There are people who pooh-pooh the idea that getting into a car with a perfect stranger is risky, and that one is more likely to be molested or possibly raped/killed by a friend or family member, or who claim āWell, the home I came from is far more dangerous than being in the road, in a car, with a strangerā. That claim, imho fails to hold water. Hereās why:
While some people may argue that one takes his/her chances while driving their car, of getting hurt or killed on the road, or when they meet somebody at a dance, a party, a bar, or a night-club, being careful while driving helps. In the event of meeting people in a bar or nightclub, or a dance or party, thereās always the option of ducking out and leaving quickly if and when things start to get dicey.
When one gets into a car with a total stranger, however, or picks up a total stranger, s/he puts him or herself at the mercy of that person, and, often has little or no control over what may happen. Itās just simply not worth risking oneās limb and life by getting into a car with, or picking up somebody whoās totally unknown, and has never been seen before. Again, while most people are perfectly normal and honest, thereās no telling if and when somebody with bad intentions, is a criminal, is intoxicated or high, or is just plain crazy, will pick you up. Many such people, who are out there looking for victims, put on a benevolent pose, seem and even act and look nice enough, in order to lure victims into a situation where theyāll come to harm, or possibly worse. Many, if not most of these victims are quite young, as well, and have no other means of transportation, or money.
There are people who argue that the incidence of violent crime, or crime...period, has declined here in the United States. That may be so, but that doesnāt negate the risks of putting oneself at the mercy of a total stranger whoās totally unknown in any way, and thereby into an extremely risky, unpredictable situation, by getting into a car with them, especially if thereās more than one person in the car.
There are people who say that they hitch-hike a lot, but have no problems, and dismiss my opinions as a lot of BS, and dismiss me as somebody who cares nothing about helping other people out who are in need. Some people have even accused me, or even the media, of fabricating these horrendous incidents that occurred while hitch-hiking just to get peopleās fears up. If thatās their attitude, wellā¦.thatās their problem...not mine.
People who claim that the 1960ās were a decade of ātogethernessā are not entirely correct, either. There was plenty of divisiveness, meanness, dishonesty and crime, both at the hands of acquaintances and the hands of strangers whoād picked up young, unsuspecting victims in their cars, and either inflicted serious harm to them or even killed them. All told, having said all of the above, thumbing rides with, or even picking up hitchhikers that Iāve never set eyes on before, and/or know absolutely nothing about, are just simply not risks that are worth taking.
.
