I am a little late this morning

because the power was off. I will keep this brief.
There are some comments on yesterday's blog post that make interesting reading and they also raise an interesting point which relates to something in today's paper.
There was a comment from a Senior Inspector of the police force in this morning's paper suggesting that women who live alone in the western suburbs of Adelaide should consider getting a dog to protect themselves. The remark has been made in relation to a spate of nasty incidents involving a male intruding on to property at night, knocking on windows and waking the occupant of the house. He is apparently targetting women living alone.
My reaction is this. Why should a woman need to do this? A dog is expensive to keep, time consuming to care for, a tie if you need to go away overnight. Any animal is a responsibility but dogs are a greater responsibility than most.
Women should be safe from unwanted intrusion into their own homes, indeed they should be safe in their own homes. In an ideal world they would be but we do not live in an ideal world. Nevertheless I do not believe that the response of the Senior Inspector was an appropriate one.
Yes, responsible choices should be made if you live alone. Do not advertise the fact. Get a male relative to put a message on your answering machine. Lock the doors and windows at night and, if it seems safer, during the day. If you have your name in the 'phone book put just the initials in and so on.
I also believe it is up to me to dress appropriately (but I have always been a conservative individual in respect of clothing). It is also wise not to travel alone at night or into lonely places at night. Such things are common sense. They need not restrict my life style. But, and it is a big but, I should not need to take on the responsibility for a dog which might not meet my safety needs anyway.
I do not believe the politician I mentioned yesterday is helping when she uses her sexuality, her race and her gender preference to score political points. It demeans women. It can make life more difficult for people from different ethnic backgrounds and it does nothing to further the acceptance of same sex relationships. (I have two cousins in same sex relationships, one male and one female. Neither of them flaunt the fact. They consider it their personal and private life style - just like any other relationship.)
If someone also chooses to live alone that should be acceptable as well. They should not need a dog for protection.