What's better than self-defense? Not getting into a sticky situation in the first place. Or what I like to call situational awareness. Being aware of your surroundings. Which you can't do if you're on your phone. I can't tell you how many people I've almost seen mowed down in a parking lot because they were on their phone. If you can't sense a car creeping up on you, what do you think the odds are you'll be able to sense an attacker? Put the phone away, and use your eyes and ears. And I mean use them.
If I'm ever in the unfortunate situation to be walking through a parking deck, alone at night, in a sketchy area, I don't hesitate to look over my shoulder at the slightest scurry of a mouse. Sometimes it's a legit mouse, others it's a person. In that case, I don't hesitate to give them the once over. Do they look like a stung-out crackhead? They probably are. Is this person bigger than me? I prep to draw. I don't mean I put my hand on my gun. Odds are my hand's been on my gun since I started walking alone through the dark parking lot in the sketchy area of town. I mentally prepare. I'll pick up the pace or change lanes. Does he follow? All the while I'm glancing over my shoulder with a raised brow. In my experience, that's usually enough. I'll never know if they had malicious intentions, because after about the third WTF-do-you-want glare, they change lanes.
Again, no way to know if they were actually after me in the first place, but better safe than sorry. I have no qualms about making it awkward. Another tip for sketchy (all) parking lots: make sure your door unlock settings are set to only unlock the driver's side door. No sense inviting an attacker for a ride. Of course, the best tip I can give is to avoid sketchy areas all together, but that's not always feasible.
Regina George gets it. Observe:
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