Watch Your Back

While completing this assignment, I thought of a million ways that I watch my back. For instance, I stand with my back to walls or buildings, while I am waiting for Septa, so that no one can sneak up behind me. I watch my back as I cross the industrial avenue in my neighborhood, because cars, trucks, busses and trolleys like to speed and they are not alwways looking out for pedestrians. Therefore, I watch my back, when I cross the street. I also wattch my back academically. I make sure that I complete my assignments on time. I read my email alot, too, because sometimes people will say that they sent you something, but it was sent at an hour when you were asleep or something. I read my email to stay informed. I also watch my back in classes. If I don't understand, agree or simply need to express my opinion, I make sure that I do that, because hey, I'm paying for it with my hard earned USD.

I watch my back by watching who I associate with, who I tell my business to and who I let my guard down around. Although people will appear to be your friends, there would be no such thing as betrayal if everyone was honest about evil intentions.

Also, I watch my back by watching my front. Is there danger ahead? Who am I following? Is the person that I am following leading me into danger. If I follow my own path, I'll probably be better off. Finally, I can't see what's behind me, but my surveillance camera can.

Following

While walkig across Temple 's Main Campus on my way to get some lunch, I found myself drifiting. This drift led into involuntary/unplanned following. Before I realized it, two young women about the same age as me were steadily walking directly in front of me. I was attracted to their conversation, because it was sorta loud. Speaking in "outside" voices, the ladies were discussing the difficukty of balancing clases and other responsibilities. One of the ladies had a story similar to mine, where she is taking a full load of creits, she has a job with an unsteady schedule, and an internship. The challeneges she discussed were about how she would get a break from one job and the internship would become more demanding, or they'd both be very demanding at the same time and to top it al off, her teachers would pile the work on at the most inconvenient times. So, as I took all of this in and pondered the state of capitalisma nd work an dhow school is directly affected by this onster... I realized that althoug I had been folllowign these young women for at least two blocks, neither one of them ever noticed. Surveilance. It's a scary thing. You really don't know who is watching you, or stalking you, et cetera. The most peculiar thing about all of this though is that those women could have evr well been following me.