WaPo Quote of the Day: Women who travel alone are asking for it

Back to the bus stop example, which comes from a D.C. police crime report on Feb. 14: A woman was sitting at a bus stop on 11th Street NW about 1:30 a.m. when she was robbed of a laptop, cellphone, books, cash and credit cards.

Was the woman at fault for being out that late, carrying so many valuable items? Can she really expect to sit at a bus stop at any hour and not be targeted by criminals?

Courtland Milloy, Washington Post Columnist

Clearly, Mr. Milloy disapproves of female students, businesspeople, or other professionals traveling alone at any time of day. I'd wager that a plurality if not majority of college students of both genders at Georgetown probably carry a smart phone, netbook/laptop, bookbag, and wallet on a regular basis. I assume that Mr. Milloy also thinks that women who don't wear burkas, dare to travel alone after dark, and who are raped in DC were asking for it, right?

Obviously there are some places that it isn't wise to go at certain times. One shouldn't go out of their way to look for trouble. But suggesting that women can't travel alone on the DC Metro subway system at any time of day with normal items carried by the majority of middle class individuals isn't something that I think most rational people would sign on to. I certainly think that Mr. Milloy's comments are offensive. I'd hope that many of his readers do too.

Mr. Milloy can be emailed at milloyc@washpost.com. Be polite, but you may want to remind him that this is not the 1950s nor is it Saudi Arabia, and that in most parts of America, we don't blame female victims for daring to participate in public, professional life.