The story of Chris McCandless did not even take place that long ago. Less than twenty years ago he was hitchhiking across the country and meeting all sorts of great new people, at least that is what we read. Therefore, my original argument that it is just too dangerous nowadays seems slightly invalid to me. In answering all the questions, of course hitchhiking is beneficial to those who need it. They want to get to some place faster and hitching a ride is obviously the easiest and cheapest way to do it. I believe that hitchhiking has not changed much over time at all, though it seems to have to many of us. This is because most of us have grown up being told about the dangers of strangers, and, living in more densely populated, busy areas where our lives become more and more anonymous. I believe it was most likely easier for Chris to get rides with people from smaller towns, because they are less insular.
Maybe I am reaching beyond the scope of my knowledge by saying something like that, and if I were to be refuted I would honestly not have much of an argument. I have never hitchhiked, and most likely, never will. I guess, in conclusion, my view of hitchhiking is that the dangers have most likely always been the same and that the only our perceptions of it as a risky move have grown. This would be because I have grown up in a larger community with lots of anonymity of lives and lessons about being wary of strangers. This would be similar for a lot of the country in general as population grows and communities become larger.
I agree that through examples of hitchhiking going wrong that our perception has changed. The fear of picking up a hitchhiker is whether someone roaming the streets should be trusted. It makes sense that picking up a hitchhiker would be more dangerous in a larger populated area where there is more of a variety of people.
ReplyDeleteWhat are the chances of finding someone legitimately sane to give a ride to? from anywhere to be honest. I personally would never give any one a ride unless i knew them. but yeah, our perception and view of hitchhikers has changed over time and not for the good. Times change i guess...
ReplyDeleteI think there a many people that are simply just looking for a ride. I've given a ride to a hitchhiker from Mt. Baker back to Bellingham. It seemed fine at the time, just a snowboarder guy trying to get back home. What makes him any different than some other guy on the side of the road?
ReplyDeleteI believe insanity is actually a pretty rare issue and you can probably find tons of 'legitimately sane' people to give a ride to. They just want to get from one place to another and thats really not such a crazy idea. At the same time I think it is a fair concern to be wary of any other 'guy on the side of the road'. While I believe we often tend to over think it, it is definitely something to give thought to before you give any wanderer a ride.
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