Australian media have been discussing alcohol-fueled assaults recently, following on from a number of stories about 'king hit' men -- some dying as a result of one punch.
It makes me think about the time I was assaulted and, unsurprisingly, there are many stories from males about this sort of event because it's so common.
Let me share my story before offering a view on why this is so.
I was heading to get a taxi after celebrating my graduation from university in Canberra, when a stranger walked up and hit me in the head. I picked myself up and got in a cab. The driver sympathised with events and dropped me home before I realised I'd lost my glasses.
Sometime I also realised I'd blacked out at the scene of the assault.
I called the police and they were not interested in assisting me. Maybe I sounded drunk but it was a rude shock to realise they wouldn't provide any assistance nor take a statement. They also wouldn't check for my spectacles.
I called my sister and she kindly drove me into town in the early hours. We found my glasses, someone had thoughtfully moved them to the side of the footpath.
I woke up later that day with a significant bruise on the side of my face, blackening one eye. I already had stitches in my chin from a mountain-biking accident a day earlier.
As I wrote earlier, many people have similar stories about senseless violence from strangers. I was unprepared for the psychological results. Sometimes I couldn't help but flinch from strangers.
Now I wonder if this has become a rite of passage of sorts but more recently when I heard a friend had been assaulted I wondered if a support group could help address the situation.
I still feel like I can't make sense of why I was bashed but I guess the commonness of the crime means I shouldn't have too much difficulty finding people who want to share their stories.
