Those of you blaming this on illegal immigration are completely missing the forest for the trees.
A friend who lives close to where Mollie Tibbetts lived posted this today - it is the most appropriate response I've seen to this tragedy.


This afternoon, when walking to my car, a man appeared behind me in the parking garage. He walked two or three steps behind me - well in my space. I cursed myself for not holding my keys, the way we women have been trained to do, between my knuckles to strike if necessary. For a few moments, I was terrified.

This man didn’t harm me, and was guilty of no more than being oblivious to personal space. Still, women have to think every day about protecting themselves from men.

I don’t remember where I read or heard this story (and forgive me if I mess up the details) A professor asked the young men to tell the class what they do to protect themselves from rape. The men laughed nervously. The question seemed ludicrous. The professor asked the young women the same question and they easily rattled off dozens of answers: park near streetlights, check under car before getting in, hold keys between knuckles... This is just part of being a woman.

When I got home and opened the news, my heart broke to see that Mollie Tibbetts’s body had been found. This story is local to me. A young Iowa woman went for a jog and wound up dead. Women should be able to walk home after dark, park in the first spot they see, have drinks in a bar, or go for a jog without being harmed by men.

The news, our senators, our governor, and the vice president (among others, I’m sure) are making this an immigration issue.

This isn’t a immigration issue. This is a men are hurting and raping and killing women issue. How do we make them stop?