I was living out in West Hollywood when a Hollywood strangler was strangling women. Every night there was a panel discussion on tv about the strangler, speculations about his habits, his motives, his methods. One thing was clear about him: he only strangled women when they were alone, or with other women. And the panel members would always end the show by saying:
Now for all you women, listen: don't go outside without a man. Don't walk out to your car, don't even take the garbage out by yourself; always go with a man.
Then, one of the eyewitnesses identified a policeman as one of the suspects. The next night, the chief of the police was on the panel, and he said:
Now for all you women, whatever happens, do not stop for a police officer, stay in your car. If a police officer tries to stop you, do not stop, keep driving and under no circumstances should you get out of your car.
For a few weeks, half the traffic in la was doing twice the speed limits.
