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MatthewTrainor
Guest
I haven’t read the book (beyond what I linked above) but the premise appears to be that old axiom “it’s better to be safe than sorry.” De Becker’s goal seems to be to transform that instinctual nudge into factual information that you can act on. There do exist “textbook cases” for rapists and domestic abusers. Looking at enough cases and patterns emerge. That’s the basis for the entire discipline of criminal profiling. The Gift of Fear seeks to describe the common factors associated with dangerous individuals and lay them out in a categorical manner. Yes, following De Becker’s advice might sometimes involve being rude to someone who, in truth, doesn’t deserve it, but that’s better than the alternative.As far as The Gift of Fear goes, how is someone suppose to recognize a dangerous person vs. a person who is emotionally immature?