I am a woman living alone near Philadelphia with a cat, so I guess you could call me a “childless cat lady.” I never wanted children, so I never had any. Since I have dedicated my life to helping other people, for many years I subscribed to all of the social justice causes. That began to change when the neighborhood I live in became a hotbed of crime and leftist intolerance.

Recently, I witnessed a woman throw a large object at a man’s car, break the passenger window, and then casually walk across the street. The man got out of his car and ran across the street to attack her. He wrestled her to the ground but eventually let her go, getting back into his car and driving off. She kept walking, talking on her cell phone the entire time.

I was standing on my front stoop on my way to take out the trash. I stood there, stunned with horror. The man saw me. I did not call the police because I recognized him. He lives in this neighborhood, where one can expect retaliation. It didn’t look like the woman called the police either. She just kept walking.

Yesterday I stopped by a cafe for a bagel. I began frequenting this this locally owned cafe after walking past it one Sunday morning and seeing that all its storefront windows had been smashed. I went in and asked if everyone was OK. Apparently the vandalism had occurred in the predawn hours of the morning. Nothing was stolen—just windows smashed.