When New York Times journalist David Rosenbaum was attacked and killed while peacefully walking in his quiet Northwest neighborhood last week, we passed over one relatively minor part of the story — Rosenbaum had headphones on as he walked.

Today Examiner columnist Harry Jaffe takes on that very issue, writing:

Over dinner one night, my daughters and I talked about tightening up security around the place. Like better control of the front door key, which seems to float around the porch. Like locking the back door. Like encouraging our black Lab to bark when someone knocks. I suggested they quit wearing iPod headphones some of the time, especially when walking down the street and definitely when crossing one.

“What difference would that make?” one asked.

One aspect of Rosenbaum’s demise stuck with me: He was wearing headphones when he was attacked. And I wondered, might he have heard the two men approach had his ears not been plugged? Might he have walked faster or taken steps toward a house or crossed the street or yelled? Wearing headphones as you walk or jog is cutting out one of the five senses. It silences sounds around us. It reduces our awareness.

This opinion is particularly relevant for our age demographic — after all, we’re children of portable music devices, those which have gotten smaller in size and bigger in capacity as the years have drawn on. We’re all too inclined to pop the iPod on as we walk to the Metro or work — an innocent act that carries its own risks — never much stopping to think that we might, as Jaffe indicates, be making ourselves easier targets.

Should we consider freeing our ears, knowing that we may be increasing our safety?