So "this" happened again.
- Thread starter Sigmund Av Volsung
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Recife, Brazil.nathan-dts said:
Last time I checked, we were up there with some of the most violent cities in the world. A few years ago, we also had the "honor" of topping the list of most violent cities in Brazil.
It's alright, though. At least you're safe in the water. Oh wait: http://edition.cnn.com/2013/07/23/world/americas/brazil-shark-attack
All I can say is, this is one of those situations that will hopefully harden you psychologically. Maybe next time (and don't kid yourself about the likelihood of that) your legs won't be shaking and your voice will be firm.
Me personally, though... I tend to put my hand on my .45 (usually in a waistband holster, sometimes a small of the back holster if under a coat. Very occasionally in an underarm holster), click the slide back and forth slightly to let 'em hear it without drawing. They've always gotten the point. I realize that's not an option when you're 16... or at all, in most countries.
Also, to anyone making fun of the concealed carry thing: it defuses a lot more fights than it starts. Your average mugger is unarmed, or armed with a pocket knife... and if you're not scared, they will be. They may be the only mugger you see today, but you're one mark among many to them. Don't be an easy mark.
Me personally, though... I tend to put my hand on my .45 (usually in a waistband holster, sometimes a small of the back holster if under a coat. Very occasionally in an underarm holster), click the slide back and forth slightly to let 'em hear it without drawing. They've always gotten the point. I realize that's not an option when you're 16... or at all, in most countries.
Also, to anyone making fun of the concealed carry thing: it defuses a lot more fights than it starts. Your average mugger is unarmed, or armed with a pocket knife... and if you're not scared, they will be. They may be the only mugger you see today, but you're one mark among many to them. Don't be an easy mark.
Never been mugged, but I have been followed by a group of teenagers on bikes and one of them had the smallest most unthreatening pen knife in the world.
This was about 4 years ago, when I was a metal head and would always carry a huge ass key chain with me.
When the one with the knife got close to me, I disconnected the chain and started swinging it at him just to keep him away.
Much to my surprise, the kid absolutely shat himself, dropped his bike and started legging it back to his mates.
I picked up his bike and threw it at him and told them to piss off.
Don't know why they we're following me, don't care.
This was about 4 years ago, when I was a metal head and would always carry a huge ass key chain with me.
When the one with the knife got close to me, I disconnected the chain and started swinging it at him just to keep him away.
Much to my surprise, the kid absolutely shat himself, dropped his bike and started legging it back to his mates.
I picked up his bike and threw it at him and told them to piss off.
Don't know why they we're following me, don't care.
I've been mugged twice in my life, I live in Chicago so thats actually probably pretty low for around here.
The first was some skinny little tweaker who came up to me outside my train home from work. He didn't look like he had any weapon he just came up to me on the platform and grabbed me by the collar, started demanding my wallet. I was really surprised and I kinda acted on instinct. I grabbed his shoulders and headbutted him, sounded like I broke his nose, and it killed my head. I shoved him against the wall and hopped on the train, it wasn't even the train I wanted and it took like an extra forty minutes to get home but I was so freaked out I had to get out of there.
The second time was only a few blocks away from my house, underneath the L stop. I was walking back when a guy came up behind and put a hand on my shoulder and a knife against my side. He told me to pass my wallet over my shoulder to his hand. Of course I did because hey, I have a lot to live for and fifty bucks isn't worth my life. After I gave him the wallet he told me to stay still then he chucked my wallet into the middle of the street and ran off with all the cash in it. I went after my wallet and by the time I had gotten it he was gone.
Getting mugged can be a really horrible experience, its a sense of personal violation. You walk around abiding by the rules of society and kind of assume youll be safe when some asshole comes along and proves you wrong. My sympathies OP.
The first was some skinny little tweaker who came up to me outside my train home from work. He didn't look like he had any weapon he just came up to me on the platform and grabbed me by the collar, started demanding my wallet. I was really surprised and I kinda acted on instinct. I grabbed his shoulders and headbutted him, sounded like I broke his nose, and it killed my head. I shoved him against the wall and hopped on the train, it wasn't even the train I wanted and it took like an extra forty minutes to get home but I was so freaked out I had to get out of there.
The second time was only a few blocks away from my house, underneath the L stop. I was walking back when a guy came up behind and put a hand on my shoulder and a knife against my side. He told me to pass my wallet over my shoulder to his hand. Of course I did because hey, I have a lot to live for and fifty bucks isn't worth my life. After I gave him the wallet he told me to stay still then he chucked my wallet into the middle of the street and ran off with all the cash in it. I went after my wallet and by the time I had gotten it he was gone.
Getting mugged can be a really horrible experience, its a sense of personal violation. You walk around abiding by the rules of society and kind of assume youll be safe when some asshole comes along and proves you wrong. My sympathies OP.
Dude fuck living in Chicago, in addition to one of the highest violent crime rates in the country we also have absolutely ridiculous laws when it comes to defending yourself. I have a friend who's brother is currently two years into a five year sentence for defending himself and his girlfriend during a home invasion. Some fucker was stalking his girl for weeks and finally tried his hand at breaking into her house. He saw this guy climbing in through the bedroom window and he warned him that he had a gun, he kept coming so he shot him in the leg and called the police. Now he's in jail, where last I heard from my friend, his life is hell.nepheleim said:You must be in Illinois where protecting yourself from a mugger is cause to put you in jail for life.michael87cn said:Fantastic advice. Pure brilliance. This way, if he asks for your wallet, you can just kill him with the pull of a trigger and spend life in prison!Zeren said:
That's using ur brains!
In all seriousness though, every state has something on the books allowing force, including deadly force, to be used to prevent what the actor perceives (that's important) as a imminent commission of any assault that may result in injury, serious bodily injury, or death.
*standard lawyer disclaimers: I'm not a lawyer, go get a lawyer, expect to go bankrupt for saving your own life*
Oh, I hope you feel OK soon OP.
I wouldn't try and feel bad if I was you, no one knows how they would react in that situation (unless they've been in it, obviously) I think you did good, squaring back at him could have made situations a lot worse.
I'm lucky, I've never had any threats randomly aimed at me, just attract the strange people who have weird conversations and questions.
I wouldn't try and feel bad if I was you, no one knows how they would react in that situation (unless they've been in it, obviously) I think you did good, squaring back at him could have made situations a lot worse.
I'm lucky, I've never had any threats randomly aimed at me, just attract the strange people who have weird conversations and questions.
When I was younger (15 I think, maybe even 14) and had long hair I had a pretty scary experience where a drunk man came up to me and my friends and started shouting at us, we were in a takeaway waiting for food and talking, making jokes etc.
The guy thought we were laughing at him, so decided to start pushing us, grabbing us and generally asking us 'do you want a fucking fight'. I was terrified and just kept saying we were talking amongst ourselves and of course haven't said anything to him. He tried to lift me off the ground while calling me a girl/gay (because of long hair) as the adults in the takeaway looked on...
14/15, clearly didn't do anything, everyone knew I didn't do anything, yet a room full of people just watched on as a fully grown drunk man was ripping my shirt as he picked me off the ground. They just watched silently like it was a fucking tv programme, it took my other 14/15 year old friends to make him back off.
One thing I learnt from that is that most people will just watch and let bad things happen, now I'm bigger and stronger I make sure I'm never one of those people who just watch on.
The guy thought we were laughing at him, so decided to start pushing us, grabbing us and generally asking us 'do you want a fucking fight'. I was terrified and just kept saying we were talking amongst ourselves and of course haven't said anything to him. He tried to lift me off the ground while calling me a girl/gay (because of long hair) as the adults in the takeaway looked on...
14/15, clearly didn't do anything, everyone knew I didn't do anything, yet a room full of people just watched on as a fully grown drunk man was ripping my shirt as he picked me off the ground. They just watched silently like it was a fucking tv programme, it took my other 14/15 year old friends to make him back off.
One thing I learnt from that is that most people will just watch and let bad things happen, now I'm bigger and stronger I make sure I'm never one of those people who just watch on.
That sounds similar to a guy I met, but for me it was in a public street in daylight.Zhukov said:
Im coming back from secondary school and a man veers towards me and I get a bad feeling so I try to curve away but he goes right at me. As he comes towards me he says
'How old are you?'
I say 'Sixteen'
He incredulously shouts 'Sixteen!' and kick me in the shin. Then walks off laughing to himself.
As I limp home I am not shaken so much as baffled. What age was he expecting? Why kick me? Bizzare.
Thankfully his large, slender appearance did not reflect his strength. I wasn't even angry so much as utterly confused. Some people got a screw loose. I want to know what random thing he would do now im 20. I wonder if its a different thing depending on what age you are.
I've had a couple of run-ins with people just not right...I remember when my mother and I rode a bus from California to Texas (little disclaimer: DO NOT ride the bus! For any fucking reason! It is the WORST mode of travel where you will be starved, have your ear talked off by conspiracy theorists and worry that you might actually die!)
See there were a few people on these buses that just...well they were crazy. One guy had a bag...and he held it very close to his chest ALL the time...and he kept talking to it or to himself, not sure which. Either way it was unsettling. Had another guy, the conspiracy theorist, showing off how good he could fold dollar bills and talking about 9/11 and God.
And at one of our stops, I was sitting with some luggage outside, waiting for our next bus, while my mother went to get us some food (because they don't always feel like stopping to feed you). A black man approached me and he had some flyers with him and I was a little confused to if he wanted me to volunteer at some form of charity event or if he just wanted money for said charity event...cause at first he was hollering about an event that you "attended" and I was trying to tell him I was just passing through and so wasn't part of the community. He then got offended that I wasn't willing to go above and beyond for his cause (which I still have no clue what it was) and was acting like he had just been asking for money and that I wasn't willing to help people in need. All the while I'm trying to explain to him that I'm FIFTEEN and I had no money both in the "I'm fifteen and there for don't even qualify for a job" sense and the "I have no money on me, this trip is paid for by my mother, she has all the money" sense. And like I said I'm FIFTEEN, female, and I'm all alone. A man comes up to you and starts yelling at you, you get scared and I was eyeing around to make certain that there were people close by.
He finally said "I see how it is" and then he mumbled something about white peole and stormed off. I kind of got the impression that because I was white I obviously considered myself too good to help when a black person asks for it. Not pulling reverse racism card, that's bullshit, just the way he acted seemed like he thought I must be rich cause I'm white...even though I'm starving cause I had been on a bus for about a day with no stops. LOGIC!
See there were a few people on these buses that just...well they were crazy. One guy had a bag...and he held it very close to his chest ALL the time...and he kept talking to it or to himself, not sure which. Either way it was unsettling. Had another guy, the conspiracy theorist, showing off how good he could fold dollar bills and talking about 9/11 and God.
And at one of our stops, I was sitting with some luggage outside, waiting for our next bus, while my mother went to get us some food (because they don't always feel like stopping to feed you). A black man approached me and he had some flyers with him and I was a little confused to if he wanted me to volunteer at some form of charity event or if he just wanted money for said charity event...cause at first he was hollering about an event that you "attended" and I was trying to tell him I was just passing through and so wasn't part of the community. He then got offended that I wasn't willing to go above and beyond for his cause (which I still have no clue what it was) and was acting like he had just been asking for money and that I wasn't willing to help people in need. All the while I'm trying to explain to him that I'm FIFTEEN and I had no money both in the "I'm fifteen and there for don't even qualify for a job" sense and the "I have no money on me, this trip is paid for by my mother, she has all the money" sense. And like I said I'm FIFTEEN, female, and I'm all alone. A man comes up to you and starts yelling at you, you get scared and I was eyeing around to make certain that there were people close by.
He finally said "I see how it is" and then he mumbled something about white peole and stormed off. I kind of got the impression that because I was white I obviously considered myself too good to help when a black person asks for it. Not pulling reverse racism card, that's bullshit, just the way he acted seemed like he thought I must be rich cause I'm white...even though I'm starving cause I had been on a bus for about a day with no stops. LOGIC!
I've never been mugged or had any hassle from anyone on the streets really. It's been useful that I'm very tall and broad, which is probably a great deterrent, even though Im sure I'd be rubbish in a physical confrontation. Also I think attitude plays a part; you become a mark if you seem weak or nervous, if you look like you are confident it might keep trouble away. Most of my mates who have been mugged are fairly nervous characters, or hot-headed. It might also be cultural; it seems (from this thread) there are a lot of muggings in the US. Back home in Ireland I believe its very, very rare. I live in London now and I know its very different. I try and keep situational awareness and vigilance all the time now, mostly because everywhere I go is a new, unfamiliar place. Still, haven't encountered any trouble thus far! (fingers crossed it stays that way)
Should have just killed him. In addition to no longer having anyone to press charges against you it allows you tell your side of the story without having to worry about the other guy and his lawyer. In addition the use of deadly force indicates that you had reason to fear for your life. If you shoot someone you have to be ready to apply lethal force because otherwise you had no business firing the gun so if you're going to shoot someone then shoot to kill.Azure23 said:
Research your local laws though to make sure you shoot them correctly however.
Never been mugged, but I once had a strange encounter that really shook me up. I was in a used bookstore looking for a particular book - it was the kind of bookstore that has shelves and shelves of books, every room packed with only narrow corridors in between. I was on the upper floor and alone, when a strange guy came over and started asking me questions - Hi how are you? What's your name? Where do you work? Where do you live? Warning bells go off immediately, even before he starts asking invasive questions and it just keeps getting creepier. I try to be polite and feed him false information for a while, hoping he will get bored and leave me alone so I can finish looking for my book, but he just keeps asking more questions, including repeats of earlier questions ... he asked me my name three different times. There's no one else in sight, he won't leave me alone, and I am getting really creeped out. Finally, I say good bye and get the heck out of there. He didn't try to touch me and nothing really happened but that was the weirdest, most disturbing conversation with a complete stranger I've ever had.
Damn, man. Sorry to hear about that. Those situations are never fun...
My own experience comes from when my family were on a vacation in Uruguay. One of our trips took us to a war museum, unfortunately located on a hill in one of the poorer parts of the country.
As we were walking back to our car, there were a couple guys around the parking area. One of them seemed about 18-20, the other one was younger by at least a few years.
The older one started walking up to us, asked for our cameras (my older brother was asked first) and pulled out a rather big chef's knife. My brother refused, the guy made a grab for his camera but missed as my brother pulled away.
At this point, seeing the miss (and due to what I later learned from my Mum was that she picked up on how the guy was acting, standing, how he missed the grab, etc., my Mum figured he was rather new at this), my Mum started yelling/swearing at the guy.
Seeing my mum start this up, I put my own camera away and started walking slowly towards the guy, not breaking eye contact. My brother did the same. My mum kept yelling and moving with us.
The guy started backing off, beginning to look a little scared/confused (this obviously wasn't the direction he expected the encounter to go in haha), still brandishing the knife. After we backed him away about 5-10 metres from the car he stopped, swung around the knife a little more, then bolted off down the hill. When we turned back around to the car, and the other kid was no where to be seen.
So, a little shaken but soon alright again, we got back in the car and headed off to our next destination...
As for advice I can offer from my own situation... Unfortunately, it was rather unique. I mean, there's always the advice to act as one group, since if people try to handle it in different ways in your group it could just lead to confusion and simply make the whole situation worse...
E.g., the only reason we were able to scare off a knife-wielding mugger is because my older brother and I followed my Mum's lead once she started moving towards him, yelling and swearing, etc. We acted as one, which would have made it all the more intimidating for the mugger.
If my brother and Mum, instead, thought it best to go along with it... Well, I wouldn't be happy with it (not that I'm saying they would be happy with it), but I would go along with that too.
The people you're with, your own confidence/skill, the antagonist's skill/experience, etc... All these things make every situation unique, so I'm not sure there are many hard and fast rules to go by.
There are several methods of learning how to defend yourself though, which I do feel is good advice, but it does depend on the area too.
It was easy enough to scare away the guy who came at us, since ultimately, despite his big knife, he was just an older teen who had probably only tried this on squeamish tourist-y types who didn't fight back, if he had even done this before at all. But I know not to try this at all in certain areas I know, because the muggers in those areas are a lot harder, and a lot less conservative with just how they might use their knife if you don't co-operate.
So, I guess... Street-smarts go a long way, too?
My own experience comes from when my family were on a vacation in Uruguay. One of our trips took us to a war museum, unfortunately located on a hill in one of the poorer parts of the country.
As we were walking back to our car, there were a couple guys around the parking area. One of them seemed about 18-20, the other one was younger by at least a few years.
The older one started walking up to us, asked for our cameras (my older brother was asked first) and pulled out a rather big chef's knife. My brother refused, the guy made a grab for his camera but missed as my brother pulled away.
At this point, seeing the miss (and due to what I later learned from my Mum was that she picked up on how the guy was acting, standing, how he missed the grab, etc., my Mum figured he was rather new at this), my Mum started yelling/swearing at the guy.
Seeing my mum start this up, I put my own camera away and started walking slowly towards the guy, not breaking eye contact. My brother did the same. My mum kept yelling and moving with us.
The guy started backing off, beginning to look a little scared/confused (this obviously wasn't the direction he expected the encounter to go in haha), still brandishing the knife. After we backed him away about 5-10 metres from the car he stopped, swung around the knife a little more, then bolted off down the hill. When we turned back around to the car, and the other kid was no where to be seen.
So, a little shaken but soon alright again, we got back in the car and headed off to our next destination...
As for advice I can offer from my own situation... Unfortunately, it was rather unique. I mean, there's always the advice to act as one group, since if people try to handle it in different ways in your group it could just lead to confusion and simply make the whole situation worse...
E.g., the only reason we were able to scare off a knife-wielding mugger is because my older brother and I followed my Mum's lead once she started moving towards him, yelling and swearing, etc. We acted as one, which would have made it all the more intimidating for the mugger.
If my brother and Mum, instead, thought it best to go along with it... Well, I wouldn't be happy with it (not that I'm saying they would be happy with it), but I would go along with that too.
The people you're with, your own confidence/skill, the antagonist's skill/experience, etc... All these things make every situation unique, so I'm not sure there are many hard and fast rules to go by.
There are several methods of learning how to defend yourself though, which I do feel is good advice, but it does depend on the area too.
It was easy enough to scare away the guy who came at us, since ultimately, despite his big knife, he was just an older teen who had probably only tried this on squeamish tourist-y types who didn't fight back, if he had even done this before at all. But I know not to try this at all in certain areas I know, because the muggers in those areas are a lot harder, and a lot less conservative with just how they might use their knife if you don't co-operate.
So, I guess... Street-smarts go a long way, too?
Something like this actually happened to me a year ago,I live right next to a park,connected to my driveway by railroad tracks, so a friend and i frequently walk between the two and enjoy the lake. I felt something was odd when these two teenagers walk up to us and ask "hey, have you seen my hat?" "My friend lost his hat have you seen it? it looks just like yours." See, I didn't buy that, as i was wearing a hat from a cosplay i custom ordered. We said no and moved on, trying to distance ourselves from them. On our way back home, we hear them following us on the railroad tracks, and my buddy turns around, grabs this big log and says "Listen, if you two don't back off right the fuck now there is going to be someone's blood spilled tonight." while i tried to look more intimidating, you know, stop slouching, clenching fists all that. Apparently that frightened them off because they ran. But i was scared shitless. Later that day we were talking about that and i asked him how serious he was then, and he turned to me, looked me dead in the eyes and said "If they made the first move i would kill them no hesitation"
that's my most memorable one, but walking through the streets of detroit in cosplay gets you plenty of oshit like this, mostly from the hobos.
that's my most memorable one, but walking through the streets of detroit in cosplay gets you plenty of oshit like this, mostly from the hobos.
Exactly. I grew up in Baltimore- now I live somewhere that lets me do the above, and muggings don't happen as often here because of it. So... people in some parts of the world just put up with this kind of behavior?Zeren said:
Probably a good time to take up some Krav Maga classes. It'll teach you the strength and dirty tricks that will save your life in a situation in which you are forced to defend yourself.
About a year ago I took a beating from 5 or 6 guys who literally (as in literally, not "really") ripped the pockets off my jeans after tripping me into a gutter, stomping my right hand and kicking me once in the face. And a year before that I was sucker punched in the face by two muggers who didn't actually manage to get anything from me, though I was wearing glasses and some of the crystal cut my nose. And just a few months ago I wrestled for what seemed like an eternity (probably 5 minutes really) with another potential mugger. I pulled through both unscathed and none the more poor, for once.
So there you go kids, if you're planning on living in Buenos Aires you'll get mugged at least once a year.
So there you go kids, if you're planning on living in Buenos Aires you'll get mugged at least once a year.
