Forum Archive

This is a response to some recent crime postings:

My tenant recently had a guy follow her up to the door when she was coming home at around 3 a.m. on a weekend night. The guy was probably just a drunk, but she screamed, and he ran off. I share this with you, especially women, to emphasize the point that sometimes it only takes something that simple –screaming– to protect yourself. Don’t be paralyzed with fear or embarrassed– scream and or run.

I am born and raised in NYC and have been through the good and bad times. I grew up here during the bad times and had been mugged (and once kidnapped) at least 30 times before the age of 14. (Read “Fortress of Solitude” if you don’t believe me. I am Jonathan Lethem’s age.)

One thing I learned from back then and something I later learned from my ex Israeli-commando Krav Maga instructor: The best defense is to avoid the situation to begin with. Political correctness must be thrown out the window. If you see a questionable person loitering in front of your house, wait until they leave or call your roommate or neighbor to come down. Listen to your intuition. If you think someone is following, try to alter your route to go to a more crowded area. I used to think (when I was 11) that crossing the street would offend people loitering and incite them to mug me. I learned at age 12 that it’s better to cross the street. Criminals don’t want attention. If they have to cross the street, they’ve been exposed. Do not walk under construction scaffolding, where they have the privacy to mug you at their leisure and not be seen. Don’t be afraid of “offending” someone by, yes, profiling. I’m not talking about race–I’m talking about the person’s presence, way of dressing, time of day, etc. Once, when I was about 18, I was coming home with a date on the subway, and the subway car was taken over by about 10 thugs who started punching and mugging people. Everyone was paralyzed by fear, rightfully so. I told my date to stand up, and we walked to another subway car. They let us go and no one followed us. It was that simple. I realize it isn’t always that easy, but the point is many bad situations can be avoided by simple methods. And of course, get off your ipod and cell phone when you are walking at night.