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November 3, 2008
Street smarts
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.
Comments
i have not seen any posts about this but the liquor store on grand and greene was held up at gunpoint on oct. 8th. late afternoon. the owner was shot in the finger and is ok, they caught the guy, a 16 year old kid.
Posted by: noplacelikehome at November 3, 2008 12:16 PM
Wow, 30 times before 14! I hope that you were never seriously hurt. I don't know but that seems like it may be a record. I too grew up in Brooklyn during the good and bad times but I have only been mugged twice.
You do give sound advice. If only you had followed your own advice sooner.
Posted by: Chaka at November 3, 2008 5:22 PM
The level of ipod use I see on relatively deserted streets amazes me, and there are a lot of other relevant points here. A petty crime has a structure that you can see from a mile away if you are paying attention. My personal list of watch-fors is:
1. Avoid that group of boys that's dividing the street, so that you have to run their gauntlet.
2. Avoid walking by or putting yourself in obvious hiding places.
3. Avoid anyone who is without obvious purpose.
4. Avoid anyone who is obviously throwing an intense vibe.
This site is pretty good:
http://www.nononsenseselfdefense.com/
But you know, I don't think this has to be about race to be true. In fact, I think that thinking about street safety in terms of political correctness or the dismissal of political correctness has the potential to blind a person to what the actual bad situations are.
I've been mugged too, and I have to say that I have never been mugged by a black person, myself. White people do commit street crime. I think it makes more sense to look for people who are setting you up than it does to look for a specific skin color or even a "thuggish" appearance.
Posted by: vanburenproud at November 3, 2008 5:25 PM
Just want to clarify my political correctness point, although I know you're not flaming me over it. It's really not about race. Yes, I was mugged by a veritable rainbow coalition of folks during my youth. I guess my point is that the demographic that reads this blog trends towards the liberal (of which I am one) and while these people might have no problem exercising their common sense with a sketchy looking white person, with minorities, out of white liberal guilt etc., they might not listen their intuition and be afraid they are going to offend someone. So my point really is, sketchy is sketchy, and even if you are occasionally wrong you have to listen to your intuition. This doesn't mean you are calling the police on them. And yes, people who dress better or look better can cause problems too, but I'm talking about street crime.
Part of me being mugged a lot, or "yoked", as Lethem would say, was that I grew up with so much autonomy in the city. My friends and I would wander all over the city and I took the subway to school. This was sort of before the national paranoia with children, ironically enough, since it was actually dangerous! The muggings didn't usually net a lot for the muggers-- typically a bus or subway pass and a dollar or two. (My allowance was $5 a week! ) Sometimes the muggings were quick and perfunctory, all business, but often the people were sadistic and got off on power tripping, drawing the process out. Exactly like my experience with police officers, as a matter of fact... Once I hit about 5' 9'' and filled out a bit the muggings stopped. Just like National Geographic, -- the young, the old, the weak, the sick .... all targets...
But, the City was still a kick ass place to grow up. And I didn't learn how to drive until AFTER i learned how to drink....
Posted by: hoffster at November 3, 2008 8:02 PM
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