Inappropriate Behavior While Carrying A Handgun?

[Maple Syrup Actual]

My personal experience is that if I'm running my mouth I'm distracted and I might miss something important. So if things are getting weird I usually stop talking and just watch for pre-assault cues.

I never instigate, although I do periodically rant about random stuff to friends while sitting in a coffee shop, and I've had a couple of people take exception to statements like "in general, I'm interested in the decentralization of the monopoly on the legitimate use of violence as an exclusive property of the state".

Also I once sat in a chair and a woman freaked out because she'd put her scarf in that chair to reserve it. The scarf had slid to the floor in between when she put it there and when I arrived at the chair so I didn't notice it. Then, a week later, she confronted me as I was talking about, IIRC, how I tend to view human behaviour through the lens of evolutionary psychology.

She asked if I was evolved to take other people's chairs. I said no, I was evolved to pick scarves up off the floor if I noticed them lying on the ground next to where I was sitting. She said "oh".

Bottom line...Canada is just seething with this level of violent interaction so I try to stay alert.



In all seriousness, when out late and dealing with groups of people around bar closing time, I like to keep moving and keep my mouth shut. We do have a couple of demographics locally that are very enthusiastic about group sucker-punching, and you'll never slip one of those if you're focused on being witty or cutting.

Which they never get anyway, so why bother?

[trailrunner]

I'm not a cop, so if someone is parked in a handicapped space, I just let it go. I Iearned a long time ago that there are odd people in the world that don't want to be told they're wrong, and will react way out of proportion if they are challenged. It's not my job to make the world right, but to survive.

However, about five years ago I couldn't help myself. I was driving back from Charlottesville on 29 north, and I stopped at a big WaWa for gas. I wasn't carrying that day (strict NPE). At the pump next to me was an older guy filling up his RV. He was standing next to the the gas tank, smoking like it was his back porch! I was so surprised to see this that I couldn't help myself. I suggested to him that he wasn't supposed be smoking there, and he told me to f--- off. I solved that problem by getting back in my car and driving down the road.


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[olstyn]

At the pump next to me was an older guy filling up his RV. He was standing next to the the gas tank, smoking like it was his back porch! I was so surprised to see this that I couldn't help myself. I suggested to him that he wasn't supposed be smoking there, and he told me to f--- off. I solved that problem by getting back in my car and driving down the road.

Seems like you acted reasonably to me. After all, the guy was creating a legitimate hazard for everyone there. I'd have said something too, and I was a fairly non-confrontational person before the thought of carrying a gun had ever crossed my mind.

[RJ]

...At the pump next to me was an older guy filling up his RV. He was standing next to the the gas tank, smoking like it was his back porch! I was so surprised to see this that I couldn't help myself. I suggested to him that he wasn't supposed be smoking there, and he told me to f--- off. I solved that problem by getting back in my car and driving down the road.

I apologize on behalf of RV owners everywhere. What an a hole.

On the gas pump angle, being new to pickup trucks, I've been surprised at how much unsolicited trash talk happens from other brand truck drivers at gas pumps.

I'm not sure how to react to comments like "hey, you need a tow for that Dodge from my Ford, let met know" so I just smile and finish up as soon as possible. I've started to palm my OC spray getting out of the truck these days.

[11B10]

I apologize on behalf of RV owners everywhere. What an a hole.

On the gas pump angle, being new to pickup trucks, I've been surprised at how much unsolicited trash talk happens from other brand truck drivers at gas pumps.

I'm not sure how to react to comments like "hey, you need a tow for that Dodge from my Ford, let met know" so I just smile and finish up as soon as possible. I've started to palm my OC spray getting out of the truck these days.

RE: palming the oc spray - first, very wise move. Second - may I ask exactly what brand/%, etc. - yours is? Thanks, Rich.

[11B10]

Back in my powerlifting/260 lbs.+ days, I had a situation develop that will resonate with this thread. My wife and I were in a local park (many years before I carried) when we heard shouting mixed with screaming. About 50 yards away, I saw a rather large guy just slamming a young woman with one overhand right after another, while holding her arm with his left. I didn't even hesitate - told my wife to run to her Mom's and call 911 (this was in the mid 80's - no cell phones - and her Mom lived 2 blocks away), while I ran to see what I could do. I began shouting as I was running, which caused the guy to stop beating her. I pulled up, straining to keep from just thrashing this moron (in those days, I had all the tools - size/strength/inclination and COULD have done a number on this clown) - his punching bag was barely conscious, both lips split, one eye as big as a tennis ball. I'm afraid I wasn't exactly very tactful, yelling "here ya go, asshole - why dontcha try that on someone YOUR size?" Before HE could speak, SHE says: "why don't you mind your own fuckin business?" It was like you pulled my plug. This memory is how I can relate to LEO's and domestics.

[Lost River]

I apologize on behalf of RV owners everywhere. What an a hole.

On the gas pump angle, being new to pickup trucks, I've been surprised at how much unsolicited trash talk happens from other brand truck drivers at gas pumps.

I'm not sure how to react to comments like "hey, you need a tow for that Dodge from my Ford, let met know" so I just smile and finish up as soon as possible. I've started to palm my OC spray getting out of the truck these days.

It amazes me the different levels of basic conduct between people, just within this country. The things that are said at a gas pump in Fla, or New Yawk, compared to Pumphandle Idaho/Wyoming are a prime example. You simply don't "trash talk" to strangers in most of the rural areas I have known. Though the guy across from you pumping gas may not be carrying a CCW, odds are more likely than not, he has a .357 or whatever in the truck. Even if he doesn't, a level of civility is expected.

I remember going to the East Coast one time for some training, and the east coast guy (he was also training) I was sharing a cab with, got into it with the cab driver over the driver trying to screw us over on the fare. The exchange between the 2 of them was very surprising, with the level of cussing and yelling. The predominate thought I had at the time was that if someone spoke to me in such a fashion, no further words would be exchanged. But damned sure if a person addressed me in such a fashion they would be taught a lesson in respect, delivered via knuckles.

The two of them agreed on a price that was about 1/3rd of what the cabbie tried to charge, cash was exchanged, and the 2 of them calmed down, like it was nothing. I stood a bit to the side watching this thinking "wtf just happened?".

Very, very different mentality.



I am so thankful to live where I do. We have no shortage of dirtbags/criminals/thugs, and A-holes like everyplace else, but most have learned that there are boundaries you simply don't cross without repercussion, and odds of an unprovoked altercation are relatively low as compared to other parts of the country. There is very little need to carry O.C. just to get a tank of gas.

[Eric_L]

FORD- found on road dead. Say that with with a smarmy voice, it will defuse the situation. Or, if you think the person needs an ego boost, FORD- first on race day. I'm being a smart mouth of course. I think pepper spray is a great idea, nearly no chance of fatality and a great get off me while I leave or do something else. Should be carried by all, especially gun toting citizens.

I apologize on behalf of RV owners everywhere. What an a hole.

On the gas pump angle, being new to pickup trucks, I've been surprised at how much unsolicited trash talk happens from other brand truck drivers at gas pumps.

I'm not sure how to react to comments like "hey, you need a tow for that Dodge from my Ford, let met know" so I just smile and finish up as soon as possible. I've started to palm my OC spray getting out of the truck these days.

[Cypher]

In this particular case the poster was walking through a grocery store and heard some woman tell her husband "I don't care for your tone." and turned around and told her "You're no prize either." In my experience that's just asking for drama. I know I would have had something to say if someone randomly spoke to my wife like that.

I'm not sure exactly how this ties in but I know it does. When I was 8 or 9 years old a woman attempted to kidnap me out of a Baker's supermarket in Omaha (72 & Blondo if you live in Omaha). A couple of years later I was attending a school event at the Omaha Playhouse, during intermission I was standing in the lobby when a man I'd never seen before stepped out of the crowd, grabbed me by the arm and asked me where I went to school. I told him (Western Hills Elementary) and he shoved me to the ground and said "I didn't know they let pigs go to Western Hills." and walked away. I have no idea what provoked him to this day.

I mentioned it earlier but I've seen people turn around and cold cock people for some random comment that I'm positive the other person thought was witty and humorous and experiences like that have informed my world view

My point is that I learned that people are untrustworthy, unpredictable and BATCRAP CRAZY at a very early age and I learned my lesson well. As a result I avoid unnecessary contact with people I don't know. Really, I avoid unnecessary contact with people outside my immediate circle and I don't make random comments to people I don't know because I've learned that you can NEVER predict how they're going to respond

[ragnar_d]

The mode I operated under was the "not my circus, not my monkeys." I don't get paid enough to deal with my own crap, let alone society's crap.

Another one I'm for of us from A.S., "It is not advisable, James, to venture unsolicited opinions. You should spare yourself the embarrassing discovery of their exact value to your listener."

The road rage in South FL was something to behold during my years working there. (And I've lived in NY and other major cities.)

Add into the mix that virtually everyone is carrying and it's a recipe for disaster if one cannot keep a cool head when things go awry.

You ain't kidding. My wife is a Miami native and it took a solid year before I convinced her that leaning over from the passenger seat to lay on the horn for a perceived grievance while I was driving was a very bad idea.



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