1. I generally use the ATM in a police station lobby.
2. When using an outdoor ATM, I circle the whole building first, scouting the area.
3. Given the choice of carrying guns, or drinking, I carry. It is not that I am a tee-totaler; I just see no reason to drink in public, other than perhaps a toast at a social occasion, a glass of wine with dinner, or a premium margarita with really good Mexican food. Note the singular drink in each example.
I can't remember the last time I used an ATM. I mean, I know I've used one before, but it's just got to be decades ago. Using ATMs at night in urban environments is like regularly banging prostitutes without a condom.
As to drinking, which I do, my profession also requires me to regularly frequent establishments where carry is forbidden by law, so I get that. There's a reason I've studied edged tool use, several striking arts and now BJJ. Primarily because I enjoy it, but also that occupational hazard thing.
Again on the ATM, why? JMO.
I don't carry or use them either.Originally Posted by Sidheshooter
There's nothing civil about this war.
I cannot legally have a sip of alcohol while carrying outside my home on my permit (misdemeanor). I don't get drunk in public (or really at all anymore) because that's a recipe for bad things to happen, among them criminal victimization and $200 bar tabs. I'm also not a fan of the "concealed means concealed" bravado because getting caught has serious professional consequences (along with loss of my right to carry for several years).
Nevertheless, "choose between carrying and X" means foregoing things like close friends' birthday celebrations, concerts at venues where carry is prohibited and metal detector-enforced, dates at certain places, and a myriad of other quality of life activities that people in their 20s who don't have LE creds do. Some may be willing to shelve all of that in favor of carrying 100% of the time legally possible and that's cool. I'm not. To me, it's like being the guy on a diet who won't have a piece of cake at their kid's birthday because it's 700+ calories a slice.
Having said all of that, take the drinking/no carry portion out of the OP if it helps.
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As to the late night ATM visits: I got the memo and behavior will be adjusted accordingly. It's not a frequent thing I do anyway so it shouldn't be a difficult habit to break. Prior planning, keeping cash on hand, and as an "I forgot" option maybe cash back at the grocery store. Circling of the area first is a fair point. Specific to ATMs, most for my bank actually require you to do that to use the drive-ups by virtue of how they're laid out. In this particular case, I did not notice anybody. My assumption is that he came from the bushes behind the bank which separate it from a strip mall.
Veering a little bit OT for a sec: if one can't put one's hands on decent cash by spinning the dial on your safe, then it might be worth re-evaling asset allocation. Everyone should have a few weeks grocery money on hand, IMHO. Mind; I am a musician—I am not a wealthy guy, by any stretch. But I've read Ferfal Aguirre's Argentina blog, so I make sacrifices. Where optimal number of 1911s = N, I have N-1 because, reasons.
Sorry for hijack, carry on...
Last edited by Totem Polar; 04-30-2017 at 01:12 AM.
As some others have noted, why even use an ATM, especially an exposed one where people can approach you without impediment?
I haven't used an ATM in CONUS for over 40 years. (I did use one in Italy about 20 years ago.)
"Therefore, since the world has still... Much good, but much less good than ill,
And while the sun and moon endure, Luck's a chance, but trouble's sure,
I'd face it as a wise man would, And train for ill and not for good." -- A.E. Housman
I concur with the others in how you handled scenario A being sound.
I understand the aversion here to drive-up/exterior ATMs, but sometimes you just gotta.
My routine for any drive-thru situation is seatbelt comes off, gun is uncovered for ease of access, and window is only down when necessary - ordering, paying/receiving food or when working an ATM. Car is in drive, head is on a swivel and anyone walking near or by my vehicle gets firm eye-contact.
And do make checking for skimmers a habit, whether it's an ATM or other card reader.
“Conspiracy theories are just spoiler alerts these days.”
Not off topic at all. Keep a couple hundred at home, replenish as necessary during bank hours by going inside the bank. If I absolutely had to use an ATM at night it would be in a hospital, large store, or some similar setting. If you're going to use an outdoor ATM or go to one inside a stop and rob, talk sidewalk chalk with you so you can save the detectives some time.
"Gunfighting is a thinking man's game. So we might want to bring thinking back into it."-MDFA
Beware of my temper, and the dog that I've found...
I will give a list of random thoughts. I read your qualifiers about how you live. You will notice I ignored them on some. I put them on there because others might have different qualifiers for their life. I'm not telling you specifically that you should do them.
Being older and having been an officer for 20 years I developed a generalized theory. "What I do right before I ever know I will have to use force often determines how that use of force will turn out." That physical act often determined the outcome more than my training or mental toughness, etc.
I try as best as my pea brain will allow, to use this theory as I order my life. With this in mind I'll just throw out a random list of ideas:
1. Develop an appropriate stash of cash at home. I secure it with my firearms in a safe. Develop a habit of keeping your wallet full of an appropriate amount of cash from your stash. Develop a habit of going into the credit union on a schedule that fits your lifestyle. Get cash at this time to replenish the stash of cash in your safe (or wherever you keep it). The habit is to not let it run dry.
2. Because of #1, I don't need to go to the ATM, ever. I have an ATM card because they gave me one. I don't know the PIN.
3. Reference guns and alcohol, I found that the later a person went "out" the more problems occurred. Because I was a working stiff I at first just guided my friends to go "out" earlier in the day. As I got older I tended to socialize with people that I didn't mind having come to my home. I tried to socialize more and more at home. Far less drama. And alcohol is at least half price from the wine store as it is at the bar. No drinking and driving. But you will wake up with friends sleeping on your floor or spare bedroom. Hey they are friends I don't want them drinking and driving.
4. Even before Dave Ramsey had a radio show, I paid off my mortgage 10 years early by saving a bunch of money using the same thought process of #3 throughout my entire life. From groceries, alcohol, to cars and garbage service. Oddly enough I actually started enjoying my social life more. I had better friends and less acquaintances.
5. The problem with ATM's are the acceptable social norms. I will walk up behind you if you are using the ATM and stand far enough away so I can't read the screen (your PIN) but close enough so that anyone else walking up knows I'm in line to use the ATM next. This becomes problematic when a bad guy gets in your space and you use appropriate words to acknowledge them, ask them, then tell them or make them move away. Bad guys and some Adam Henry's will use this as a reason to start an argument. They use the argument to get further in your space. Then you use appropriate force and suddenly, you are arrested. Why, because they claim they were just waiting to use the ATM and you just "Went off of them." If there is another way to live life happily while limiting a situation where proximity and social norms collide, I think it's a good thing.
What you do right before you know you're going to be in a use of force incident, often determines the outcome of that use of force.
JustOneGun, we share many of the same points of view and experiences, from alcohol and friends to mortgages. I paid mine off in just under 9 years and don't have a clue what the PINS are on the debit / ATM cards I've been sent. (In fact, I never request them.)
As you say, avoiding putting oneself in a potential jackpot to begin with is 99% of the battle. That goes for most any potential issue in any area of one's life.
There's nothing civil about this war.
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