I just got robbed

[a completely inoffensive name]

Quoted for truthiness.

That video I posted? A small-average sized woman confronted and told off a man larger than her.

Even if you don't go and knee him in the face, confront him. Other people have phones.

CR

Dude was surrounded by who knows how many other people, trapped on the subway. It wasn't one on one.

It's not like your pride or honor is at stake here guys, there is nothing wrong with running when you have no self defense except your fist (which do not trump possible infected needle). If you have a taser or a gun, good you have the option of using it or you can still run as well. Stop telling people to grow some balls and accommodate for their nature which may be naturally non-aggressive.

[Crazed Rabbit]

Dude was surrounded by who knows how many other people, trapped on the subway. It wasn't one on one.

It's not like your pride or honor is at stake here guys, there is nothing wrong with running when you have no self defense except your fist (which do not trump possible infected needle). If you have a taser or a gun, good you have the option of using it or you can still run as well. Stop telling people to grow some balls and accommodate for their nature which may be naturally non-aggressive.

I got the impression this punk thief wasn't with anyone, there was just a crowd on a subway. I don't think it'd be one on one; it'd be the subway car against the thief if Husar told people to call the police. What would the guy do? Take some needle out and threaten everyone?

CR

[The Stranger]

a phone just isnt worth it imo... ignore the rabbit.

[The Stranger]

For God's sake, man up. Still this rubbish? A two bit punk making you run, making you take a different route home. You needed to to kick him in the face, confront him, make a scene, have everybody else call the police, take pictures and video of him, whatever. You look clean cut and he looks like a junk, right?

You can't keep running all of your life. Take a stand and fight mate. The idea was for you to find him, remember? Why did you not carry a knife with you today? When you knew there was a good odds of you seeing him again? He is supposed to be running scared of you from now on, not the other way round.

At this rate, if I were this junk, I'd have you pay me a tenner every day just so you can sit in the same train as me.

Sorry, I don't want to sound all E-tough and everything, but come on eh? Don't be too scared. The guy is a junk, he is scared of the police, and of other people.

what a lot of bs... carrying a knife doesnt make you tough. and running is sometimes the best thing to do.

i dont run fast but when a guy came after me with a rock and i could see in his eyes he would bash my skull open with it, i did the only thing i couldve done. run as fast as i could, head low and covered by my arms.

[a completely inoffensive name]

I got the impression this punk thief wasn't with anyone, there was just a crowd on a subway. I don't think it'd be one on one; it'd be the subway car against the thief if Husar told people to call the police. What would the guy do? Take some needle out and threaten everyone?

CR

I was talking about the pervert in your video. That guy showing off his junk was surrounded by at least 15 other people while the woman was screaming at him about turning him in. In Husar's case if I gather correctly, he was off the subway and was walking down the block by himself when the guy came out to ask for his phone.

EDIT: I was basically saying that there is a bit of difference between the situation where the woman stood strong and where Husar apparently "didn't have any balls".

[Husar]

Take some needle out and threaten everyone?

Yes, do you think a guy with HIV has a lot to lose? Or alternatively some people would worry and panic.
Besides, people have been raped in the middle of the city before, trusting on the public to help you is not something I'd consider lightly, the more people are around the more likely they all think the others should act.

And another besides, if I'm shaking no rational argument will stop it, it simply isn't rational, call me a wuss but there is not much I can do to stop it. Growing balls is not something you do within a few seconds, it's grow, not spawn or summon. It's not the guy who scares me, it is what he supposedly has on a needle and inside him that does, you cannot explain HIV away by being tough, it's one sting that changes your life and makes it considerably shorter as well. No way I'm going to get close to this guy again. Some guy who never saw him assuring me that it was a bluff is hardly something I'd make my life depend on, how stupid would that be?

Oh and then police might have to let him go anyway as I have no witnesses, then what did I gain? I made him really angry perhaps...

[Crazed Rabbit]

I see I should clarify. Husar, I don't think you should have attacked the guy after he pulled a needle.

I don't think you should have attacked him on the subway.

I do think there were other ways to handle it than getting off the subway at the first opportunity.

But don't just live in anxiety about what your actions will cause him to do. He tried not to get seen by you on the subway, right?

Because he's afraid, man. He doesn't want to get caught and go to prison.

CR

[Husar]

But don't just live in anxiety about what your actions will cause him to do. He tried not to get seen by you on the subway, right?

Because he's afraid, man. He doesn't want to get caught and go to prison.

CR

Yes, I get that, on a rational level, but my lizard brain makes me all shambly trambly run away as soon as I see him because it imagines looking at a giant AIDS virus.
I'm positive this will go away after a while, it just takes time until the rationale overrides the instincts.

[Centurion1]

my grandmother got mugged she was shocked and said no and just walked away. he got arrested where he will likely be raped and beaten for trying to mug an old lady. everyone has a grandmother.

on a more serious note. dont do favors for trash. i remember some obviously drug crazed guy at a checkers asking for some money for a snadwich. i obviously said no..... my friend gave him a couple bucks. he followed my friend to his car and tried to mug him my friend whupped his ass (football player vs. drug crazed maniac) and had to fill out a lot of annoying forms and go to court.

lesson? dont help people like that they dont want to be your friend. and if you do be firm and if you really do beat some ass. carry some mace. i would i dont care if thats what women do...... and watch the loser try to stab you with a likely uninfected needle blind. mwahahaha

[Megas Methuselah]

Be a man, Husar. My God.

[Fragony]

Dude was surrounded by who knows how many other people, trapped on the subway. It wasn't one on one.

It's not like your pride or honor is at stake here guys, there is nothing wrong with running when you have no self defense except your fist (which do not trump possible infected needle). If you have a taser or a gun, good you have the option of using it or you can still run as well. Stop telling people to grow some balls and accommodate for their nature which may be naturally non-aggressive.

Wise words. No shame in being scared. Situations like this take you by surprise anyway. Give up the phone and call insurance, and secretly hope he overdoses. Only pick the fights that are worth the trouble.

[Louis VI the Fat]

If he isn't a disease-ridden drug addict, what did he need my phone for again?
If he is a disease-ridden drug addict, what are the chances that he will
a) actually have HIV and what are the chances to get infected in a fight?
b) sue me for assault and have a whole train of witnesses while I have exactly zero for the robbery?

The policeman told me not to talk to him and let the police handle it and I trust him more than some pdeudo-tough guys who aren't the ones taking the chance of an HIV infection.

Oh yeah, the advice on what to do before a weapon is drawn was good I think. Just after he threatened my life I'm not going to change my opinion.

Yes, I was a bit stupid. I sounded like a fifteen year old. Do not bring a weapon and do not seek out a physical confrontation. What was I thinking?

It's just...you need to remember who is the criminal here and who is the law abiding citizen. The criminal must fear broad daylight, must be afraid of taking the same route every day, must be afraid of stumbling into people he has mugged. It can not be other way round. Do not be too afraid of what he might do to you.

[Andres]

Meh, internet tough guys.

Husar, the first time, you did the right thing. The only thing one can blame you, is that you're a nice, friendly and helpful guy. Now, I could tell you that you should become like most people when a stranger asks them for help: angry look, ignore, quickly run forward, but that would be wrong. There should be more people like you, not less. Don't feel ashamed for being scared; those who are rude and walk forward, are as scared as you; at least you had the guts to listen to the man, talk to him and even tried to help him; YOU didn't run away, like most people, including the tough guys here, would have done. You have more balls than 99 % of the people taking the subway, those 99 % would have run away from the guy.

About your second encounter, what can I say? You're unarmed. The guy sits on a chair. A whole bunch of witnesses around you. What could you have done? Step up to him and provoke him to get violent? If someobdy would intervene, he might as well see you as the aggressor and give you a few punches. And at what purpose? The phone is reported stolen and is blocked; you're insured. Besides, for all you know, the junk lost it already. You also risk getting sticked with a needle; the thing you, luckily, avoided the first time. And even if you would have "won" the fight, beating a guy up because he stole your cellphone the day before, is not allowed by the law. It might have well have resulted in you ending up in jail (there would have been plenty of witnesses of your crime) and having the rest of your life ruined because of it.

Don't let all this tough talk of guys who are not in your situation (unarmed vs. a nuts drug addict keen on infecting you with HIV) get to you. I think you've handled this correctly. All of this happened shortly ago, so I find it perfectly normal you're still very impressed by these events.

[Fragony]

Listen to Andres, I agree at least. Aggresion is scary, I'm intimidated by it even if I can hold my own fairly well. If you got to feel like Xena get a kubotan it isn't seen as a weapon by the authorities, but better to just take your loss it's not worth it

[HoreTore]

Fact: you're going to lose a fight with a junkie hooked on amphetamine. There's a reason rehab cebters hire those huge security guys, pinning down sa guy like that is next to impoossible and usually rakes around 4 huge guys. Amphetamine screws up how you react to pain. You can punch him straight in the face and break his nose, and he will react by laughing. Just don't do it.

Secondly, people are not always what you see. A small story of a robbery:

A 16-year old kid(who was thin and scrawny, and looked even younger) walks into a convenience store and heads for the
register. When he gets there, he shows a paper to the cashier, saying "this is a robbery, give me your cash". This was i the middle of the day, with three other registers in use, and more than a dozen customers waiting in the lines. The cashier thinks "wtf", and ponders punching the kid. The kid shakes the paper once, and the cashier thinks "wtf" again, but hands him a 200 NOK bill(about 40USD). The kid once again shakes his paper, and this time the cashier gives him 500 NOK, thinking he must be satisfied now and that he'll piss off. But the kid is NOT satisfied, and instead produces a sabre he had hidden in his pants, and cuts down oveer the register, and the sabre gets stuck in the cashiers chair, right between his legs. The cashier faints.

If he had done a horizontal slash instead of a downwards chop, the cashier would be missing a head, the blade was razor sharp.

Don't confront a robber, either flee or comply. You have no idea what they could be capable of. Its better to lose your phone than lose your head.

[Sigurd]

what a lot of bs... carrying a knife doesn't make you tough. and running is sometimes the best thing to do.

It helps knowing how to use one for sure, both on confidence and in the event that you would need the skills, like fending off a needle.

Intelligence, as in information about your adversary and his methods, are always good to boost confidence and device defense/attack plans.

What are the chances of being infected with HIV anyway? Was it a syringe with blood in it, or just a sharp object? The difference matters.

IMO Husar did the right thing. Playing poker with your health is not worth it. People with skills could call your bluff.
If on the other hand Husar was trained in Haganah or Krav Maga or spent time in the military, he could have just-fully threatened the guy.
Screaming your lungs out just tells the criminal that you can't back up your bluff. These perpetrators would be more afraid of quiet but direct orders.
As I was told by the riff-raff I met in Scotland, "We are more afraid of the quiet ones".

[The Stranger]

It helps knowing how to use one for sure, both on confidence and in the event that you would need the skills, like fending off a needle.

Intelligence, as in information about your adversary and his methods, are always good to boost confidence and device defense/attack plans.

What are the chances of being infected with HIV anyway? Was it a syringe with blood in it, or just a sharp object? The difference matters.

IMO Husar did the right thing. Playing poker with your health is not worth it. People with skills could call your bluff.
If on the other hand Husar was trained in Haganah or Krav Maga or spent time in the military, he could have just-fully threatened the guy.
Screaming your lungs out just tells the criminal that you can't back up your bluff. These perpetrators would be more afraid of quiet but direct orders.
As I was told by the riff-raff I met in Scotland, "We are more afraid of the quiet ones".

nope trust me. it is all false confidence. if you dont know how to handle a knife dont carry one. (using a knife for bread and butter is something else than knifefighting) besides if u take out your knife the entire thing might escalate and considering we are talking about a criminal offender the odds that he carries something that will beat your knife is big.

[The Stranger]

Yes, I was a bit stupid. I sounded like a fifteen year old. Do not bring a weapon and do not seek out a physical confrontation. What was I thinking?

It's just...you need to remember who is the criminal here and who is the law abiding citizen. The criminal must fear broad daylight, must be afraid of taking the same route every day, must be afraid of stumbling into people he has mugged. It can not be other way round. Do not be too afraid of what he might do to you.

there is a difference in living in fear or what might happen to you at any given moment and being afraid of what a certain lunatic might do to you in a specific circumstance.

[Husar]

Thanks, and by the way, I didn't run, he asked me almost kindly to just let him go and walk home or else he would harm me. So I let him go, told him that this was a nice way of him to thank me, that he couldn't use the phone anyway as it had a password etc. Then as he walked away I turned around and went home to call the police since I didn't for one minute intend to let him get away, it doesn't matter that I'm subconsciously scared, I will give the police as much info as I can, I'm just not willing to confront him physically as long as he could infect me with HIV.
I do trust my reflexes a lot in some cases although I'm usually a slow person, but even if I could stop him from putting the needle into my throat, he could still get my hand or arm instead etc. Those are things I considered in the few seconds when he pulled it, it's a freaking needle, it's designed to penetrate skin.

That said, I had no idea whether it actually was a needle, he had already lured me to a darker area in a side road and I looked at his hand shortly but couldn't make out much, I had become a bit nervous, the view on his hand was blurry, I pondered the abocve, including it could be a bluff but decided his hand was already too close to my throat and he seemed way too confident of it to risk anything. Keep in mind he probably fooled me to think he was actually calling a friend as well and made me relax a bit when shortly before he pulled the needle he supposedly told the guy what I had just told him to say, that he had another guy's phone and couldn't talk for long. So I expected to get my phone back soon and then he asked whether I was healthy, I expected him to try and run away if I said "no, I'm cranky and miserable and have an artificial knee" so I said I'm fine and then he turned around "you know what, I have...." and so on. In hindsight it seems very clever, he approached me on a big street and lulled me into thinking he was just some weird guy doing a phone call to a friend until we were in a dark place. I wasn't going to use violence for him walking a bit with my phone, but if anyone tries that again (after getting my phone somehow which I won't let anyone take out of my hand anymore) I will bring them down very hard, after all I walked behind him for a bit.

However, next time it may be three muscular guys with knives and guns and balaclavas and then I would rather show that I'm not the worst sprinter...

You don't win such an encounter by being the victorious slayer(although that does have a great appeal, yes, I'm a quiet guy...), you win it by preventing the other guy from getting what he wants and/or getting out mostly unharmed.

I'm happy that he didn't ask for my wallet for example, as the policeman said, it is easier to keep in your hand what you already have than take it from someone, I should have stopped him more thoroughly from grabbing the phone in the first place, that much I admit, but afterwards you always know better as we say.

[Sigurd]

nope trust me. it is all false confidence. if you dont know how to handle a knife dont carry one.

As I said... You need to know how to use a knife in order to carry a knife. It will boost your confidence if you know how to defend yourself against a blade or a needle (Krav Maga). A little training is all it takes.

[Fragony]

Hussy even if you stab him with a knife he won't even notice that he's wounded, it doesn't hurt and it won't stop him, you are only going to get yourself into trouble. It must have been kinda humiliating but you handled things nicely.

[The Stranger]

As I said... You need to know how to use a knife in order to carry a knife. It will boost your confidence if you know how to defend yourself against a blade or a needle (Krav Maga). A little training is all it takes.

even then i would not recommend that you carry one. though i guess it kinda depends what country you are in though. when i travelled through australia i did carry a knife (mainly cuz i was hitchhiking) but in the netherlands i wouldnt carry one

[Fisherking]

Humm,

Well, I can understand not wanting to get into a physical scuffle with a little creep with a needle who says he has aids.

Never the less I suppose you could have started yelling and pointing...thief, robber and so on. That would draw attention and get you some witnesses.

I usually makes them run too. If not I guess you would have to run if he/they came for you.

It was insured so not worth the risk of permanent harm to your self.

Now go and get your self the i-phone you have been wanting.

You will do better next time!

Lets hope there isn’t a next time.

[Vladimir]

All this talk of Krav Maga has me thinking. Maybe you could buy a cell phone from an Israeli manufacturer. You know, the one that makes cell phones for Hezbollah. That way if someone steals your phone all you have to do is push a button. According to quantum physics you can recover your phone and he'll never rob someone again.

[Hax]

Maybe you could buy a cell phone from an Israeli manufacturer. You know, the one that makes cell phones for Hezbollah.

Wait, what now? Why would Israeli manufacturers make cell phones for Hizbollah?

[Fragony]

Wait, what now? Why would Israeli manufacturers make cell phones for Hizbollah?

Been used to home missiles on

[Husar]

UPDATE:

I'm low on time so let me copy what I just said in IRC:

<Husar> I got a replacement phone
<Husar> really cheap one
<Husar> for now
<Husar> AND
<Husar> when I was there
<Husar> I logged into my online customer ccenter account
<Husar> because they needed my customer ID and I forgot to btring it
<Husar> so I noticed the used minutes this month had gone up from 4 to 10
<Husar> and now I got the number he called

Got to work soon but tomorrow I'll let the police know, it underlines that I'm not lying and maybe the other guy will admit to the call etc.

[Vladimir]

Wait, what now? Why would Israeli manufacturers make cell phones for Hizbollah?

Why do you think?

Well, it's more like an upgrade where they reduce the battery size yet increase the potential energy stored in the phone.

[Husar]

Why do you think?

Well, it's more like an upgrade where they reduce the battery size yet increase the potential energy stored in the phone.

I've had this idea already, I'm not short on brutal ideas and fantasies, had he used the needle he would have ended up dead with a cracked skull(a bit of a MAD situation), the only problem is if I want to stay alive and out of jail, most of these ideas aren't very useful, albeit very entertaining.

[Greyblades]

Are tazers legal where you live?