The Knock-Out Game

[Meeks36]

Look people in the eyes. If they are starting at you intently. Then probably a good chance they are up to something. Sizing you up for robbery, or maybe a knock out. Also a head nod helps when looking folks in the eye.

 

[shafter]

There are people who live in parts of the world that are far more dangerous than here and they aren't allowed to carry weapons. They don't survive by staring people in the eyes. They slip through life as invisible as possible hoping not to be singled out.

There is a lesson here. Meeting someone's gaze in certain settings can be a challenge. If someone is already a violent sort of person they probably won't be intimidated by your look but they may well take issue with it. I save the eye contact for when trouble is already coming my way.

*This applies to avoiding trouble with potentially violent strangers. Healthy eye contact goes a long way in most other settings.

 

[Hookeye]

While sucker punch/knock out games do exist, it seems as though outright pounding, stabbing or shooting is more common.

Major metro..........nasty stuff happens all the time.

And its so common much of it doesn't make the news (hurts business and makes certain groups look bad).

 

[Elkins45]

These sort of attacks seem to happen in transitional spaces because the assailants need to be able to get away. So it likely won’t happen inside a moving subway car but it might happen on the platform or on the street. If one were truly worried they could just wear a motorcycle helmet when moving through such spaces.

I try to avoid densely populated areas because the more people around you the greater chances one of them wants to hurt you. I know that’s not helpful for the people who live in such places, but those people need to consider being somewhere else if they can.

What makes me really sad is that this seems to be an American phenomenon. When I’m in foreign cities I worry about my wallet being lifted but not about being sucker punched for Internet clout.

 

[lightman]

Well, rather than worry about how many angels can dance on the head of a pin, I will simply try to remain sufficiently alert for anyone who wants to bop me in the head, whether he is “playing a social media game,“ or simply wants my iPhone, vehicle keys, and wallet, like most typical Robbing Hood thugs. My strategy and tactics are the same.

The crime rate, and crime stats, for a particular area, matter not. Alertness should be universally applied. Let’s have a good day.

This is the way I feel. Depending on how far I have to go I use a cane or a walker or a wheelchair to get around. So I know I'm venerable to attack. Most of the places that I go will be to meet friends so I try to enter or leave with some of them. I try to always be alert.

 

[Kleanbore]

While sucker punch/knock out games do exist, it seems as though outright pounding, stabbing or shooting is more common.

The thing that makes the Knockout Game unique and worrisome is not its frequency of occurrence, but its method, it's objective, its brutality.and the means of avoidance.

Regarding the former, it depends entirely on surprise, in that it does not provide for any advance notice, or an opportunity for the victim to respond or to know that it is happening.

The objective is simply to harm the victim very seriously. The perpetrators are not looking for wallets, jewelry, cell phone, or car keys. but they are usually looking for a kind of reward that involves public imagery.

The attackers single out the most vulnerable victims.

Thse things make the defense against the attack unique. The attacker does not approach the victim stealthily from around the gas pump or the pickup truck, nor does he sidle up to him at the ATM. Nor does he demand valuables. Rather, he swings without warning, sometimes as the vicim passes, and sometimes after running at him from behind. BUT--unilke the stick-up at the pump , there may well be warning in the form of someone taking video. The trick is to notice it timely and to act effectively and timely.

The frequency of occurrence may be low, but the stakes are very high.

The knockout punch is not the only risk. Equally or more dangerous is the kind of ambush that involves pushing the victim onto subway tracks, in front of a bus, or into traffic--which are really just gruesome variations in the game.

Let's be careful out there!

 

[Gordon]

The thing that makes the Knockout Game unique and worrisome is not its frequency of occurrence, but its method, it's objective, its brutality.and the means of avoidance.

Regarding the former, it depends entirely on surprise, in that it does not provide for any advance notice, or an opportunity for the victim to respond or to know that it is happening.

The objective is simply to harm the victim very seriously. The perpetrators are not looking for wallets, jewelry, cell phone, or car keys. but they are usually looking for a kind of reward that involves public imagery.

The attackers single out the most vulnerable victims.

Thse things make the defense against the attack unique. The attacker does not approach the victim stealthily from around the gas pump or the pickup truck, nor does he sidle up to him at the ATM. Nor does he demand valuables. Rather, he swings without warning, sometimes as the vicim passes, and sometimes after running at him from behind. BUT--unilke the stick-up at the pump , there may well be warning in the form of someone taking video. The trick is to notice it timely and to act effectively and timely.

The frequency of occurrence may be low, but the stakes are very high.

The knockout punch is not the only risk. Equally or more dangerous is the kind of ambush that involves pushing the victim onto subway tracks, in front of a bus, or into traffic--which are really just gruesome variations in the game.

Let's be careful out there!

Hmmm I wonder if a demographic study would be .... Raycist ? asking for a friend, inquiring minds want to know such trivia.
I read the wonderful book "Soul on Ice" many years ago and think I understand the motives

 

[CDW4ME]

I don't recall incidents of this happening in the Villages (FL).

 

[Kleanbore]

Hmmm I wonder if a demographic study would be ..

'the literature does seem to suggest that "othering" may be a frequent attribute of the crime.

 

[The Night Rider]

'the literature does seem to suggest that "othering" may be a frequent attribute of the crime.

If they're young and you're old that qualifies as "Othering"

 

[fastbolt]

The young(ish), stupid and violent don't seem to mind preying upon the unwary and vulnerable, including the aged, infirm and female. It's been that way with people since the beginning.

Some human predators also know how to use normal societal habits and customs to their advantage, too. Survival trait.

 

[Hookeye]

Folks have to make a living.
More opportunity in the city.

IMHO crime used to be pretty area specific.
So could easily be avoided.

Not anymore.

Think things started going bad about 20 yrs ago.

 

[old lady new shooter]

There are people who live in parts of the world that are far more dangerous than here and they aren't allowed to carry weapons. They don't survive by staring people in the eyes. They slip through life as invisible as possible hoping not to be singled out.

There is a lesson here. Meeting someone's gaze in certain settings can be a challenge. If someone is already a violent sort of person they probably won't be intimidated by your look but they may well take issue with it. I save the eye contact for when trouble is already coming my way.

*This applies to avoiding trouble with potentially violent strangers. Healthy eye contact goes a long way in most other settings.

When I lived in L.A. there were no carry permits. Something that worked for me, although it might sound counterintuitive, was to give a blank look as if I didn't understand what was said to me, and then continue whatever I was doing before. Helps being so old I probably have one molecule of adrenaline left, so I guess I didn't look scared. This was before the advent of the knockout game, probably wouldn't work for that since they don't do any preliminary engaging of the victim.

 

[old lady new shooter]

The thing that makes the Knockout Game unique and worrisome is not its frequency of occurrence, but its method, it's objective, its brutality.and the means of avoidance.

Regarding the former, it depends entirely on surprise, in that it does not provide for any advance notice, or an opportunity for the victim to respond or to know that it is happening.

The objective is simply to harm the victim very seriously. The perpetrators are not looking for wallets, jewelry, cell phone, or car keys. but they are usually looking for a kind of reward that involves public imagery.

The attackers single out the most vulnerable victims.

Thse things make the defense against the attack unique. The attacker does not approach the victim stealthily from around the gas pump or the pickup truck, nor does he sidle up to him at the ATM. Nor does he demand valuables. Rather, he swings without warning, sometimes as the vicim passes, and sometimes after running at him from behind. BUT--unilke the stick-up at the pump , there may well be warning in the form of someone taking video. The trick is to notice it timely and to act effectively and timely.

The frequency of occurrence may be low, but the stakes are very high.

The knockout punch is not the only risk. Equally or more dangerous is the kind of ambush that involves pushing the victim onto subway tracks, in front of a bus, or into traffic--which are really just gruesome variations in the game.

Let's be careful out there!

I have dear friends in Chicago who experienced:
1. a son-in-law in Brooklyn stabbed in the back without warning while walking down the street around 11 a.m.
2. a son shot in the back walking home through a park at night. He didn't survive. Incident caught on tape, perp identified as the same person who shot an Asian man a few days earlier, but never apprehended.

Both "identifiably Jewish", to your "othering" comment.