The Great Comfort People Must Find In Being Oblivious

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Creaky_Old_Cop

Creaky_Old_Cop

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So, I took my daughter to see "Wind River" tonight at one of the mall theaters, and then for some shopping. My wife is at our place in Prescott for a Girl Scout Leader retreat (which basically means all her GS leader friends are at our house drinking wine and being goofy...and good for them). So, my daughter and I get to hang out for the weekend and engage in lots of Daddy-Daughter shenanigans. Life is good.

The problem comes in because at 13, her idea of heaven is Daddy taking her to the mall to shop before the movie after energizing her at Texas Roadhouse. I hate the mall. I hate the mall...and generally any place where crowds of people gather because well...people tend to suck. Yes, there are some individuals who are okay, but "people" in groups tend to suck at the highest level of suck they can manage.

Anyway...

We are at the mall, having visited about six shoe stores (make sure you make your teenage daughters tell you what KIND of shoes they want or need or you get sucked in to buying five pairs at five of the six stores you go to) and I am carrying her bags on our way to some girl store and I am doing what I like to do in the mall...watch people, looking for "that guy" who is out of place, doing things that don't fit, and trying to get away with stuff he shouldn't be trying to get away with.

I saw one group of teens make off with three pairs of sunglasses from a kiosk on the concourse with a mall ninja standing right there talking to the teenage girl who was working at the kiosk. Yeah...right under his nose.

Saw some little turds eyeballing purses near the corral where they throw the little kids to share diseases and slobber all over the plastic animals.

There were more people with their faces buried in their phones looking as they shambled along the main walkways...even people who were in "social groups" were ignoring one another to text/sext/yelp/twit/tweet/and facebook. All I could think of was...one wolf, and all these sheep are done.

I saw one other guy...he was either another cop, or just a regular guy on the ball because he and I were the only ones scanning the area and caught one another's eyes as we did it. We both nodded at one another and smiled. We were both carrying bags, but in our left hands only.

He was standing outside one of the shops that sells over priced ballcaps and sports team jerseys, scanning the area he was in. The kid, who I presume was his son came out a minute later with a bag. I was doing the same while my daughter was in Body Language dance apparel (yes, real dance apparel for school dance classes) picking up her new tap class leotard.

Out of all the people at the mall that I saw...only one other guy looked like he was alert.

It just reinforced my belief that people find comfort in personal oblivion.

I think the next time I have to take my girl critter to the mall, I am going to wear my shooting glasses with the camera in the nose piece...just so I can get surreptitious video of the flock of victims on the hoof.

So, with this in mind...remember what Monday is.
 
Wait until you're old enough to be escorting grandkids "out shopping" or whatever... Most do go through their lives not expecting the slightest problem. Good for them (but not for me....).

And so it goes
 
Creaky_Old_Cop said:
So, I took my daughter to see "Wind River" tonight at one of the mall theaters, and then for some shopping. My wife is at our place in Prescott for a Girl Scout Leader retreat (which basically means all her GS leader friends are at our house drinking wine and being goofy...and good for them). So, my daughter and I get to hang out for the weekend and engage in lots of Daddy-Daughter shenanigans. Life is good.

The problem comes in because at 13, her idea of heaven is Daddy taking her to the mall to shop before the movie after energizing her at Texas Roadhouse. I hate the mall. I hate the mall...and generally any place where crowds of people gather because well...people tend to suck. Yes, there are some individuals who are okay, but "people" in groups tend to suck at the highest level of suck they can manage.

Anyway...

We are at the mall, having visited about six shoe stores (make sure you make your teenage daughters tell you what KIND of shoes they want or need or you get sucked in to buying five pairs at five of the six stores you go to) and I am carrying her bags on our way to some girl store and I am doing what I like to do in the mall...watch people, looking for "that guy" who is out of place, doing things that don't fit, and trying to get away with stuff he shouldn't be trying to get away with.

I saw one group of teens make off with three pairs of sunglasses from a kiosk on the concourse with a mall ninja standing right there talking to the teenage girl who was working at the kiosk. Yeah...right under his nose.

Saw some little turds eyeballing purses near the corral where they throw the little kids to share diseases and slobber all over the plastic animals.

There were more people with their faces buried in their phones looking as they shambled along the main walkways...even people who were in "social groups" were ignoring one another to text/sext/yelp/twit/tweet/and facebook. All I could think of was...one wolf, and all these sheep are done.

I saw one other guy...he was either another cop, or just a regular guy on the ball because he and I were the only ones scanning the area and caught one another's eyes as we did it. We both nodded at one another and smiled. We were both carrying bags, but in our left hands only.

He was standing outside one of the shops that sells over priced ballcaps and sports team jerseys, scanning the area he was in. The kid, who I presume was his son came out a minute later with a bag. I was doing the same while my daughter was in Body Language dance apparel (yes, real dance apparel for school dance classes) picking up her new tap class leotard.

Out of all the people at the mall that I saw...only one other guy looked like he was alert.

It just reinforced my belief that people find comfort in personal oblivion.

I think the next time I have to take my girl critter to the mall, I am going to wear my shooting glasses with the camera in the nose piece...just so I can get surreptitious video of the flock of victims on the hoof.

So, with this in mind...remember what Monday is.
Click to expand...
I once gave a speech (in a public speaking course) on situation awareness and personal safety- the looks I received were priceless. I might as well have been speaking Swahili.
 
This is balanced by the great feeling of superiority the tacticool sheepdog types get when they spend 95% of their waking hours fondling their guns and/or fantasizing about defending a life that has no real purpose other than fantasizing about defending itself.

It will always be safer just to stay home and avoid all human interaction. If I have to be on edge everywhere I go then I'm not going to go many places.

This reminds me of the thread about not wanting to go to Canada because you can't bring your gun.
 
I still recall the time we were having lunch at a restaurant. While her completely oblivious yuppie mother sat mouthing meaningless drivel, her little girl ran around putting her mouth on the opening of every condiment dispenser in the restaurant.

There were no staff to alert. We left. Never been back.

The little girl might well have been snatched and taken on her last auto ride, and mom would not have noticed.
 
I love Prescott. I learned how to pronounce it when I had to work there for two weeks. Far better than Yuma.
I don't consider myself to be overly paranoid but I keep my senses on high alert when I'm out among fellow humans. Especially while pumping gas and such.
 
I think it's because most people have never had anything really bad happen to them personally, so they just don't think about it. Add to that, the addictive nature of hand held technology, and there ya go.
It's the consequence of existing in a (statistically) safe place.
 
Creaky_Old_Cop said:
I hate the mall. I hate the mall...and generally any place where crowds of people gather because well...people tend to suck.
Click to expand...
I am glad their are brethren thinkers out there. Watch the mopes stealing stuff, pattern fast movers to make sure they are not robbing or killing, and move through the sheep. Smile for the family like it's all good; breth of releief when seated back in your POV.
 
Aside from the strong undercurrent of misanthropy running through the OP's post, I think it has little to do with people taking comfort in being oblivious. As another poster noted, most people understand that statistics are in their favor and that in most communities, shopping malls are actually pretty safe places to spend time, compared to other venues.

I do not think most folks are oblivious, but rather, as member ironcaintit notes, most folks simply have never been victims of crimes committed against their own person, and therefore, have never been inspired to develop any sort of self-defense posture ...

It's great that we all have a place to come to pat ourselves on the back for being the only alert, observant and prepared men in our respective communities, but there always seems to be this air of superiority on the part of many posters in threads such as this ... Nothing's really changed, folks, since the first humanoids trod the face of the planet. One either develops the inherent defensive instincts of one's species, or one stands more likely not die in one's sleep.

Ultimately, all we can do is prepare ourselves and our loved ones, pointing out that walking around in public in large crowds with one's I-Phone planted in front of one's face is not the best way to successfully navigate through one's life.
 
Jimster said:
I love Prescott. I learned how to pronounce it when I had to work there for two weeks.
Click to expand...
You're a fast learner. I lived here for a year before I figured out how to say PRESS-kit. My wife, who grew up here, used to make fun of me-- but then she can't say LOO-vul (as in Loiusville KY), so I get to make fun of her right back. :)
 
AZAndy said:
You're a fast learner. I lived here for a year before I figured out how to say PRESS-kit. My wife, who grew up here, used to make fun of me-- but then she can't say LOO-vul (as in Loiusville KY), so I get to make fun of her right back. :)
Click to expand...

When I was growing up people who called it PresCOTT got slammed quick by the locals. But...my beloved hometown has morphed a bit as the population has grown as Prescott and Prescott Valley have merged along the highway. Our house is 10 miles out Old Senator Highway in Groom Creek, so we are still not in the thick of things.
 
Creaky Old Cop wrote:
So, with this in mind...remember what Monday is.
Click to expand...

Yeah, the day I have my annual visit with the Neurologist so that she can tell me I still have a progressive, incurable disease and then get paid $500 by the insurance company for telling me the obvious.

But, I'm not totally obtuse. It's the anniversary of 9/11.
 
Nightlord40 wrote:
I might as well have been speaking Swahili.
Click to expand...

Lakini ingekuwa wangeweza kukufahamu tena kama ungekuwa ukizungumza kwa Kiswahili?

(But would their apprehension have been any better if you had spoken in Swahili?)
 
Kleanbore wrote:
The little girl might well have been snatched and taken on her last auto ride, and mom would not have noticed.
Click to expand...

Perhaps that was what the mother was hoping for?

So many people have children 1) by accident, 2) because of pressure from their parents or 3) because it's expected by their peer group (making the child essentially a "fashion accessory") that I have to believe there are more than a few parents who wouldn't be all that broken up (and might actually be relieved) if someone snatched their kid.
 
hdwhit said:
Perhaps that was what the mother was hoping for?

So many people have children 1) by accident, 2) because of pressure from their parents or 3) because it's expected by their peer group (making the child essentially a "fashion accessory") that I have to believe there are more than a few parents who wouldn't be all that broken up (and might actually be relieved) if someone snatched their kid.
Click to expand...

Dang...that's cynical. But I'm not saying you're off the mark. I wonder too sometimes.

We used to get calls on the non emergency line about kids being missing since "I dunno" and from "I dunno"....hours and hours after the kids dropped off the radar.

I know of one missing teen girl who's disappearance wasn't reported for five days.
 
A while ago, a passenger on a San Francisco area BART train was verbally harassing two Muslim girls. Three other passengers spoke up in their defense. The harasser pulled out a knife, murdered two of them and badly wounded the third. I commented on a forum that anyone who contemplates speaking up in such a situation should be prepared for a hostile, even violent, reaction. He should ask himself whether he is ready and able to win the ensuing fight. There was one reply which accused me of blaming the victims. By then, the forum was closed which deprived me of the chance to ask him if he would step in front of a speeding automobile because, as a pedestrian, he had the legal right of way at a crosswalk. It seems many people don't think ahead and see no need to do so.
 
Yes...it was about NOT being oblivious to your surroundings, and how so many people are. But it was written in plain English, so I can see where you'd have trouble with that.
 
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