Sometimes being seen as vigilant is enough

Status
Not open for further replies.
I hate being "paranoid" , call it over cautious. ATM's have the potential for disaster. I use them only on rare occasions when absolutely necessary. I also keep the car in Drive, doors locked and pull up so close that I have to pull my mirror in then push it back out after going around the bollard. I think this helps, but it also traps you in your car. I do my transaction and drive away to my next stop to put everything away. Nothing bad has happened and I hope it never does.
What I do instead of going to the ATM if I need cash is get it when I am at the grocery store or other retail place of business where you can always get cash back. My wife and I grocery shop together every weekend and we always make sure we have cash for the week. 50 bucks will usually last me weeks if not all month. In today's society, cash is so limited in use that just about everything can be purchased with your debit card or credit cards. It is just another opportunity to have something bad happen. I would hate to be involved in any kind of armed confrontation- but over a couple of hundred dollars would be even worse.
I do understand that there are some of you out there that have to deal with cash. Be careful out there and don't give the BG's a chance to put you in a bad situation.
 
Predators ambush the unwary. Being alert and aware of your surroundings is the first step in defense.
Obvious truisms, but how often do we get complacent and forget?
 
Situational awareness, like always, is the first step in successful self-defense.

The second step? Well... I always go inside the bank or credit union to get green paper with president's faces. I haven't figured out a need for an ATM for me (understandable if you use one, but I don't), and might not be able to use one easily if I had the chance! All that confusing technology...

What do you do if you don't have a cell phone to snap a picture? I'm not going to be hauling my Canon DSLR around with my zoom lense on it!

All in all, I really shouldn't be complaining too badly... I live outside of "town", and there really isn't a "bad" section of town in the town!
 
One of the important points we made to the women in our NRA classes was to walk with your head up looking around. The scumbags will almost keep going and find some woman walking with their eyes down and totally unaware of the world around them or staring into their cellphone. If you look them straight in the eye they know you are not going to be an easy mark. And I know all of you married guys out there know all about "the look". It's like being punched in the stomach. I know several women that can kill you with "the look". My wife has perfected it into a serious weapon. I'd rather stick my hand into a hornet's nest than get "the look".
 
Old Guy said:
Young kids would drive by, in a ratty car, and give this old guy the once over, second time, I would smile, wave, and point at the holster, in case it had not been noticed, gone.
Click to expand...

FWIW in the State of Colorado that would be Aggravated Menacing.

I can't remember the last time I used an ATM but I'm sure it's been several years.

At my bank I know the guard and he knows I'm a guard if he were on duty I would mention it to him. Other than that it's not my business and I'm not going to waste my time trying to convince a bank employee. I conduct my business and leave.
 
Do not forget the value of a verbal challenge. My wife and were in a hotel parking lot when we noticed a large man confronting people aggressively trying to panhandle. I am keeping an eye on him while placing the luggage in the trunk. He glances our way and makes a beeline through the parked cars coming down the drivers side of our car. I clearly and loudly said "I cannot help you". I was in the process of retreating to the passenger side if the car. He reacted to my words by looking me in the eye and stopped dead. He was 25 years younger and 60 pounds heavier than me. I decided that disparity of force was clearly in play and was prepared to engage him had he rounded the back of my vehicle to the passenger side. Frozen momentarily, looking each other in the eye, he spun on his heel and went looking for another target. I called the cops as we pulled out of the lot. The voice can be a powerful weapon. Learn to use it.
 
> hoodie

Hoodies were "in" in the 1960s and 1970s. I hated them then.

Nowadays, in my area, they're baaaack! and you can't buy a light jacket that doesn't have a flippin' hood on it. And I still hate them. It's just a big wad of cloth hanging down that annoys me.

I threatened to just scissor the stupid things off and cover the cut edges with hot-melt glue, but my wife went all ballistic over it.
 
mbok1947 said:
On Friday I stopped by my bank to get some weekend cash. My LCR .357 was in my coat pocket. As I pulled into the parking lot I noted a tall black male, probably in his 20s, wearing a gray hoodie pulled snug around his face, and leaning on the corner of the building next to an exit door.

Inside I got in line and looked through that door to see that the guy was no longer there. After getting my cash I walked over to the exit door (which was in the corner of the bank lobby overlooking the drive through area.) Sure enough Mr. Hoodie was loitering by the drive up ATM. I summoned the bank manager and pointed him out to her and she expressed some alarm. I told her he looked like a mugging getting ready to happen, likely targeting someone pulling in to get ATM cash.

At that point I noted that he looked in my direction. Since it was a glass door I was clearly visible, along with the branch manager. I gave him a hard stare and pointed at him, as if I was pointing him out to the manager. At that point Mr. Hoodie made rapid tracks across the parking lot, disappearing into a nearby apartment complex.

Was he up to no good? I think so. Did his awareness that someone was watching him closely cause some quick mental calculus that today's mugging might best be delayed? I'd bet on it. Of course neither he no the manager knew I was carrying, but I expect he at least knew he was being observed by two potential witnesses.

Sometimes it's enough just to send the message that you are aware of your surroundings and not oblivious.
Click to expand...


Most always being seen as vigilant is enough.
My wife and I have traveled a lot during our first 6 years as DINKs, and of course a pocket knife checked into the suitcase is about all you're packing once you've landed. We're extremely fair complexion people, think people who use 55+ SPF white, well that's us. We've ventured to some pretty sketchy parts of Sao Paulo by ourselves, as well as some poorer areas of Dom Rep all with no ill effects. The idea is to watch the watchers. Generally speaking criminals, like electricity, seek the path of least resistance. 99.9% of the time simply making eye contact and being observant to who else is being observant is all that's needed.
For the other .01% I gladly hand over my disposable wallet containing US$20 and filled with all my expired credit cards and those "YOUR NAME HERE" offers you get in the mail :rofl:

Edit. We only use ATM's inside banks.
 
Last edited:
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

Olympus
  • Locked
60 Year Old Man Shoots...
2
Replies
36
Views
2K
TallPine
T
F
  • Locked
Bank ATM Cautions
Replies
22
Views
1K
TonyB
T
I
  • Locked
No CCW, what would you do
2
Replies
40
Views
2K
Fred Fuller
F
D
  • Locked
Overreacted or was he just an idiot?
2
Replies
35
Views
4K
bdjansen
B
Good Ol' Boy
  • Locked
Keeping Cool
2
Replies
34
Views
2K
Zaydok Allen
Zaydok Allen
Back
Top