dh1633pm
Contributing Member
Sorry I didin't mean anything by it. Cars are really built so tight these days you can't use one of them wrenches and I was just joking about the pitch fork. One big misunderstanding.
Always be aware of your surroundings!!
- Thread starter Axis II
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I'm like a magnet for these people, I'm just glad to hear one of them gave me a break for once.
Zaydok Allen
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There’s a startling number of crazy/delusional/sick people walking the streets. If you interact with society in person, you will meet them.
Calling the cops? Seems a little much to me since he didn’t do anything aggressive. But I understand how uncomfortable you were. I would’ve been too. And yes, it could’ve gone badly.
My general mode of operation when around people is speak to no one I don’t have to. If someone approaches me I’m polite, but I’m pretty obvious when I don’t want to interact.
Now if it’s a she, and she’s pretty, well let’s just say if I suddenly stop posting and anyone notices, y’all will know I made a bad decision.
Calling the cops? Seems a little much to me since he didn’t do anything aggressive. But I understand how uncomfortable you were. I would’ve been too. And yes, it could’ve gone badly.
My general mode of operation when around people is speak to no one I don’t have to. If someone approaches me I’m polite, but I’m pretty obvious when I don’t want to interact.
Now if it’s a she, and she’s pretty, well let’s just say if I suddenly stop posting and anyone notices, y’all will know I made a bad decision.
I’m glad you think it’s normal for a guy to carry a pitchfork around the store, ask people about killing a dog and making stabbing motions with it while in a store to a person you do not know and then pointing out how sharp the fork is and how the weight could break the dogs back. I talk with people all the time and could have b.s with him about tools all day long and listened to him rant. However, he lost me with the pitchfork rant. Your a special individual if you can come up with stabbing, twisting and break a dogs back with a yard tool.
George Dickel
Member
Show me where I said his actions were normal, I stated that maybe the guy is a bit addled, that means not quite there mentally. Again, nothing you described showed any intent to do harm to you.
Never thought he was going to harm me but you always have to play the what if game now days. Yesterday morning, speaking with a friend who’s a police officer, they encountered a man who was asked to leave somewhere. When they arrived the man pulled a knife out and began stabbing him self in the chest. Mentally I’ll people go off the deep end and harm others or themselves for no apparent reason.
buck460XVR
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.....really?
....along with awareness, there is perception. Threats can be real, perceived or contrived.
....amount of risk many times comes down to a realistic assessment.
....what one sees as high risk, another may see as a perfectly normal scenario. Like being approached by someone with multiple tattoos.
....could be, the old fart was just messin' with you.
stonebuster
Member
Consider yourself lucky he doesn't live next door to you(and your dog). At least you could just walk away. BTW, I venture to say a lot of 60+yr olds on this forum don't qualify as "old coots/old farts. Makes me want to go grab my pitchfork.
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My antenna would have gone up right away with someone asking me if a pitchfork would be suitable to kill a dog specially in the fashion that this guy mentioned with twisting and breaking its back. As much as I love dogs I'd have probably been in his face!
lightman
Member
That first post was defiantly a weird situation. Not being there, I can't say for sure how I would have handled the situation. My threat detector would have come out of stand-by for sure. Most likely I would have talked to him with the intentions of disengaging when possible while watching him closely.
I guess that I'm lucky in the sense that I'm naturally aware of things and that I have good perferal vision. When I'm driving I constantly scan the left hand mirror, the rear view mirror, the right hand mirror, the engine gauges on the instrument panel and as far ahead down the road as I can see. I'm about the same way when I'm getting out of the car or when walking. I've been that way so long that its just natural.
I guess that I'm lucky in the sense that I'm naturally aware of things and that I have good perferal vision. When I'm driving I constantly scan the left hand mirror, the rear view mirror, the right hand mirror, the engine gauges on the instrument panel and as far ahead down the road as I can see. I'm about the same way when I'm getting out of the car or when walking. I've been that way so long that its just natural.
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GBExpat
Member
The initial exchange about the wrenches would have had me quickly classifying that guy as a potential whack-a-doodle and I would have both avoided him (if necessary, by asking him to please stay away from me) and kept carefully aware of where he was in the store ... and the parking lot as I was leaving ...
Zaydok Allen
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You're probably right, and I'm guessing he's just had one too many dogs crap on his lawn. But specifically saying something like that to a stranger is weird.
If he isn't all there, or has violent tendencies, he may not be able to legally own a gun at all. But as we all know, those who intend harm, to any living thing, and are not in their right mind, will not let the absence of a firearm stop them.
SSN Vet
Member
The idea that one can have complete situational awareness and that a CCW will eliminate all exposure to the risk of violence, if only you're trained up and keyed up 24/7, is IMHO, not realistic.
The guy was bonkers... and unfortunately, with drug use on the rise (and being legalized) and the decline of the institutions of civilized society... there's more and more out there just like him.
My only observation is that after the first exchange, you engaged with him again... probably in an effort to not be rude. That was your mistake.
Basket cases should be watched, but ignored. And if you don't want to engage with them, just say excuse me and leave the area.
If anyone follows me around after that, I'm going to be rude and I'm probably going to be loud. "GET THE F---- AWAY FROM ME!" would probably end the exchange quickly.
The guy was bonkers... and unfortunately, with drug use on the rise (and being legalized) and the decline of the institutions of civilized society... there's more and more out there just like him.
My only observation is that after the first exchange, you engaged with him again... probably in an effort to not be rude. That was your mistake.
Basket cases should be watched, but ignored. And if you don't want to engage with them, just say excuse me and leave the area.
If anyone follows me around after that, I'm going to be rude and I'm probably going to be loud. "GET THE F---- AWAY FROM ME!" would probably end the exchange quickly.
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I too take his actions as a bit weird .There are people n the world that act like that and they never harm anyone.
Maybe we will see the rest of the story on Fear Thy Neighbor one day?
Shanghai McCoy
Member
milemaker13
Member
But this was a normal, non threatening old man... waving a pitchfork in the guys face. Give me a tattooed dude with a pitchfork and I'd be on guard too. Point is that actions are what made it uncomfortable, not appearances.
BlueHeelerFl
Member
I used to work at a call center for an online stock brokerage, and you would get lonely people that were happy to have someone to talk to.
I don't think you have to feel you did anything wrong, and there is nothing wrong, with being on the defense, and staying focused, in todays' world. Your first gut instinct, is what you go on, and to replay it, after the fact, will help you the next time. I carry because I might only need it that once, but if I don't act, or have my carry on me, I could just be another single paragraph, in tomorrrow's newspaper.
Craziness, of and by itself, isn't a legal justification for lethal self defense. I would have started seeking distance
from Mr. Pitchfork, myself, after he started going into the Mr. Stabby act. Sounds like he could have just been some poor old coot who's kids never visit, maybe thought himself very funny, while in reality giving off a really
creepy vibe to others.
luzyfuerza
Member
I try to put distance between myself and individuals who behave like that. Our
creep-o-meters are a gift not to be ignored.
creep-o-meters are a gift not to be ignored.
OneFreeTexan
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Not much surprises me anymore, after last week at a Tractor Supply in a small town ,near a total rural area, and they had an armed security guard because of previous robbery attempts....I mean,,, robbing a Tractor Supply???? Weird.
buck460XVR
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This is an excellent example of my previous post....a contrived perception of a threat. No where did the OP state anything about the pitchfork being waved in his face or at anyone else. Only that the man jabbed the fork at the ground. No where did he state anything about the man making actual threats against him, anyone else in the store or against any person in general. He actually sensed no real threat at the store, only when he got home and let his imagination get the best of him....
I thought this too. Few months back, I had a good friend(66 year old woman) who had her ear and part of her face ripped off by her neighbors Dobermans as she went to her mailbox.. She was previously aware of the threat, had asked the neighbors to keep the dogs under control, had even reported the dogs to the local authorities. Still they continued to come into her yard and harass her as she went to her mailbox for weeks. She got to the point of taking a golf club with her for protection. Maybe she should have had a pitchfork. Could be the threat to the old fart was real....not perceived or contrived like what we see here.
As for the calling of new tools and cars junk. One only needs to search the wood "junk" here to see a multitude of threads/posts calling new firearms junk. certain kinds of .22 ammo...."junk". What a bunch of crazies, eh?
Some folks just have too much drama in their life. For the most part....it is contrived.
Just sayin'...........
ec·cen·tric is the word I think best describes the man. I know a couple of people who would fit this man`s description and they are good people.
We are making many judgment calls here on a chance and brief encounter with a stranger.
We are making many judgment calls here on a chance and brief encounter with a stranger.
Zaydok Allen
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Personally I've been bit by a dog on public land, and had other ones come into my yard and act aggressively. I had one follow me home one night growling and barking. It kept trying to get behind me also. I think it was a Chow/Shepard mix. Finally I got pissed and decided to kick it's ass. I dropped my stuff and chased it a block. It ran off. It wasn't expecting that.
If I'd been armed when I got bit by another dog, I might have shot it dead as a reaction. I was at work though, in the woods, and I'm not allowed to carry at work. Good for the dog. I could have gotten that dog owner a huge fine. I let it drop though.
Dog attacks do happen, and this gentleman may have a very legit threat. I don't think we can assume anything. He may be genuinely afraid, or he may be sick of his neighbors letting their dog run around the neighborhood. We will never know. He may be totally nuts for all we know, and have no real issue with dogs at all.
It's obvious that the interaction gave the OP pause, and I don't think that's unreasonable. There is nothing wrong with acknowledging that the weird things the old guy was saying were in fact weird. There's nothing wrong with acknowledging that the interaction would put people on edge.
As I see it this thread is nothing but a good reminder to keep a wary eye on people we don't know. Calling the cops on someone who isn't actually threatening anyone isn't necessary or a good idea. Keeping an eye on them is. Disengaging from the interaction if you are uncomfortable is also a good idea. Weirdos are going to be weird, so bottom line, don't talk to strangers if you aren't prepared to deal with a weirdo.
Stranger Danger!
If I'd been armed when I got bit by another dog, I might have shot it dead as a reaction. I was at work though, in the woods, and I'm not allowed to carry at work. Good for the dog. I could have gotten that dog owner a huge fine. I let it drop though.
Dog attacks do happen, and this gentleman may have a very legit threat. I don't think we can assume anything. He may be genuinely afraid, or he may be sick of his neighbors letting their dog run around the neighborhood. We will never know. He may be totally nuts for all we know, and have no real issue with dogs at all.
It's obvious that the interaction gave the OP pause, and I don't think that's unreasonable. There is nothing wrong with acknowledging that the weird things the old guy was saying were in fact weird. There's nothing wrong with acknowledging that the interaction would put people on edge.
As I see it this thread is nothing but a good reminder to keep a wary eye on people we don't know. Calling the cops on someone who isn't actually threatening anyone isn't necessary or a good idea. Keeping an eye on them is. Disengaging from the interaction if you are uncomfortable is also a good idea. Weirdos are going to be weird, so bottom line, don't talk to strangers if you aren't prepared to deal with a weirdo.
Stranger Danger!
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