Confused, need a hug

[Impureclient]

This post http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=424408 got me to thinking about road rage stories.

On the way home from work one night when I was 20, I was being tailgated by a car on a two lane road with no traffic in sight.
I lived at the end of a rich neighborhood where I was renting for dirt cheap because my girlfriend was friends with the owner living
in another state. I slowed so the jerk could pass and he stayed behind me. I then stopped in the oncoming lane and waited for
him to pass. To tell the truth I never had up to that point considered anybody could pass me as I drove that old Iroc-Z like there
was no tomorrow and usually I was the one doing the passing.

Well I guess he wasn't in such a hurry then because he stopped next to me and got out and started yelling at me for driving too
slow and slapped my windshield. I jumped out and started yelling back after he'd smacked my car. He then showed me the business
end of his nice snubnose revolver(.38?) after I had went around my car and looked at what damage he had done if any. Thats when
I split but not before getting his plate number and calling the police.

Long story short.
If you are young and have an wealthy Indian neighbor who owns several gas stations unjustly point a gun at you and survice the
incident not getting shot, call yourself lucky. Now don't go looking for this man to be arrested or anything, we don't want that. I mean
if you are a cop and hear this story and find the guy waving the gun owns a gun and.......:banghead:....I just realized something as
I sit here right now and type this.

When they went and questioned this guy all he had to do was say he didn't have a gun. There isn't a list of people who own guns so there
was no way for the police to know otherwise. Of course when I was 20 I didn't know that so now it all makes sense. I'm not saying
I want there to be some list but I'm confused now.

What I posted this here originally for was to see if this happens to others and just gets brushed under the rug too. Now what I want to know
is if somebody brandishes a gun at you or you witness it at somebody else if they hide or deny it, is that the end of the story?
I mean for the last 12 years until I just wrote this out I wondered why that guy got away with not even a slap on the wrist.

Somebody say something comforting now so I feel better about this. I feel very sour about that whole incident now.

 

[notorious]

How would you feel if you were on the other end and someone accused you of brandishing a gun and you don't even own a gun?

Would you want the police to tear up your house or work looking for the gun?

There's no easy answer but just be happy you lived and let it be a lesson learned.

I had something like that happen once when I was young too. I was driving and this young Nazi (complete with Swatzikas and tats up to his neck and shaved head) started cutting me off and then cut back and was following me because I guess he didn't like me being in his neighborhood or something. He pulled up next to me and made some obscene gestures. I was a rookie cop and pulled out my sidearm and had it next to me on my thigh. I didn't bring it up to bear and he drove away but it could've gotten a bit ugly if he instigated a confrontation.

 

[seale]

You should have been carrying. He committed felony assault with a deadly weapon by pointing that presumably loaded firearm at you. You would have been legally and morally justified in drawing your own firearm and ending the totally unjustified and aggressive threat to your life.

 

[Impureclient]

Im glad a police officer answered this first as I sit here and wonder what the one who came out for my incident was thinking.
When he came back he told me they guy said he didn't wave a gun and that was it. Turn the page and move on. You're right
about being happy I lived through that but, I'm still not sure what lesson I should have learned. The only thing I guess I did
wrong was start yelling back after he smacked my car. I can't say if it happened the same today I would have done anything
differently. Of course now I know that people do have guns on them and in their cars so it's best to just shut up and get away
from the nutty people who are looking for confrontations.

 

[armoredman]

Don't stop for confrontations, ever. Call PD from your cell, get a cell if you don't have one, be the FIRST to make to formal complaint. Use deadly physical force ONLY in accordance with the guidlines and laws in your stae, county and city.

 

[notorious]

Im glad a police officer answered this first as I sit here and wonder what the one who came out for my incident was thinking.
When he came back he told me they guy said he didn't wave a gun and that was it. Turn the page and move on. You're right
about being happy I lived through that but, I'm still not sure what lesson I should have learned. The only thing I guess I did
wrong was start yelling back after he smacked my car. I can't say if it happened the same today I would have done anything
differently. Of course now I know that people do have guns on them and in their cars so it's best to just shut up and get away
from the nutty people who are looking for confrontations.

Sounds like you have learned a thing or two right there.

 

[notorious]

I only hug girls.

 

[notorious]

Ingrid Bergman

Veronica Lake

Jane Russell

Jennifer Connelly (in the Rocketeer)

What ever happened to women of the 40s, the way women should look? Ah... the good ole days.

 

[WTBguns10kOK]

How could he disgrace the Iroc-Z like that? Capital offense, in my book...

 

[ZO6Vettever]

I had a gun stuck in my face, road rage again. I put my hands in the air and walked away, fast. I found the guy the next day and he was all apoligizes, shaking like a leaf and such and also about 20 years older than me so I just let it go at that. He was still wrong but it was over. I hope never to do something stupid like that myself.

 

[sturmgewehr667]

*gives hug*

 

[Mello]

Your post is food for thought. Make me think what I would do in that situation. I have been in the situation where someone was following me into my dead-end street so I slowed and let them by.

I have not been in the situation where they stopped and got out of their vehicle. If that should happen I'm moving out quickly. I'm not sticking around to see what they want to say or do. I'm not leading them to my house either where my children are.

 

[indiandave]

If the kid is carrying a gun and shoving it in peoples faces, sooner then later he is going to pick the wrong person and become a statistic.

 

[Impureclient]

You know I didn't think about til the post above from indiandave, as he has Indian in his name. I wasn't trying to be down on his race.
It was more that he was a rich guy who I later found out had owned those gas stations and I found it hard to swallow
that somebody like an established business owner in my city could do something so blatantly asinine and then get away with it.
No reason to describe his race/color/creed as part of the story. Although for all everybody knows he could have been a
Native American (Indian).
By the way. This guy was at least 45-50 and I was the young lad in this ridiculous situation.

What I really was looking for was an answer to if this is common to get away with.

 

[lucky_fool]

When they went and questioned this guy all he had to do was say he didn't have a gun.
There isn't a list of people who own guns so there was no way for the police to know otherwise. Of course when I was 20 I didn't know that so now it all makes sense. I'm not saying
I want there to be some list but I'm confused now.

If you're confused about gun registration then think about this:

There's also no list of people that threaten others. All he had to do was say "I didn't do that". If the cops are just going to take him at his word for anything he says then a list of gun owners isn't going to help.

 

[akodo]

The original post is too hard to read.

Please rewrite it with proper breaks and spacing.

 

[esmith]

Is there a reason the OP is written with the second line slowly creeping to the right of the screen?

Something weird about this.

 

[Hoppy590]

id give ya a hug if i could understand the post.

 

[Leanwolf]

INDIAN DAVE - "If the kid is carrying a gun and shoving it in peoples faces, sooner then later he is going to pick the wrong person and become a statistic."

True!!

L.W.

 

[Impureclient]

Well I have a 24" monitor and the original post was OK on my screen so I shortened the
sentences on the screen. Do people still use 13" CRT monitors. Weren't those things powered
by steam and obsolete now?

Oh yeah I guess I didn't label this post so well. I mean it was a figure of speech and I didn't
think this would turn out to be a men's feelings sharing meeting....

 

[NG VI]

Format sucks. I hug all my buddies as needed, often when not needed, a feeling of closeness helps foster strong wingman behavior. Be secure, it's definitely a valued character trait.

 

[notorious]

If the kid is carrying a gun and shoving it in peoples faces, sooner then later he is going to pick the wrong person and become a statistic.

If he pulls it on a gangbanger or a cop, he'll likely end up severely regretting it.

 

[Cannonball888]

I

f the kid is carrying a gun and shoving it in peoples faces, sooner then later he is going to pick the wrong person and become a statistic.

If he pulls it on a gangbanger or a cop, he'll likely end up severely regretting it.

Or pulling it on a legally armed civilian

 

[Rush]

In my opinion, what you did wrong (and the lesson you should learn) was to stop. If someone is following you up to no good, continue driving until they either get bored and leave you or you get somewhere public with witnesses, or you see a LEO you can flag.

If stopping cannot be avoided (such as at a red light) and they get out and approach your car, do not get out, keep your doors locked and your windows rolled up tight. Do not respond to anything they say. Drive away at the earliest safe opportunity, even if you have to run the light. Even if they smack your car. This is not a fender bender where you want to exchange insurance info and get them to pay for your damage; this is (as you found out) a life and death personal confrontation. The dents or scratches on your car are NOT worth your life.

I understand that you guys have the testosterone and hence retreat is "sissy" and also you have a thing about your cars, so you have a terrible time just leaving once the bad guy touches your "baby" but unless you are armed and willing to engage in a two-way shootout, and are confident you will win, and have the financial backing to pay your lawyer for all the years of defending yourself after the incident, then the better part of valor is to extract yourself from the situation. Let the guy stew in his own juices. Do not stop; do not get out; do not allow this to escalate.

I also understand this seems to contradict my agreement with the guy (sorry I forgot your name) who made the argument that society in general does not stand up to jerk drivers anymore and in a close community in the "olden" days a jerk will be found and taught a lesson. Well, unless you are in such a community, and A.) know this person and know whether he is likely to be armed and B.) are the "sheepdog" authoritative type to be able to "teach" him his lesson, you should not attempt to teach humanity manners in this circumstance. This is a hotheaded stranger, and you don't sound like an armed elite tactical agent.

 

[Pilot]

Rush wrote:

I understand that you guys have the testosterone and hence retreat is "sissy"

and also you have a thing about your cars, so you have a terrible time just leaving once the bad guy touches your "baby" but unless you are armed and willing to engage in a two-way shootout, and are confident you will win, and have the financial backing to pay your lawyer for all the years of defending yourself after the incident, then the better part of valor is to extract yourself from the situation. Let the guy stew in his own juices.

Agatha is that you? Hi! A certain Grumman owner here.

Well, as you know, not all of us have that mentality. Avoiding and retreating are the top priorities with shooting being the last thing any of us wants to do. You'll find most here are trained very well and can keep our "testosterone" in check.