Howdy folks. I had a situation last week where I came out of a CVS pharmacy in a "so-so" neighborhood. I was approached by an African American gentleman asking for help. He needed a jump and was standing next to a security guard. For some reason my gut kicked in and I wanted to leave this situation as soon as possible... When do you trust your gut and when do you think you're paranoid or (gasp!) profiling?
First thing, is there are lotsa good people living in bad neighborhoods. Usually they weren't always bad neighborhoods. I would say MOST of the people in even the worst neighborhoods are good people, especially if you are not out at 4:00 a.m. So that wouldn't be a big consideration with me. That's not to say that I wouldn't be on an elevated alert status in a bad neighborhood, just that it wouldn't make me assume that everyone is a crook.
Second thing is that most people aren't very good under stress. Even seasoned criminals are by and large inept. There are exceptions, but they are a very small minority. You will usually see movements and strange reactions before something bad happens.
Regarding gut feeling, you should always pay attention to it. In fact, strive to be more sensitive and your environment. Situational awareness may be the difference between life and death some day. Those in dangerous professions or who end up in dangerous situations environments often seem to develop this. Watch people. Think why are they doing that? What should they be doing? What shouldn't they be doing? What bad things could the be doing?
However, just having you spideysense tingling doesn't mean that bad things are about to happen. It may just be that something triggered some repressed memory. Some psychologists say that any sense can trigger a memory and suggest that smell may be the most effective at trigger repressed memories.
I'm not saying the guy smelled, but rather you don't know why you were having a visceral reaction to the situation. When this sort of thing happens to me, I first take a deep breath and assess the situation. Take a full survey. If I think it through and there are no other things that cause me concern (actions fo the other person, glances into the bushes, suspicious bulge, too many people standing about or whatever), then I decide which way to proceed.
Racism or profiling isn't a concern for you. You are a private figure. It shouldn't enter the equation. If someone is dressed like a street thug, whether black, white, or green you should pay them extra attention. They may be a pretender, or maybe not. We all know people who appear to be something other than they are. There are tens of millions who don't fit certain stereotypes. Some days I look like a preppy, some days a hippy, and some days a mall ninja.
I don't know of a "tactical" way to jump start a car. By that I mean no uberninja way to do it without an infantry company supporting me. But I wouldn't hesitate if I wasn't seeing bad signals that put me on red alert.
Life is about risks. Sitting here at my computer is risky. Driving to work, risky. But we decide what risks we are willing to take. I think I'd probably help the guy, but I don't look like a victim (tall and in pretty good shape) and always have an P2000 on me. Since some of the guys on this list say they sleep with 2 1911s on their pajama belts and carry a stainless J frame and a neckknife in the shower, I guess I know what some will say. If you choose not to next, no sweat. You don't owe the rest of the world a thing. You decide what risk you are willing to take.
