i am overreacting?

[ProactiveReactionary]

my mother in law did something incredibly stupid today. a woman asked her for a ride, a total stranger, gave her a sob story about needing gas, was going through a divorce, etc. my mother in law not being very bright obviously not only gave the woman a ride but also gave her 17 dollars, the woman asked for a way to reach her. thinking she was being smart rather than giving her any personal info like her address, gave her a business card where she works. how dumb.

now i wasnt there when all this happened but this is what my wife told me. she was asking her where she lives (that brought up a red flag for me). she wanted some contact info, i guess to presumably "pay her back".

you know the phrase dont talk to strangers? this applies. NEVER give someone a ride, mistake number one. she gave her money, mistake number two. the area she was in didnt exactly excite me either, its not a bad area but there are bad areas around it so automatically im more alert there, in this case im suspicious. in fact it's a fairly busy road with plenty of businesses, why didnt she use a pay phone instead of asking strangers for help???

nothing seems to gel and the first thing that goes through my mind when i hear this "she got scammed". its not unusual to get asked for money in certain areas of the city, the area she was in wouldnt surprise me. what bothers me is she gave her her business card, with her name. just how hard would it be for someone to look up her name in a phone book and get her address? she was probing her for information about who lived in the house, asking her if she was married. im thinking this isnt just a ask for a few dollars for a pack of smokes scam, this sounds like a "gimme a ride and let me have a few bucks, gimme your contact info and i'll rob you in a few days" scam.

needless to say i feel uneasy so i'm thinking of actually getting a firearm because of this. unlike my mother in law i would rather err on the side of caution and have a firearm and not need than to need it and not have one where as the only thing she could think of was when a state trooper helped her out when her car broke down years ago and this is what compelled her to give a stranger a ride 17 dollars and her contact information.

now am i overreacting in wanting to get a firearm because of this? now im more than old enough and i know i dont need a reason to buy a firearm but i have some extra money i was going to do some stuff with but i'm thinking i might want to get a gun instead.

 

[ZeroX]

I'd say you should be buying guns anyway so why not?

 

[Nitram68]

I give people rides often but only when my family isn't with me... apart from one time between Vegas and Ely but that's another story...

I guess I'm just not that afraid of people or too trusting. but in the 20 plus years of driving and picking people up, I've never had a bad experience....

 

[Cool Hand Luke 22:36]

No, you are not over-reacting. Your instincts are good. You need to have a firearm for self-defense anyway, regardless of what happened to your mother-in-law.

 

[spacemanspiff]

my mom tries to do this from time to time. usually when she starts talking about religion and the bible whomever is wanting a ride then wants to get out of the vehicle.

my grandmother does the same thing, but not out of a desire to 'witness' to them. she just does it cause she likes company. and when she takes a shine to a person, she won't ever believe they are anything less than saintly. doesnt apply to family, however.


up here in alaska, its a cultural thing. native alaskan women are very friendly and accept rides or give rides to anyone. its evidence that you can take the villager out of the village, but you cant take the village ways out of the villager.
the mindset that native alaskan women have, of wanting to help, or expecting everyone to be nice and help them, has led to a LOT of women being raped/robbed/killed. take a look at the unsolved homicides APD has:
http://www.muni.org/services/departments/apd911/unsolved/index.cfm

the general feeling is that many of those women killed is the work of a serial killer.

 

[ProactiveReactionary]

well i dont have much money...but i can get something like a SW9VE, they're around 300 bucks. not thrilled about smith and wesson, but i'll take it over having nothing! rather have a CZ75B.

i told my wife i was going to look for a gun tommorow. might look at pawn shops, the guns might be used but they are cheaper, might check out a glock 17 if i can find one, pawn shops here have a nice assortment of glocks.

 

[yesterdaysyouth]

if it's just HD you're worried about then i would think a shotgun would be a better choice, not only because of price, but it's also alot easier to use.. a handgun takes alot of practice to be used effectively. then when you got the cash go buy what you really want...

 

[Standing Wolf]

now am i overreacting in wanting to get a firearm because of this? now im more than old enough and i know i dont need a reason to buy a firearm but i have some extra money i was going to do some stuff with but i'm thinking i might want to get a gun instead.

Buy a gun. Buy some ammunition. Put in some range time. Buy some more ammunition. Put in some more range time.

Every law-abiding American citizen should own a few guns—and know how to handle them, too.

 

[ZeroX]

I dunno, 300 for a Glock? That'd be a hell of a lucky deal. At that price, you'd probably be more likely to find a EAA (European American Armory) Witness or somesuch. Of course, it depends on your experience. You don't want to necessarily start with a .357.

 

[BigBlueEyedDevil]

My pop told me this story a few years back:

When living in Utah, his friend was driving home. He say a young couple with a flat tire, needed help, blah blah blah. So he helped them out and the couple was extremely greatful. They asked for a way to reach him he gave them an address. They sent him a couple of Jazz tickets and a thank you note.

After my dad's friend got home from the Jazz game, he noticed that his house had been burglarized and lots of property stolen.

 

[fistful]

Have you called the cops about this?

Are you experienced with firearms?

Are you prepared to kill in self-defense?

If not, do you think you can train and prepare before the potential crime occurs?

Will you and your gun be anywhere near the potential crime?

Have you considered other options like dogs, alarms, or asking neighbors for help?

Is your wife less-than-enthusiastic about guns? If you do not buy a gun now, are you wasting a perfectly good opportunity to overcome such an attitude?

Are you wasting a perfectly good opportunity for the perfect crime? "No, officer, I can't think of any enemies my late mother-in-law might have had, but there was this one suspicious hitch-hiker."

 

[beerslurpy]

After my dad's friend got home from the Jazz game, he noticed that his house had been burglarized and lots of property stolen.

My instinct would have been to park the car down the street and wait in the house with the shotgun and all the lights turned out. Anytime a stranger is trying to arrange for me to be away from my posessions at a specific time, that sets off alarm bells. I guess it is a "growing up in NYC" thing.

Ive had a few suspicious characters roving around my neighborhood that might have been casing places, tho possibly not. Doing surveys and the like. I usually just trust my instincts. When people start trying to cross over the "invisble lines" (trying to get inside the house, asking what sort of hobbies you have, asking who else lives there, etc), I begin to prepare myself for possible danger.

 

[MR73]

YES, you are over-reacting.
Wanting to buy a gun because of THAT?
Come on!
Put a little trust in life and just be cautious, needless to see the devil EVERYWHERE.
So get that gun if you want one, but not because your in-law gave a ride + $ 17 to a stranger.

 

[mr.trooper]

What do you mean your "thinking" about actualy getting a gun?

I firmly believe that eveoryone (except the supper Libs, and NEO hippies) ACTUAY need a gun.even if its just a 20 guage coach gun, your GREAT. You are now set to hunt eveorything from bunnies to deer, have a good home defence gun, and are able to survive ( but not realy fight) if the SHTF!

Dont you have any friends that shoot or hunt? if anyone gives you beef just say your getting it so you can do stuff with your friends, or so you can save some $$$ on the food budget. 100lbs of meat will get your family by for some time.

i think you ahould DEFINATELY get a General purpose gun. if you dont have ANY firearms, then why not buy a General Purpose Shotty?

 

[thorn726]

uh, buy the gun, but dont worry about the scammer.

the lady was most likely a total scammer, i get these people knocknig on my door also- lady- "i need 10 dollars to get my mom to the hospital"
(we're pretty much in the city, elderly can get free ride by taxi for that)

they probably just asked the addr to appear sincere, and besides if you want to break in to old ladies houses, wouldnt thieves go to rich hood and scope it out rather than ask for addr leaving a possible trail to get caught by?????

but yeah, you can afford it, etc, get the gun.

 

[TarpleyG]

When living in Utah, his friend was driving home. He say a young couple with a flat tire, needed help, blah blah blah. So he helped them out and the couple was extremely greatful. They asked for a way to reach him he gave them an address. They sent him a couple of Jazz tickets and a thank you note.

Yet another reason I have a PO box...

Greg