Yikes, guys, this world is nuts.

Moedred

Administrator
Staff member
I have my own true crime report. Just a couple of hours ago I heard a smash in the office parking lot. From the window I saw an asian teen on a bike pedal past my car wearing a backpack. I walked to the door shoeless, where I noticed glass around my car. The backpack was my own! I jumped in the car and caught up with him one minute and two blocks later. I blocked an alley and jumped out. He dropped my backpack and pedaled away as fast as his sissy little bike could carry him. I searched the neighborhood while dialing 911 and glimpsed him once, but he slipped away (damn one-way streets with too many cars on them).

So from this day forward, I'll never leave stuff visible in my car. And I'll always be grateful for sissy bikes, lowriders (the cars and the pants), and other impractical modes of transportation that I used to mock.
 

Moedred

Administrator
Staff member
intergamer said:
If he was white would you have specified it?
Of course. Race and gender is the first thing 911 asks for, without subtlety. I've been shy telling them in the past. But you get over it, living in California. Rest assured, we have our share of white punks and thugs.

By the way, are you assuming I'm not asian?
 

intergamer

New member
Moedred said:
Of course. Race and gender is the first thing 911 asks for, without subtlety. I've been shy telling them in the past. But you get over it, living in California. Rest assured, we have our share of white punks and thugs.

By the way, are you assuming I'm not asian?

If I was assuming anything I wouldn't have had to ask the question....
 

Tennessee R

New member
KDuncan, did you ever figure out anything about the incident?


Intergamer,
Don't we tend to specify the race more often if it is different from our own?
I know that as a caucasian, if reporting a crime (as well as an accident), I wouldn't think as much about saying 'white', as if the person was a different race (which would therefore stick in my mind more).

Come to think of it, would most Asians say when reporting a crime made by another Asian:
"This Asian guy just made off with my backpack!"
Now, although I have no statistical information to back it up, I would think in most cases, the answer would be no.
I think that most anyone would tend to focus on the race only when it is different from their own.

What do you think?
 

qafir

New member
You're a man now...

Wow, KDuncan, I'm so glad that happened to you! No, no, no...I'm not going to be one of those obnoxious posters who poke and prod to get inflamed responses. I mean in the larger than life sort of way.

Have you ever noticed how your heart races at all those heroic moments in movies? It's like we're hard-wired for adventure and blood and guts. And maybe it's a more powerful instinct in modern men than it ever has been in the past. I mean, guys have always had hero complexes. But can you imagine what your inner-gladiator would be like if he'd never seen Braveheart or Indy movies or Star Wars? All those characters have become icons of what manhood is.

The problem with that is that we basically live in a peaceful culture. At least those of us in Europe and the US do...not sure where all the forum members live. But think about it. Beyond the occasional random violence you might see by chance or the occasional jerk in a bar or at a baseball game, there really isn't an outlet for our hero muscles.

For me, that was a real bummer, because I had all those images of what a "real man" is like, but in comparison, I was pretty much a wimp.

Then I had a few adventures. I talked a lady off a bridge and kept her from jumping. I was first on the scene at a hit and run accident. I sat with a 94 year old man while he died. I broke up a few fights...

None of them are award winning memories or the type of adventure anyone would want to read about. But for me, they meant a ton. It meant that I got to test myself a bit. I guess I found out that I'm yellow-bellied with the best of all cowards, but that I can keep a level head anyway and do what needs to be done.

So maybe that's the silver lining for you. It must suck having your home invaded like that. But at least you know that when the moment of truth came, you were able to meet it without freaking out and peeing your pants!!!

Anyway, it's a great story. I haven't posted before, so maybe the other silver lining is that it was cool enough to make me step out of the shadows.

~Q~
 

Indy Benson

New member
I grasp what you're getting at, qafir, but believe me, there's nothing cool or exciting about getting robbed.


The problem with that is that we basically live in a peaceful culture.

This is a problem I'd like to have. :)
 

KDuncan

New member
Tennessee R said:
KDuncan, did you ever figure out anything about the incident?

No, the police weren't very interested at all. We still have some of the blood stains on the side of the house, but since it wasn't a very big crime or anything the report has been filed away.
 

Moedred

Administrator
Staff member
Indy Benson said:
there's nothing cool or exciting about getting robbed.
I was surprised to find this true yesterday. I saw the car window and knew it meant insurance, repair, time, money. Then I acted to reduce the losses by reacquiring my backpack and an invaluable journal/planner. I wasn't even thinking about the camera, recorder, and cable worth $300.

10 years ago in Europe, I grew to value my journal first, passport second, and money last. At a hostel in Turin I woke to find an Italian busboy had left early with $60 and another guy's credit card. (Just before sleeping, I had removed my shorts with my locker key in the pocket). I had heard worse tales of theft and was grateful but annoyed. I think missing and reimagining a confrontation produces more adrenaline than facing one.

(And for the record, I'm Italian. I think law enforcement and media do a profound disservice when they alert the neighborhood about a predator's gender, height, weight, hairstyle, clothing... and that's it. Race is important. I'm grateful every time they strip me at the airport, because I'm so swarthy-lookin'.)
 

Tennessee R

New member
Moedred says:
"I'm grateful every time they strip me at the airport, because I'm so swarthy-lookin"

Oh, come on Moedred, you can't be that bad.
Swarthy-looking is what you might call your avatar. ;)
 
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