a real "what would you do" from a friend

Hawkins

Hawkins

Joined
Aug 5, 2001
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571
the following is a copy/paste from an internet friends post on another forum community.

i was interested in what people here would suggest in a similar situation.

quick summary: in/near toronto, he witnessed the physical harrassment of a stranger by two other people.

It's 6:45pm on a pleasant sunny Friday evening. After a long commute from work, you're walking through a nearby mall to scope out some cuties as you make your way home. After exiting the mall, you see a guy (~15 - 18yr old Chinese/yellow guy, about 5' 7", 140lbs, slightly-above-average build) about 40 - 50m (120 - 150ft) walking in the same direction (towards your neighbourhood) directly ahead.
Eventually, he cuts to the opposite street sidewalk and you continue on the near side. You pay no further attention to him until you reach the T-junction intersection, where you notice he encounters two "punk-dressed" guys (both appear to be ~15 - 18yr old black dudes, about 5'9", 150lbs+, slightly-above-average builds) pushing and pulling him around. In your neighbourhood, this type of thing -- especially on a residential street corner and in broad daylight, is rare.

The two black guys try trash-talking the yellow guy a bit, but he stays quiet and passive. Eventually they tug at his shirt and toss him around some more. The yellow guy gets an idea, and walks onto the street to get attention from passing vehicles. The black guys try to pull him back onto the sidewalk. Several cars stop, give looks, go around them, stop at the intersection, look some more, and continue. So far, no punches or nasty things (i.e. knives and guns) show up.

Meanwhile, you are on the opposite side of the T-junction intersection noticing all this happen. The yellow guy knows you are there, and looks at you for a bit. The black guys probably know you're there too, but aren't paying as much attention.

What would you do?

...


Needless to say, this scenario played out on me this past Friday. I knew right then and there any aggressive actions would have some immediate impact on my life.

What I did: My instinctual side wanted to jump in and "make it an even 2v2." I'm not known for being aggressive or violent, but that's what I thought. For one, I'm not very big. I have been working out in the past month or so, but in the end, I only stand 5'5", 130lbs and aside from the way I dress (which makes me look older), I have the build and appearance of a 16-17 yr old. I knew if I instigated anything, the black guys would probably have no problems deciding to fight because I am very unintimidating.

This isn't something that happens in my neighbourhood, and I felt it was 'unfair' for a 2on1. It's also my local neighbourhood, and I don't like seeing this type of trash happening. For clarification, there were no racist feelings. However, I didn't know the circumstances behind the encounter -- based on their appearances, I figure they had some previous dispute at my former high school (e.g. yellow guys beat black guys at after-school basketball or something superficial like that) that lead to this.

I stood still on the opposite corner, making sure nothing dirty was happening. I had a small pocket knife, some fold-out scissors (great for stabbing!) and an umbrella as weapon inventory, so I wasn't exactly prepared for "battle." I also had my phone ready in case things did get nasty.

Some 20 - 30 tense seconds went by, and eventually the black guys pushed the yellow guy away for a bit. At that point, I thought it was relatively safe to exit and returned to my path home, keeping tabs on the situation every now and then. As I walked further away I eventually saw the two black guys looking "between" the houses on the sidewalk I was previously on. It seemed like they were searching for the yellow guy who probably jumped a yard fence or something. I took a slight detour on my way back home (just in case I was being followed), and then arrived at my house.

(As an added bonus) The next day, I find out my cousin (some of you know him as |DuD| -- he's 18 yrs old, 6', 160lbs, average+ build) was driving a car that passed by, and he saw me standing there too. I can only imagine what would have happened if I intervened, as it would have gotten my cousin involved too (family definitely sticks up for each other).

After reflecting on the events, I'm not sure if what I did was completely right- as I still wonder about what happened to that yellow guy and if those black guys would return. I thought I'd get your input.

Edit: some minor grammar + additions, my cousin is not half a foot tall.

[ 05-14-2002: Message edited by: Elder_MMHS ]
Click to expand...
 
The instinct to jump in and help is interesting, isn't it!

In this situation, I probably would have called the police when I saw the guys pushing the dude around. As you saw, even after the altercation broke up, the bad guys were still lurking about. No point scaring away a bad guy if you leave the bad guy still out there, you know? Such tactics work in the short term (save your butt right there) but someone eventually is going to get hurt.

I'd be getting a good look at the bad guys while I dialed for the cops.
 
I think you should have definately called the police and said that this other gentleman was being accosted. Police get paid to check out situations on their beat. Stick around. Bottom line is that you are not responsible for the guy, but as a person you do not want anyone to be hurt/killed and someday you might be wanting of help. It would not hurt to yell that you have called the cops after you have done so. Chances are they will want to get out of there. They might also come at you, so be ready to defend yourself with whatever level of force is necessary.

It is not clear whether the pocket knife was a knife sturdy enough for SD use. Many things can be used for SD, but you should be familiar how to use anything you carry for SD. I recommend carrying SD-only devices, as they will be what you are familiar with (if you practice) and it will always be in optimum condition for use.

I got kind of confused with the story. After the narrator went home the two black males were still looking for the guy. What if they found him? What if no one was around then?

Calling the cops would put a uniform in the area and make anyone less likely to go poking about where they do not belong.
 
Do not get directly involved.

1) No one has attacked you. If you jump in you will be the
aggressor.
2) You have absolutely no idea what is happening across the street.
There is an old classic setup where one guy pretends to mug
another to lure a bystander into an ambush.
3) If you want to help - go get help.

n2s
 
Hmmm, I'll be up in Toronto in a few weeks - I'll keep an eye out for these 3 :)
I've had situations like this before - as smartly noted, you don't know what's up.
What I've done is stop at a distance and stare - let them know someone sees what's going on. Keep your options open, noting escape routes and close-at-hand weapons. But just stare. Give a yell: "Yo, what's going on? Want me to call the cops?" Especially if (we don't know the race of the poster) there can be a racial componenet involved, they don't know if you and this guy have some connection. By keeping distance, you force the 2 BG's to divide their attention and focus.
You have to make the call if it gets nasty, based on your feelings and abilities - looking off to the side and yelling "Call the cops!" may have an effect regardless of whether anyone is there. But if they mean harm, by the time the cops get there it's probably done.
Keep alert, keep away, keep aware - but personally no, I couldn't simply walk by and I doubt most posters here would either.
If YOU were the asian guy - what would you want a bystander to do?
 
Call cops first, watch a little, then chose to step in or not.
If you do, keep your distance, act like it's an everyday thing and be ready in case the encounter goes sour.

Like this.

YOU: "Hey, what's going on?"

Peeps in Question: "Nothing."

YOU: "No seriously dude, whatcha up to?"

Try to distract them from what or who they are "working" on.
Just don't try to annoy them.


If they say something along the lines of "**** off!", they might have a mindset to do some serious harm.

If you can and something doesn't seem right with the "mugging",
always, always try to difuse the problem with words before jumping in.
 
the police are trained to call for backup. you should too. even if you had decided to intervene, it couldn't hurt to notify the police and have them show up.

fiddler
 
your cell phone is your friend. use it. give detailed descriptions. don't be suprised if they mistake you for either the BG or the victim when they show up.
 
Call the police. You had a mobile phone. Its natural to want to intervene, but think first how far are you willing to go. Are you willing to die if necessary to defend another. You had a pocket knife, they may have had guns. Risk assessment before intervention. Unfortunately the days of a punch in the mouth are log gone. People are more vicious.
 
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