I think it is time to get my concealed weapons permit.

E

EMN89

New member
About 20 miutes ago i had just left the gym and had stopped at a local gas station to get a drink, i made my purchase exited the store and got into my truck, as i backed out of my parking spot a ford taurus whipped through the gas station i had to hit my brakes pretty hard to avoid a collision, the guy looked at me like i had done something wrong and kept going. i hit the gas a little harder than i should have and the tires squeeled a little bit, i put the truck in drive and pulled out onto the road where there is a stop light a short distance away as i pulled up behind the vehicle the drivers door swung open and the man started charging towards my truck, at the same time seeing this i unfastened my seat belt and opened the door a crack in case he tried to swing at me(my windows were open) i could slam the door into him. as he got up to my truck he started screaming at me that he had kids in the car and he was gonna mess me up, i kept my cool and did not say a word i just stared at him and watched for any hint he was going to attack after his little tirade he got back in his vehicle and took off. to my memory that is exactly how it happened an the whole confrontation lasted maybe 10-15 seconds.
thoughts and suggestions welcome.
thanks, Eric.
 
Pause to breathe. Just... breathe.

You should have waited until he got out of the car, and then exited the situation by the simple expedient of pulling around the vehicle and leaving.
 
i thought about that afterwards, but the proximity of his vehicle and the speed at which he came at me made me think it would be best not to try and drive away because i could possibly hit him or his vehicle.
 
Did you get a license number? Maybe you should be reporting him to the police instead of to TFL.

Otherwise, good work not to let a crazy incident slide into a criminal incident.

CCW is your last ditch option. But it's always comforting to know that there's one more tool in the tool box if all your social awareness and skills fail you.
 
No i didnt even think about getting his plate number, i an keep cool under pressure but it happened so fast that i didnt think of everything. i was mainly worried about whether i would have to protect myself.
 
It seems like he [Mr Taurus] was in a rush or having a bad day, best thing you could have done is not made ANY eye contact, stayed in the parking lot till the stop light turned green and he went on his merry way.

When you pulled up behind him was there anyone behind blocking you? if not I would have just put it in reverse and safely backed away.
 
Remember the Golden Rule you were taught in Kindergarden?

Sometimes, even if your not at fault, a simple hands up, open palmed "hey guy, I'm sorry...are you Ok?", can and will calm the situation down and make the guy realize he is over-reacting. He might be a decent guy, just on edge due to a nagging wife, screaming kids, bills, job related issues (or unemployment) and other stressors. Or possibly he has untreated mental health issues. A minor fender bender, or close call is all it takes to push him (or her) over the edge. An olive branch might work and negate any further conflict and difuse the whole situation. And if he is a true bonafide nut case or crack head and continues to act aggressive, lock your doors, roll up your windows and leave. Tuck your ego in the glove box and leave it there. Its not worth it. Been there, done that...;)
 
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Well, I wouldn’t attribute that scenario as a reason to get your CCW, but I think you should carry regardless.

And here is why.

When I was 22 I lived in a small town that was pretty much supported by 2 local mills. If you lived in Noti, Oregon. You either worked at a mill, local store or the dinky bar.

Every year in Oregon we have a giant hippy commune known as the “Country Fair” however “Hippy Fair " is more like it. At any rate thousands of these hippies would show up for one weekend out of the year. These people will blow all their money and drive there rickety hippy-mobiles that barely ran just to get to the “Fair ". All up and down the highway you can see busted ass vehicles parked for miles...It was ridiculous.

Well, the hippies would come, do their thing and leave. But they always left behind “Trash " people who decided that Oregon was their new home. About a week after the fair was done and gone I was walking to work ( Graveyard shift ) and I was about half way there when I noticed off to my left there was a small hippy encampment in the woods about 50 yards out. As I started walking past I could overhear some people talking “Hey, go ask that guy for some money " that sort of thing.

Living here, I am used to beggars. But to make a long story short and to the point I was approached by 3 men begging for money. When I said no they circled me and asked for my wallet. Well, they got the short end of my .40 caliber instead and quickly dispersed. I got to work safely, called the cops, gave descriptions and the camp was broken up and 3 people went to jail.

I don't carry as often as I should, and the only reason why I was carrying that night was circumstantial, based on the fair and all the trash that NEVER leaves. But you never know what lurks around the corners these days.

I probably could have taken the 3 hippies on myself...But come on guys, who wants to get pertruili oil all over themselves?
 
Today's world is much different from the one I knew 40 years ago, . . . and I'm sure many others will nod in agreement.

Working in downtown Columbus, Ohio then, . . . our worst "character" then was an old coot that carried a sharpened, triangular shaped brick trowel, . . . and seemed always spoiling for a fight. Most people just avoided him as it was apparent that his elevator stopped a few floors low.

Today, . . . shootings in the same city take up the first 4 to 10 minutes of the news coverage.

Times are different, . . . need to face them differently.

May God bless,
Dwight
 
Peace-Love-Dove all you groovy freaks!

Gossettc68
When I was 22 I lived in a small town that was pretty much supported by 2 local mills. If you lived in Noti, Oregon. You either worked at a mill, local store or the dinky bar.

Every year in Oregon we have a giant hippy commune known as the “Country Fair” however “Hippy Fair " is more like it. At any rate thousands of these hippies would show up for one weekend out of the year. These people will blow all their money and drive there rickety hippy-mobiles that barely ran just to get to the “Fair ". All up and down the highway you can see busted ass vehicles parked for miles...It was ridiculous.

Well, the hippies would come, do their thing and leave. But they always left behind “Trash " people who decided that Oregon was their new home. About a week after the fair was done and gone I was walking to work ( Graveyard shift ) and I was about half way there when I noticed off to my left there was a small hippy encampment in the woods about 50 yards out. As I started walking past I could overhear some people talking “Hey, go ask that guy for some money " that sort of thing.

Living here, I am used to beggars. But to make a long story short and to the point I was approached by 3 men begging for money. When I said no they circled me and asked for my wallet. Well, they got the short end of my .40 caliber instead and quickly dispersed. I got to work safely, called the cops, gave descriptions and the camp was broken up and 3 people went to jail.

I don't carry as often as I should, and the only reason why I was carrying that night was circumstantial, based on the fair and all the trash that NEVER leaves. But you never know what lurks around the corners these days.

I probably could have taken the 3 hippies on myself...But come on guys, who wants to get pertruili oil all over themselves?
Click to expand...

Uh, that would be "patchouli" oil.

'Sorry to hear you had a bad experience with some of the leftover hangers-on from the Oregon Country Fair.

But consider that the Fair, which takes place the weekend after Independence Day on a 200 acre dedicated site along Long Tom Creek in Veneta, west of the People's Republic of Eugene, is big business and pumps a lot of commerce into the economies of Veneta and the surrounding area, including the little town of Noti. You might as well complain to the folks around Sturgis, South Dakota about all those nasty Hardly-Dangerous freaks who congregate there every year!

Just like the smell of the local mills, the smell of all those unwashed hippies (actually, the site features an enormous rustic sauna, complete with showers!) is the smell of money!

I attended the OCF for more than 10 years and had some of the best times of my life there, and wish I could tell you some of the stories (but many would be X-rated; like the Rose Festival in Portland, 9 mos. after the Country Fair there's a baby boom).

I should point out that during the day thousands of paying customers come through the gates to patronize the hundreds of craft and food booths, and aside from the occasional folks dancing naked in the heat and dust in front of the main stage, it's all quite family-friendly (the bacchanalia didn't usually start until after the public had left the grounds).

But in all my years there I hardly even saw a fistfight.

I'm sure being surrounded by any 3 aggressive beggars is no picnic, and if you felt you had to draw on them, that was your decision. But I sincerely hope that the human debris left over from the Oregon Country Fair are the baddest muthas you ever have to deal with!
 
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Well glad you're ok and the incident didn't escalate further. This, IMO, is not a reason to get your CCW permit. If you had a gun in this particular instance it may have had a very tragic outcome. You had the means of a fast escape, you were not in immediate danger nor was your life threatened, use of deadly force would have been murder.

Don't get me wrong, you SHOULD go and get your CCW permit but you need to learn the laws and the responsibilty it takes to carry a gun.

Anyway, best of luck getting your CCW and congrats on making the decision. Make sure you are doing it for the right reason and be safe out there!

Edit: Removed off-topic info
 
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You should have just waited 5 minutes before pulling out .
The first rule for the whole defence thing is to AVOID !
 
Ringo, you are absolutely correct. Most of the crime is committed outside the fair itself. It's such a large congregation for those of you who don't have any idea it's like a yearly woodstock with a bunch of half-nakkid women running around.

As it's a giant hippy commune you can expect nothing short of a bunch of peace loving individuals, but with the good always comes the bad.
 
So let me get this straight...

The guy who had right of way (he was going fast, by your account, but he was in a driving lane in the parking lot and you were backing out of a space) got annoyed with you (based on your interpretation of his facial expression) because you almost violated his right-of-way by backing up, and your cars almost collided.

You then chirped your tires and gunned it a bit faster than you should have (again by your description) and zoomed up on the guy at a traffic light.

And you think things would be better if you had a gun?

Really?

The guy may have been going fast. But he also had right of way. Road raging was not a good approach on your part. Not that it was good on his part, either, but your actions played a big role in your scenario.

Personally, I'd say you should work on your de-escalation skills, prior to getting a permit, but that's your call.
 
mleak

When he saw me he could have slowed down but did not, i am not saying i handled the situation like i probably should have but for the guy to react like that kind of caught me off gaurd. By no means am i saying i would have shot this guy or even pulled a gun but it would have made me feel a lot more comfortable about the situation if it had went any farther than that.
 
No there wasnt anyone behind me but once again it happened so quickly and unexpectedly that i didnt really didnt think about it till after.
 
EMN89, he could have slowed down. It might even be said that it would have been courteous if he had slowed down.

But he still had the right of way, and it was your responsibility to yield. Getting angry because you were forced to do the right thing is a human response, but not a reasonable one.

From that point on, you created your own problem.
 
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