Visually Assessing Threats

[Capt. Charlie]

In that case, my friend, I could have gotten closer to you than the wannabee. As you know, I wore business suits.

But then, you're not one of the guys I should be worried about, right?

There is no magic devining rod on this issue.

Exactly. There are no absolutes here. All you can do is take an educated guess, with no guarentees.

 

[BillCA]

Exactly. There are no absolutes here. All you can do is take an educated guess, with no guarentees.

Precisely correct. As you go through your daily life you make educated guesses about all manner of things. Including whether or not someone deserves a little closer look or may be a higher safety risk.

My goal was to find out if anyone had specific criteria that would set off their alarms. If I'm in my local mom & pop grocery store and the guy ahead of me is fidgety, I do a quick check. Are his actions because he's in a hurry and the person at the counter is slow? Are his actions due to maybe needing the restroom? Any conspicious bulges around the waist? Pockets? However, my alarms will be jangling if he has tattoos on the back of his neck or all over his arms.

Profiling? Stereotyping? Sure. Experience says that criminals tend to dress a certain way. Few muggings are committed by perpetrators wearing a Hart Shaffner and Marx suit. And I'd guess it is fairly rare for a liquor store to be robbed by a man in a tuxedo. This doesn't mean every young male wearing baggy clothes is going to be a criminal or a gangbanger. But given a choice between watching a pair of 22 year olds, one wearing slacks, dress shoes and a polo shirt and one wearing baggy clothing and a hoodie... yeah, Mr. Wannabe bad-boy gets more looks. If only because the baggies might better conceal a weapon.

 

[Wildalaska]

Let's assign this a points system: 80-100 points puts you in condition red, 60-80, orange, and so on.

Location: Upscale mall in Upper Arlington, Ohio = 1 point. Certain areas in East Cleveland, OH = 9 points.

Time of day / Lighting: High noon = 2 points. Well lit area at night = 4 points. Dark or poorly lighted urban area = 8 points.

Clothing: Business suit = 2 points. Hoodie with gang graffiti on it = 9 points.

Caps invented the..................

HINKYMETER!!!! (TM!!!)

Like in...So I was walking along the Brooklyn docks at 3:30 am when all of a sudden my HINKYMETER TM hit a thousand as I spied the alien looking lizard feeding on a bum........

or

As I walked into Wolfgang Puck's for Brunch, my HINKYMETER TM was on -2 as I spied all the beautiful people...Hey Mick, great tour, muaaaah buddy, Brittney's waiting for me, ta ta


WildthehellwithcolourconditionsthatsninjathehinkymeterTMisscientificAlaska TM

 

[Boris Bush]

BillCA

Would you expect a woman holding a baby to rob a store? It happend just a week or two ago.

Its ok to look out for the ones most likely, but if someone walks into the stop and rod in a tuxedo...... That is out of place! A thug looking kid is not out of place in a stop and rob.

Criminals are crafty and every person needs assessing, not the way they dress or look.

Not one person here knows exactly how it will go down if they ever have the displeasure. If they think the badguy will stand squared off at 7 yards and let you lay it to him without moving while you stand in the open and place your shots perfectly, then thats too bad. For the few that have most will tell you it went nothing like they thought it would or ever practiced for.

Since this is a "family" oriented sight I will not even get into my first time, because war is a little different than civilian defense. What I will say is The "scenario" was not ever practiced or even one would not think it could go down like it did. What gets you through it all is situational awareness. Know where you are going, where is your next available cover, use the fundamentals and violence of action is all that will save you. When you decide to use lethal force you can not doddle around and think about it.......... Get the job done or be a victim.

Point of my post. Do not label certain "groups" as non threatening, it will come back and bite you in the butt in the end if you don't

 

[The Tourist]

Point of my post. Do not label certain "groups" as non threatening, it will come back and bite you in the butt in the end if you don't

And it's well said. In fact, I think it ranks up there with racial profiling as not only being fundamentally racist, but patently erroneous. You cannot even use it as a barometer, defending it by stating it's "usually true." While you're busy in condition orange with the guy in baggy pants, the mafia mechanic sipping a demitasse blows your head off.

And we all know it's true.

The most decorated soldier of WWII shouldn't have even been a soldier. Audie Murphy was both too young and too short to pass qualifications.

The most dangerous man on my turf of Milwaukee wore a suit that cost more than my Dad's car.

The most dangerous biker I know is 63 years old--and is on heart medication.

The sharpest knife I own has a blade of 1.5 inches.

My wife chews the bullseyes out of targets with an old Charter Arms Bulldog .44 SPL. Except for her's being nickel plated, it's the same model as the Son of Sam's.

My current motorcycle has its roots in 1936. Unless you have a Hayabusa, I wouldn't drag race it.

There might not be Angels who are CMA, but there are CMA who used to be Angels. I would respect all of those Bible-bangers, just in case.

My point is that stereotypes shouldn't even be stereotypes. There never is an archetypical type of anything. There's only one Brett Favre, there's only one Sonny Barger. And clinging to some hacked article in a gun rag is never, ever going to keep you safe.

There's a very good reason why people say that your brain is the most dangerous weapon.