The beauty in this idea is that most likely the thugs would think that they caused the alarm to go off. There's nothing to be gained by retribution in that case, because there's no apparent offense. Certainly anything could happen, but after having gone around the block with a few of these types of folks over the years, I think the tactic has an excellent chance of success in most cases. It certainly beats any of the other active alternatives.Fangs wrote:I experienced something similar to this when that kid put his cigarette out on my phone. I walked away from it thinking I was deescalating the situation from what would very quickly become a physical confrontation. Some of y'all made fun of me for that.cubbyjg wrote:...it seems either way i get the shaft while the punks continue to be punks.
The more I thought about it, the more I hated my decision to walk away. I've always hated injustice, it just doesn't sit right with me, and the pit it left in my stomach over that incident just grew. Until something in me changed. Guess I just got tired of being trampled on while telling myself that I'm being the bigger man.
I ran into that kid a couple months later. He recognized me as soon as he saw me. He didn't have his friends around him. I didn't go to jail. I'm not sitting here regretting my decisions.
As for the car scenario at hand, yeah, I'd call the police. If they won't help I'd bet it's at least a 50/50 chance I could strike up a convo and get them to peacefully move off my vehicle. Spent a while working at a bar and I have a way with words when it comes to drunks. Outright challenging their ego, and their perceived "right" to be there on my car isn't the way to do it. At the same time, if they aren't friendly, that's their choice.
Being flanked is an assault in progress. I'd treat it as such.
I doubt the thugs wouldn't have their drugs and weapons on them, that should help me make my case. I know you guys are terrified of lawsuits, but I don't think I'd have a hard time explaining to the officers that I called for assistance, was denied, politely asked them to leave my vehicle alone, they attacked, 8 on 1 was an unfair fight, and I defended my life accordingly.
Is it the wisest decision? No. Am I risking everyone involved's lives over a dented fender? No. They are. I have nothing to lose but my life, and I got that for free. Granted, most of you aren't in this situation and have dependents.
I was a very meek child growing up. I had to be told to be more aggressive in sports. Maybe because I was always bigger than everyone and I felt bad for hurting the other kids. Idk. I could always take insults or injustice and tell myself that I can handle it. Rather me than my fragile friends and stuff like that. I was wrong. This world has taught me that path doesn't get me where I want to go.
Too bad for the guys on my car. Too bad for me maybe. I'm just not going to die a little inside every time someone wants to walk all over me anymore.
EDIT to add - Excalibur, I can tell you like the car alarm idea. I've seen many people smash things that made loud noises at them. I've also seen 5 people scatter when the car they were trying to steal's alarm went off. So I'm thinking this could go either way. A couple hits before they scatter could still cost you hundreds of dollars in glass/paint/dent removal.
The persuasive conversation approach might work for someone who is good with words, can speak the language, and can push the right buttons if the folks on the other end of that speech are in a frame of mind that's open to suggestion. I wouldn't write it off, but I don't like it because it puts you very close to them and forces you to move way up the use of force continuum in an instant if they react aggressively, as they very well may. One should ask himself beforehand if this were to happen, would the ensuing action and aftermath be worth it, because if things go that way, there won't likely be an opportunity to defuse the situation without violence.
The only other unassisted tactic that would likely be successful would be to forget about it for a while and come back later. Any direct one man intervention would be at very high risk of failure.
Feelings arising from unrelated prior events bring complexity beyond the goals of simply managing the situation to emerge personally unharmed and with an undamaged car. Only the person involved can determine if addressing them by opting for a high risk course of action in a given situation is the best way to go.
For example, if you were in a remote area and you had no cell phone. Would you wait for hours until the thugs left before you could drive home? It may not be a good idea to be in a remote area without a cell phone, but it does happen.