Aware of what is around you?

[Pathfinder]

Fun pastime in restaurants too - you can find out all sorts of interesting stuff. People think that sitting at a table in a crowded restaurant they are effectively alone! Go figure.

The guy in the booth with the 5.11 tactical vest on.
The fellow at the next table with the Glock hat on.
The woman carrying an open purse slung over shoulder and pushed to her back - open.
The people at another table loudly exchanging personal information - phone numbers, addresses, their childrens' names, the schools they go to, etc.

The sheep are clueless. Reminds me of the guy in Godfather watching all of the money envelopes being loaded into the pillowcase - if this weren't the Don's daughter's wedding. Well, the wolves are out there, and they are taking notes.

[Frisco]

Fun pastime in restaurants too - you can find out all sorts of interesting stuff. People think that sitting at a table in a crowded restaurant they are effectively alone! Go figure.

The guy in the booth with the 5.11 tactical vest on.
The fellow at the next table with the Glock hat on.
The woman carrying an open purse slung over shoulder and pushed to her back - open.
The people at another table loudly exchanging personal information - phone numbers, addresses, their childrens' names, the schools they go to, etc.

The sheep are clueless. Reminds me of the guy in Godfather watching all of the money envelopes being loaded into the pillowcase - if this weren't the Don's daughter's wedding. Well, the wolves are out there, and they are taking notes.

I don't wear anything that would give me away as a rule.  I tend toward jeans or khaki chinos, and hiking boots....though my hiking is in SMALL doses.  I wear colored cotton t-shirts with open denim or plain flannel depending on season covering them.  I avoid GLOCK hats or SMITH & WESSON, or anything that remotely looks "tacticool".  I prefer to blend in and be anonymous. 

That being said...I am always aware, and LOOK aware.  I still give a pretty good glare, and a "Don't mess with me" demeanor.  Not being a badass, or billy bad news...just don't play the part of victim.  I stand 6'5" and weigh 335lbs, so I am not a natural choice for a predator anyway.  Even when using my scooter, I look LARGE.  Having my cane with me, also sends a signal that I CAN walk...so, I don't exude "easy prey".  When I am walking, my head is up, and my eyes are scanning.  I NEVER stare at the floor as I walk.  That is victim posture.

I am never confrontational.  I prefer to navigate the rocks and shoals of my life, doing as little damage as I can along the way.  I open doors for ladies and seniors.  I always thank vets and soldiers for their service.  I try to be remembered as a polite feller.  That way IF the balloon goes up, I will be remembered as polite, and not a "bad guy" as someone who is large can often be mistaken as.  I find the vast majority of big guys are the most easy going you will ever meet.  We have nothing to prove, and just want to go through our day.

If confronted by someone who is mad that I got the height gene, and he didn't...I will play the part of the peacemaker.  I will play it loudly by saying..."I don't want trouble"  or  "Excuse me, that was my fault...I apologize for bumping into you" even though he might have bumped me in order to get a reaction.  I want LE to hear from witnesses that I was the one who said..."Excuse me"  "I am sorry"  etc...etc...etc...  It doesn't tweak my ego one bit to say excuse me.  I have nothing to prove.  Even though I know I can still twist this guys head off like a pimple and pop it like a party balloon...why go through the hassle.  Unless, what I believe to be a credible threat is made, I am going to respond like a total pacifist.  It looks GREAT in court later.

On the other hand...if my daughter or wife is threatened...I am like the angry hulk.  No one is more defendable than a handicapped man protecting his child.  That goves me a lot more latitude in how I would deal with a threat. 

What are some of your thoughts?

[TAB]

Professional crimals tend to go after those that look weak... only prob is there are very few professional crimals, mainly drug addicts.  Drug addicts have no "type" and are very unpredictable.

[Robin]

I still give a pretty good glare, and a "Don't mess with me" demeanor. I am never confrontational.

These two statements sound contradictory. A good glare is enough to get you in trouble with the wrong person. Gerbil voodoo might get you out of it but just as well might not.

On another note, here's something you can do to improve your situational awareness while walking: stay at least an arm's length away from corners. Distance gives you time to see threats and react. If you walk right next to a hard corner you have no time to notice or react to someone lying in wait to jump you.

[Frisco]

These two statements sound contradictory. A good glare is enough to get you in trouble with the wrong person. Gerbil voodoo might get you out of it but just as well might not.

On another note, here's something you can do to improve your situational awareness while walking: stay at least an arm's length away from corners. Distance gives you time to see threats and react. If you walk right next to a hard corner you have no time to notice or react to someone lying in wait to jump you.

I should have clarified.  A "good glare" as I mentioned is the "I KNOW WHAT IS GOING ON AROUND ME GLARE".  True, there are the little tough guy wannabes, who will give you the "What'choo lookin' at?" attitude, but they don't need the glare.  They are easily spotted, just by their posturing and peacocking.  We have all seen it a hundred times.  You note them, you recognize what they are.  You move on.  You pay them no attention UNLESS they approach, which they most often won't because they KNOW you aren't someone they can intimidate.  The quiet and confident man is not the choice for turds like this.

You know what is going on around you. You see them.  You notice them.  They cannot surprise you or ambush you.  You are not prey.  You are not a good target.

It all comes down to what works for you.  What works for me, may fail miserably for you.  The glare works for me.  If I lock eyes with someone, I usually give a nod of my head.  A little gesture like that sends no challenge, but it lets them know you are aware.

[Sponsor]

[Pathfinder]

These two statements sound contradictory. A good glare is enough to get you in trouble with the wrong person. Gerbil voodoo might get you out of it but just as well might not.

On another note, here's something you can do to improve your situational awareness while walking: stay at least an arm's length away from corners. Distance gives you time to see threats and react. If you walk right next to a hard corner you have no time to notice or react to someone lying in wait to jump you.

Watch Heat, the part where DeNiro is beating the crap out of Wingo in the restaurant, and when a BIG guy in another booth takes notice and looks like he's going to be a hero, look at the move Tom Sizemore does. That is giving a look without being confrontational.

[PegLeg45]

I don't wear anything that would give me away as a rule.  I tend toward jeans or khaki chinos, and hiking boots....though my hiking is in SMALL doses.  I wear colored cotton t-shirts with open denim or plain flannel depending on season covering them.  I avoid GLOCK hats or SMITH & WESSON, or anything that remotely looks "tacticool".  I prefer to blend in and be anonymous. 

That being said...I am always aware, and LOOK aware.  I still give a pretty good glare, and a "Don't mess with me" demeanor.  Not being a badass, or billy bad news...just don't play the part of victim.  I stand 6'5" and weigh 335lbs, so I am not a natural choice for a predator anyway.  Even when using my scooter, I look LARGE.  Having my cane with me, also sends a signal that I CAN walk...so, I don't exude "easy prey".  When I am walking, my head is up, and my eyes are scanning.  I NEVER stare at the floor as I walk.  That is victim posture.

I am never confrontational.  I prefer to navigate the rocks and shoals of my life, doing as little damage as I can along the way.  I open doors for ladies and seniors.  I always thank vets and soldiers for their service.  I try to be remembered as a polite feller.  That way IF the balloon goes up, I will be remembered as polite, and not a "bad guy" as someone who is large can often be mistaken as.  I find the vast majority of big guys are the most easy going you will ever meet.  We have nothing to prove, and just want to go through our day.

If confronted by someone who is mad that I got the height gene, and he didn't...I will play the part of the peacemaker.  I will play it loudly by saying..."I don't want trouble"  or  "Excuse me, that was my fault...I apologize for bumping into you" even though he might have bumped me in order to get a reaction.  I want LE to hear from witnesses that I was the one who said..."Excuse me"  "I am sorry"  etc...etc...etc...  It doesn't tweak my ego one bit to say excuse me.  I have nothing to prove.  Even though I know I can still twist this guys head off like a pimple and pop it like a party balloon...why go through the hassle.  Unless, what I believe to be a credible threat is made, I am going to respond like a total pacifist.  It looks GREAT in court later.

On the other hand...if my daughter or wife is threatened...I am like the angry hulk.  No one is more defendable than a handicapped man protecting his child.  That goves me a lot more latitude in how I would deal with a threat. 

What are some of your thoughts?

I think it's kinda scary.......that I might have a "long-lost twin brother" on the other side of the country.   

You have a couple of inches on me in height, and I have sons instead of a daughter, but everything else you wrote is about as dead on to me and how I've always tried to carry myself and present myself to others....... as if I'd wrote it myself.
I've been a big man all my life, but I've never acted the bad-ass part...just the mild-mannered big-man giving out the subtle clues in my mannerisms that said "don't poke the sleeping gorilla while in the monkey-house".
I've always tried to avoid confrontation because it usually serves to no good end. Mostly I've been lucky at avoidance. Most intelligent folks don't want to tangle with a six-foot two, three hundred plus man, regardless of whether they 'think' he can fight or not. The real danger in this aspect of it is that when firearms or other weapons are involved, the big man, being perceived as the 'biggest threat', might be picked as the first target. There, again, is where the situational awareness come into play.



I was working part-time in a juke-joint years ago and was involved in the breaking up of a fight. About the time I got the two guys apart, one of them had three buddies run up to jump in. The first one to approach got two broken ribs from a backhanded forearm and the other two (lagging behind the first) got, as you say, 'the look'. They decided they were better off over in the corner booth drinking beer while my LEO friends were hauling the others to jail.


This is a good discussion.

 






P.S.
Frisco, if you ARE my twin, you must be one fine lookin' feller.......          

[tt11758]

I think it's kinda scary.......that I might have a "long-lost twin brother" on the other side of the country.   

You have a couple of inches on me in height, and I have sons instead of a daughter, but everything else you wrote is about as dead on to me and how I've always tried to carry myself and present myself to others....... as if I'd wrote it myself.
I've been a big man all my life, but I've never acted the bad-ass part...just the mild-mannered big-man giving out the subtle clues in my mannerisms that said "don't poke the sleeping gorilla while in the monkey-house".
I've always tried to avoid confrontation because it usually serves to no good end. Mostly I've been lucky at avoidance. Most intelligent folks don't want to tangle with a six-foot two, three hundred plus man, regardless of whether they 'think' he can fight or not. The real danger in this aspect of it is that when firearms or other weapons are involved, the big man, being perceived as the 'biggest threat', might be picked as the first target. There, again, is where the situational awareness come into play.



I was working part-time in a juke-joint years ago and was involved in the breaking up of a fight. About the time I got the two guys apart, one of them had three buddies run up to jump in. The first one to approach got two broken ribs from a backhanded forearm and the other two (lagging behind the first) got, as you say, 'the look'. They decided they were better off over in the corner booth drinking beer while my LEO friends were hauling the others to jail.


This is a good discussion.

 






P.S.
Frisco, if you ARE my twin, you must be one fine lookin' feller.......          

I'm thinking maybe we're triplets, except that I'm in the middle at 6-4. 

[1911 Junkie]

Why do I feel like Danny Devito in Twins?

[Thanos]

I like to walk past someone's shopping cart and toss in a box of Magnum Size condoms when they aren't looking, then follow them to the checkout. The best was when I was in an Old Navy store, I spied a box of those clothing tags that set off the alarm and tossed one into a lady's open purse. Security wanted to look in her purse after they checked everything else, she was not getting out of the store until they knew what it was...that was funny to watch.