Walking At Night?

Off Topic
1

For most of my life I’ve gone for walks at night. It’s not every night, but it’s a fairly regular thing. I was stopped by a cop once, who interrogated me about getting into a vehicle (for the record, it was my vehicle), but other than that I had never had any issues until last night. I rarely see people around, but when I do, I generally avoid passing them (I usually either turn around or go to the other side of the street). Last night, a guy followed me down the street a ways, and then got out of his car and yelled at me. Basically, that guy has had his car broken into before, and since he’s seen me walking around in the past, he assumes it’s me. He dropped several f-bombs and told me that he would call the cops if he saw me again, or he’d chase me down with a baseball bat. He drove off, and I turned around to go home, but it turns out that his house was on my path, and when he saw me heading home, he started threatening me again, and so I turned around and went a different way home.

So this leaves me with a few questions. First, when I explained this to somebody else, they felt that I needed to stop walking at night. Is walking at night that dangerous? While we certainly have crime, it’s by no means a notorious hotspot for it. I’ve been doing it for years with no problems.

Secondly, is this something I report to the cops? I don’t know that there’s much they can do, but it might be good for them to have it on record. I wrote down his license plate number, and I know his address.

Lastly, if I do continue walking (which is the plan), are there any things I should do for safety purposes? This man was very fat, so the thought of him quickly catching me while running with a baseball bat is laughable, and the cops could get there pretty quickly if I called 911. I’m not sure that he’d even go that far, because his wife seemed terrified for his sake that he even confronted me. Obviously I’d like to avoid being chased with a baseball bat if possible, so I’d avoid walking by his house. I wouldn’t put it past him to call the cops, but there is no fear in that. I’m genuinely going for walks, and I don’t have any desire to steal anything. Getting a dog to take on these walks would be effective, but that’s not very plausible right now. Are there any things I should take with me to defend myself if something happened?

2

Did you tell fatboy that you are just walking and not breaking into cars? Also, CCW would be a good idea if your gonna walk at night
( or in the day for that matter ) depending of course on your State laws. If he threatened you with a baseball bat I’d make a report. Fucking sad a guy can’t just go for a walk without some bullshit. Walking at night is kinda peacefull too. I used to walk my dog at night after work when I was on a afternoon shift. Loved the quiet. good luck.

3

[quote]crowdhater wrote:
Did you tell fatboy that you are just walking and not breaking into cars? Also, CCW would be a good idea if your gonna walk at night
( or in the day for that matter ) depending of course on your State laws. If he threatened you with a baseball bat I’d make a report. Fucking sad a guy can’t just go for a walk without some bullshit. Walking at night is kinda peacefull too. I used to walk my dog at night after work when I was on a afternoon shift. Loved the quiet. good luck.[/quote]

Yeah, I told him I’m just going for a walk, but he said “I don’t wanna fuckin hear it! Go fuckin walk somewhere else!” CCW is a good idea, but I’m not sure how well it work for this situation. I wouldn’t want to actually kill him, so I would basically just be pulling out my gun to get him to rethink coming at me. At that point, although I’ve avoided being beaten with a bat, I’ve most likely put myself in much greater danger in the long run(as well as my roommates). Escalating this beyond bats into a gunfight is something I’d like to avoid at all costs. I currently have a knife I sometimes carry, but I’d probably have to throw it if he had a bat. I’d really just like to carry a baseball bat around, but you can’t hid that very well, and I think that would get the cops called on me just about every night.

If anybody is reading this thinking, “man, this guy really doesn’t know how to defend himself,” you’re right. Any tips on self defense in general are much appreciated.

4

[quote]Eielson wrote:

[quote]crowdhater wrote:
Did you tell fatboy that you are just walking and not breaking into cars? Also, CCW would be a good idea if your gonna walk at night
( or in the day for that matter ) depending of course on your State laws. If he threatened you with a baseball bat I’d make a report. Fucking sad a guy can’t just go for a walk without some bullshit. Walking at night is kinda peacefull too. I used to walk my dog at night after work when I was on a afternoon shift. Loved the quiet. good luck.[/quote]

Yeah, I told him I’m just going for a walk, but he said “I don’t wanna fuckin hear it! Go fuckin walk somewhere else!” CCW is a good idea, but I’m not sure how well it work for this situation. I wouldn’t want to actually kill him, so I would basically just be pulling out my gun to get him to rethink coming at me. At that point, although I’ve avoided being beaten with a bat, I’ve most likely put myself in much greater danger in the long run(as well as my roommates). Escalating this beyond bats into a gunfight is something I’d like to avoid at all costs. I currently have a knife I sometimes carry, but I’d probably have to throw it if he had a bat. I’d really just like to carry a baseball bat around, but you can’t hid that very well, and I think that would get the cops called on me just about every night.

If anybody is reading this thinking, “man, this guy really doesn’t know how to defend himself,” you’re right. Any tips on self defense in general are much appreciated.[/quote]

If you’re telling yourself “Yea, I should grab my gun to be able to walk in this area at such and such time”, you shouldn’t go to that spot. The best self defense method is not getting into a jackpot in the first place. Don’t let anyone tell you different.

5

A CCW would be good but only if you know you would absolutely be able to use it correctly if needed. Seems like you already know what to do by avoiding any kind of scenario by walking away from people and avoiding confrontation.

6

Do you have the means to learn any combat sport like boxing, kickboxing, mma, BJJ etc…? Traditional martial arts aren’t very useful in your situation or any situation that isn’t a set up in class scenario.

It’s not an immediate solution but it’s worth it in the long run.

As for right now, if anything did happen just run. If at all possible your first reaction should be to run but if a gun is involved then i’ve no idea…

7

[quote]WN76 wrote:

[quote]Eielson wrote:

[quote]crowdhater wrote:
Did you tell fatboy that you are just walking and not breaking into cars? Also, CCW would be a good idea if your gonna walk at night
( or in the day for that matter ) depending of course on your State laws. If he threatened you with a baseball bat I’d make a report. Fucking sad a guy can’t just go for a walk without some bullshit. Walking at night is kinda peacefull too. I used to walk my dog at night after work when I was on a afternoon shift. Loved the quiet. good luck.[/quote]

Yeah, I told him I’m just going for a walk, but he said “I don’t wanna fuckin hear it! Go fuckin walk somewhere else!” CCW is a good idea, but I’m not sure how well it work for this situation. I wouldn’t want to actually kill him, so I would basically just be pulling out my gun to get him to rethink coming at me. At that point, although I’ve avoided being beaten with a bat, I’ve most likely put myself in much greater danger in the long run(as well as my roommates). Escalating this beyond bats into a gunfight is something I’d like to avoid at all costs. I currently have a knife I sometimes carry, but I’d probably have to throw it if he had a bat. I’d really just like to carry a baseball bat around, but you can’t hid that very well, and I think that would get the cops called on me just about every night.

If anybody is reading this thinking, “man, this guy really doesn’t know how to defend himself,” you’re right. Any tips on self defense in general are much appreciated.[/quote]

If you’re telling yourself “Yea, I should grab my gun to be able to walk in this area at such and such time”, you shouldn’t go to that spot. The best self defense method is not getting into a jackpot in the first place. Don’t let anyone tell you different.
[/quote]

That’s the thing, though. I’ve never felt I needed any kind of weapon before. My only concern is this one paranoid neighbor of mine who may potentially chase me with a baseball bat. In all honesty, I don’t think he would actually swing a baseball bat at me. I highly doubt he’d even do more than yell from his car (if he even does that again). He made the threat, though, so now I have to prepare for the potential danger.

8

Does anybody know about batons? An expandable baton looked like it would be good to have around, but I guess those are illegal in Oklahoma. I’ll look to see if they have any exceptions, but it looks doubtful. Then again, I guess he’d still have a reach advantage on me. I suppose if he caught up to me (which is very unlikely and the absolute last resort), the best thing to do would be to get close enough that he can’t swing the bat. At that point, I’ll probably just be acting on instinct, though.

Learning a combat sport would be useful. My father got sick, though, so I’m completely on my own to pay for school now, and med school may be in the future. I don’t know if I could afford to be taught.

9

You might consider visiting that same neighbor during the day and making your (unusual) plans completely transparent.

But really, until you get a dog and thereby present an appearance of normalcy, you’re exposing yourself to the potentially irrational behavior of random strangers and the potential harm that that entails.

10

I would start taking walks with a basebell bat. But take the barrel-end of the bat and drill it out for a 1" x 6" piece of steel rod. Hang a baseball mitt off the end of the bat, rest it on your shoulder and go for your walks. So if anyone stops you, you are coming back from hitting a ball around and it’ll look legit. I doubt this idiot will ever stop you again.

Years back I lived in a rough area. Me and my girlfriend both carried a gun most of the time when we were out. If we were just out walking the dog, I’d carry a baseball bat with me. 100% of the people we came up on would cross the street.

Rob

11

[quote]chillain wrote:
You might consider visiting that same neighbor during the day and making your (unusual) plans completely transparent.

But really, until you get a dog and thereby present an appearance of normalcy, you’re exposing yourself to the potentially irrational behavior of random strangers and the potential harm that that entails.
[/quote]

THIS.

Stop by dumb fuck’s house during the day and explain to him that you live right up the street in his neighborhood and you really are just out for a casual stroll.

What are you wearing when you do this? I don’t really understand if you are just out in some gym shorts and a t-shirt or something but if you are walking around with a ski mask on I may understand.

12

I run at night – and live in bear, cougar, wolf country — and have, indeed, been stalked by wolves a couple times when trail running at night.

I carry bear spary — super, extra strength, pepper spray with a shooting distance like wasp spray. Big can.

I sometimes will strap a pistol (10mm Glock — overkill for people, but not for a bear) on in the fall when bears are feeding up for winter (like now). It goes in a fanny pack slung over my shoulder, but keep the bear spray in my hand.

You can get bear spray at pretty much any outdoor outfitter place if you are not in a pussy state where only the rich Democrats get to carry guns.

13

[quote]Eielson wrote:
Does anybody know about batons? An expandable baton looked like it would be good to have around, but I guess those are illegal in Oklahoma. I’ll look to see if they have any exceptions, but it looks doubtful. Then again, I guess he’d still have a reach advantage on me. I suppose if he caught up to me (which is very unlikely and the absolute last resort), the best thing to do would be to get close enough that he can’t swing the bat. At that point, I’ll probably just be acting on instinct, though.

Learning a combat sport would be useful. My father got sick, though, so I’m completely on my own to pay for school now, and med school may be in the future. I don’t know if I could afford to be taught.[/quote]

A baton would be very useful if you don’t want to pack heat. I have a 3’ collapsible baton from S&W and you would have no problem defending yourself except from a gun.

I second the others sayings to carry a pistol though. Fatty with a batty won’t fuck with you when you pull a gun out and tell him to go home.

EDIT:
^Bear spray is cheaper and non lethal. Might be a better option than a firearm.

14

Don’t be black
Don’t have a hood
Don’t eat skittles
you should be good otherwise.

15

Man, that sucks. I walk at night all the time, it is such a peaceful time. Great time to just think and relax, especially right before bed. I agree with the idea of going over and talking to him during the day, let him see that you are an honest dude just out for a stroll.

16

If some fat fuck stopped in his car and threatened me I would tell him to put up or shut up. The peaceful route is better in my opinion. But if you don’t know how to fight you want to learn that asap. Talking down situations is the best form of stopping altercation’s but some stupid fuckers will look to fight you for no reason other than that they have displaced anger issues .

Training in mma or boxing or grappling will get you in better condition and will help with mobility. Also may get out some energy you feel necessary to walk at night time, or get a king Shepherd and no one will fuck with you. People see mine at night and their demeanor changes in a flash.

17

[quote]Airtruth wrote:
Don’t be black
Don’t have a hood
Don’t eat skittles
you should be good otherwise.[/quote]

Also, don’t attack creepy cracker because you’re a stupid hothead.

18

[quote]Jlabs wrote:
or get a king Shepherd and no one will fuck with you.[/quote]
I would.

19

[quote]csulli wrote:

[quote]Jlabs wrote:
or get a king Shepherd and no one will fuck with you.[/quote]
I would.[/quote]

I bet you could take a pack of King Shepherds.

20

100 King Shepherds V.S. Csulli??