How the way we walk can increase risk of being mugged

[FBM]

Oh, I didn't mean to imply that you were doing that. It's obvious that you're not. I was speaking more generically there.

[JimC]

I walk fast, head down, hoodie up. If I get close to anyone that looks like they might be trouble, I start muttering randomness to myself, "Mulberry... no it was Tuesday, so it would be upholstered. Or perhaps bluer than usual. A tree! A tree? Don't be silly, mother!" etc.

Never been mugged yet. And I used to walk home from work at 4am every day.

But that's just how I imagine you behaving all the time!

[Seth]

I walk fast, head down, hoodie up. If I get close to anyone that looks like they might be trouble, I start muttering randomness to myself, "Mulberry... no it was Tuesday, so it would be upholstered. Or perhaps bluer than usual. A tree! A tree? Don't be silly, mother!" etc.

Never been mugged yet. And I used to walk home from work at 4am every day.

But that's just how I imagine you behaving all the time!

No, he's doing exactly as I suggest, just using a different method of conflict avoidance...which he practices to make it convincing. Good work!

[Animavore]

I was once mugged when I was young and I do think it's because I walked quickly and with my head down like I wanted to get off the streets as fast as possible.

I learned (from my short time as a Buddhist) that if you walk slowly, with your head high, it gives off an impression of confidence. But not only that, it tricks your brain into thinking you're confident. No one has mugged me since. I also noticed that women are more likely to smile at you if you walk like this.



Of course it could all be a big placebo effect and those Buddhists tricked me like some sort of trickster of confidence.

[FBM]

[pErvinalia]

Fucken Buddhist Monks!

[LucidFlight]

@FBM... Yeah, I've got to admit, I'd considered being armed in South Africa. Although, if you stay in the right areas, it seems perfectly safe. I only once felt in danger when I was there, when my ex-wife decided to take us on a tour of the streets of Jo'burg and we accidentally wound up in one of the more ghetto suburbs. That was considerably frightening..

But even you must be generalising about the US, surely? I can't believe it's all mass shootings and drive by shootings all over the country. Surely there's a massive swathe of the country that isn't affected by high crime?

Yup. And guess where most of the guns are kept? In that swath. Guess where few to no guns are kept...in the high crime areas.

Correlation and causation.

Places where guns are carried more routinely by law-abiding citizens experience a substantially lower violent crime rate than places where law-abiding citizens are disarmed by the government.

Very true. I'm no expert, but I suspect it's those non-law-abiding citizens that are not disarmed by the government that seem to affect the crime rate.

[FBM]

Fucken Buddhist Monks!

You don't realize it yet, but I prepped you to say that.

[Seth]

Very true. I'm no expert, but I suspect it's those non-law-abiding citizens that are not disarmed by the government that seem to affect the crime rate.

This is correct. Of course it brings up the essential conundrum of how disarming law abiding citizens serves to disarm criminals. Here's the answer: It doesn't. And therein lies the objection to "gun control" laws that only apply to law-abiding citizens.