blackbird
100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- May 29, 2009
- Posts
- 354
- Likes
- 12
I have never been robbed before, and of course I never plan to. Unfortunately, it is inevitable and I need to learn ways to mitigate the risks.
Today, I was almost robbed by a group of kids. One kid (though I must admit he seemed to be 20-23yrs old) asked "The time man, the time?". And of course, I've heard these stories before. There is like 5 people behind him, so why is he asking ME the time, right? Of course it was a ploy. I was eating a sandwich, and was in no position to look at the time, so shrugged him off, and walked away. And then the other kids, who were behind him, said, "he lied to you man, he got a fone in his pocket." But I got away without further ado.
I have gone to this school for the past 2-3yrs and I've never experienced something like this. Frankly, I haven't had someone try this on me anywhere, so I must admit it was pretty frightening. But it is impossible to not walk through this block on the way home. First of all, the school is located in the Bronx, right off of Lehman College. There is this street called "Paul Avenue" which is simply a short North/south throughway, that is not exactly very frequently traveled. Yet, it is better than the other roads near the school. This is the road most kids take, and there are no problems in the morning. But after school, for example, the street can be extremely shady. Very few people walk through there, and there are no places to "run", since it is simply a straight street. The portion of the avenue that I need to walk is adjacent to a park, which is currently closed for construction (adding to the shadiness). In front of the school, there are no problems with safety. At the end of "Paul Avenue" lies Lehman College, and of course, their security is sufficient so that there are no worries about safety there. But this block, which takes about 5 minutes to walk, is impossible to pass through without concern. I often find myself putting on a hood in order to "blend in" and not be a target for attention. But what can I do.
Does anyone have suggestions as to what I could do to decrease my risk for target? The area is not the best, but the school is one of the best in the city, which I go through a 1hr trip each way in order to get to. I think that I am not the first one to be robbed, and I trust that fellow Head-fiiers will be able to offer sound, supportive advice.
Today, I was almost robbed by a group of kids. One kid (though I must admit he seemed to be 20-23yrs old) asked "The time man, the time?". And of course, I've heard these stories before. There is like 5 people behind him, so why is he asking ME the time, right? Of course it was a ploy. I was eating a sandwich, and was in no position to look at the time, so shrugged him off, and walked away. And then the other kids, who were behind him, said, "he lied to you man, he got a fone in his pocket." But I got away without further ado.
I have gone to this school for the past 2-3yrs and I've never experienced something like this. Frankly, I haven't had someone try this on me anywhere, so I must admit it was pretty frightening. But it is impossible to not walk through this block on the way home. First of all, the school is located in the Bronx, right off of Lehman College. There is this street called "Paul Avenue" which is simply a short North/south throughway, that is not exactly very frequently traveled. Yet, it is better than the other roads near the school. This is the road most kids take, and there are no problems in the morning. But after school, for example, the street can be extremely shady. Very few people walk through there, and there are no places to "run", since it is simply a straight street. The portion of the avenue that I need to walk is adjacent to a park, which is currently closed for construction (adding to the shadiness). In front of the school, there are no problems with safety. At the end of "Paul Avenue" lies Lehman College, and of course, their security is sufficient so that there are no worries about safety there. But this block, which takes about 5 minutes to walk, is impossible to pass through without concern. I often find myself putting on a hood in order to "blend in" and not be a target for attention. But what can I do.
Does anyone have suggestions as to what I could do to decrease my risk for target? The area is not the best, but the school is one of the best in the city, which I go through a 1hr trip each way in order to get to. I think that I am not the first one to be robbed, and I trust that fellow Head-fiiers will be able to offer sound, supportive advice.
