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“What Is The Most Terrifying Thing To Happen To You In A Well-Lit And Populated Place?”: 30 People Tell Some Terrifying Stories
Most of the population feels totally safe in broad daylight. Think of the public places from bus stations to malls, from crowded streets to squares, here we are surrounded by an seemingly infinite amount of strangers. So we assume nothing can happen to us.
Unfortunately, this is not precisely the case. Quite on the contrary, in some peculiar instances, people find themselves in creepy and sometimes plain dangerous situations even though it’s a lit and crowded place.
So you may wonder how on earth that happens. This thread that has people sharing “the most terrifying thing to happen to you in a well-lit and populated place” has some answers.
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#1
"Sitting on a bus on my way to school one morning in my catholic school-girl uniform (knee-length skirt with opaque tights and button-down shirt) when I notice that I can feel the back of the hand and knuckles of the guy next to me on the outside of my upper thigh. He had his arms folded with his jean jacket over them. I thought nothing of it and moved to give some space between us. Our bumpy ride continues and I'm engrossed in my book. I feel his hand again and so I move again. The bus became more crowded and then I feel his palm grab and rub my thigh. I was shocked. I don't know if it was a flight response or that my brain clicked into autopilot because I booked it off the bus - probably both.
"I told my friends who were on the bus with me. Another friend spoke up and said she had had a similar experience a few weeks ago. I drew a picture of the guy as best I could (his profile was very memorable) and we filed a report with the police.
"Months go by. I was standing on the same public bus, chatting with friends. I see a student from my school from a younger year sitting alone in the back of the bus, and I see the jean jacket guy sit right next to her!
"I don't know where it all came from, but I was so empowered in that moment. I f*cking screamed at him. I can't even really recall what I said. Something to the effect of, 'Hey you. Get the f*ck off this bus. You grabbed my leg. You grabbed her leg (pointing to my friend). And something tells me you'd like to grab this girl's leg too. Get the f*ck out of here, you f*cking pervert. I reported you to the police and I'll tell them you're here again so they can catch you.'"
"He BOOKED it off the bus and we never saw him again. I followed up with the cops, but I have no idea whatever came of it (probably nothing). I'm pretty proud of 16-year-old me, speaking up like that though - first time."
Pink kitty 3 years ago
You go girl!! I'm proud of how courageous you are. First for reporting it to the police and second for yelling at him. Creeps become bolder when no one stops them
Andrea Delden 3 years ago
I had something similar happen when I was 19. I was on a city bus to college and a guy sat next to me and got creepy so I moved over, then he moved closer and I moved again; I was almost falling off the seat! The next stop a bunch of people got off and I moved seats. He moved and sat beside me again, before I could do anything an older man, maybe 40, stood up and told him to leave me alone and to get off the bus! He did! A couple of other people on the bus agreed with him! I loved that I was so protected!
Katie Lutesinger 3 years ago
She did exactly the right thing. While acknowledging of course that it's not always easy to speak up, silence is what enables these shitheads to keep getting away with it.
Mykidsartrocks 3 years ago
That courage came from you wanting to protect someone. I sincerely wish you a wonderful life.
RELATED:
#2
Was taking my kids for a walk in the park near our apartment once when a guy and a woman came out of the tree line suddenly and the guy said to give him my wallet and anything else in my pockets. He had some weird screwdriver / knife thing and I pushed my daughter, my eldest child, behind me. I was going to do the same for my son but the woman grabbed his other arm for some reason and my heart felt like it was going to explode for some reason, I suddenly forgot about self preservation and jumped forwards and broke the woman's nose. I felt a sharp pain under my ribs and looked to see that the man had just shanked me, but at this point two other guys who had been jogging were running up and shouting.
The police that patrolled the park showed up not long after that. I was sitting and trying not to bleed to death, the man had ran off and his screwdriver was still in me. The woman was on the ground crying and shouting because I had also knocked the top front of her teeth loose / out. The two joggers were originally asking the woman if I was the assaulter but the situation cleared up soon. I got taken to the hospital and questioned about the incident, there was a while when it looked like I was going to be charged with battery for the woman since it turns out she actually had a decently well off family, was just an addict. They tried to sue me but it was thrown out and she was sentenced for attempted kidnapping.
I had a tube in my chest for two weeks after my surgery to remove the shank, but it all cleared up after that. Just glad my kids are safe.
**EDIT**: I am male. Sorry for not clarifying. The mother of my children passed away several years ago.
Stannous Flouride 3 years ago
Saying she "was just an addict" does nothing to excuse her behavior. (ex-junkie here)
BetterBitterButter 3 years ago
I can't imagine being in this guy's place. It's great that in the end everyone was okay(although he was injured) but still reading this made me feel weird so can't imagine how they must have felt.
#3
When I was really young, a guy stopped me when I was leaving school and asked if I liked PlayStation and Nintendo. I told him I did, and that I really liked final fantasy and he said "what a coincidence, I have that with a TV in my van. wanna come play?"
I told him I had to ask my mom first, and to stay here. I ran home and called my mom to ask, and she told me to lock the door, get in the basement, and don't open the door for anyone. She explained what was happening to me when she got home and once I knew, I was pretty freaked out.
Falcon 3 years ago
Have a somewhat similar story. Was walking home from a friend, might have been like 8 years old. I walk past a car where a dude is sitting in the back seat of the car with the door open. He asks me if I want to see some kittens that are apparently next to him on the backseat, but for me to see tgem, I'd have to lean over him. I remember it seemed very strange to me. So I responded with "nah, I prefer dogs" and ran away. To this day I dread to think if he succeeded in his plan with another kid.
Nicki 3 years ago
I tell my kids if they get grabbed in a public place to start cussing loudly because most people won't turn around for a kid just screaming, but if a child is screaming something like, "I don't f*cking know this a$$hole, and he is f*cking trying to grab me!!" All adults will turn around to see a cursing child, even if it is just out of curiosity and someone will most likely help.
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DC 3 years ago
Parents should tell their kids how to react to such. Every kid coming home, asking if they're allowed to do such things already gave in an inch too much!
Kaa 3 years ago
I think the reaction was really good: first ask mom if it's okay. The kid trusts their mother. Trusting your parents is the most important base for a child to keep out of trouble/danger.
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Mimi 3 years ago
My daughter is 2 months shy of 4 and "Stranger Danger" does not exist to her, she loves everything and everyone and is scares the living daylight out of me. I don't know what to do.
Rosemary Booth 3 years ago (edited)
Get her one of those backpack leashes, and don't even worry about other people's opinions. I have a sister who is 1 year older than me, and when I was around 2-3 years old my mom would take us shopping. Mom would tell us "Ok both of you hold on to the cart." and my sister would stand right there next to the cart, all prim and proper, and wouldn't move an inch. I, on the other hand, was a little hellion and I was super fast and could climb out of the cart's child seat in two seconds flat. So I'd be two aisles over making friends with random shoppers by the time Mom turned her head back. So, she put me on a backpack leash and of course received all the judgmental looks and comments, but she said "I don't care what you all think, my child is alive and not lost or getting run over by a car or getting in some stranger's van!"
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Teresa Taylor 3 years ago
Thank goodness you were smart enough to know you needed to ask permission first and actually DID ask.
Talitha Jansen 3 years ago
You were home alone at a really young age? That's not very safe at all.
#4
I was a Senior in High School and was dropping my girlfriend off at her house. She lived in a pretty ghetto area, and I was from the "nice" part of town. As I was saying bye to her, her neighbor from across the street walked over to us and started yelling at me. This guy was our age and I guess she knew him as well. He started yelling at me for some reason, so I started walking towards him to do who knows what, when he said "I have a gun and I'm gonna f*****g kill you". At this I just stop in my tracks trying to determine if he's being serious. And then my girlfriend stalks past me, walks up to him and slaps him in the face as hard as she can and yells "get the f**k out of here Junior and go home!". I stood there thinking "Holy s**t, she just owned that guy". That was 15 years ago and we're now expecting our third kid :)
Teresa Taylor 3 years ago
Yes! Definitely want to marry the woman that can protect you from harm.
#5
I was standing on a bus during London's morning rush. It was an absolute crush - nowhere to move. I felt a boner press into the back of me, so I shouted for the driver to stop the bus. He promptly ignored me.
I had absolutely nowhere to go. I was trapped. And then this man reached under my skirt and tried to stick his fingers up my [private parts], so I kept shouting what was happening. Nobody on the bus did anything. The driver wouldn't stop, so I struggled with this man who, by that time, was holding me by my crotch and licking me.
So at the next stop - Warren Street - the doors open and I ran. This man chased me until he caught me and put me in a bear hug and kept telling me he was going to rape me then and there in broad daylight. I threatened to stab him in the eye with my keys (in my hand and pressing into his eye) and he backed off.
I kept shouting for people to call the police (I didn't have a mobile at the time) and people just kept walking past.
So I ran to work. The police thankfully took me very seriously. They said that the CCTV systems on the bus weren't working at the time, so it would be difficult to identify my assailant.
A week later, this same bus was bombed in 7/7. I wasn't on it because I was terrified that some man would do this again. That certainly isn't to say that I would have been on that exact bus at that exact time it was blown up, but I also know that the CCTV wasn't working, making it harder for the police to identify the bomber.
It was the absolute helplessness I felt, whereby every person around me watched, but didn't do anything. Hundreds of people - passersby, the bus driver, my fellow passengers on the bus all pretended that it wasn't happening. The terror of what happened in that instant didn't stick around (thankfully,) but the mistrust of the bystander effect keeps me on my guard 11 years later.
It also means that whenever I see people in trouble, I make a point of helping instead of standing idly by. I will not allow anything like this to happen to anybody else. It has gotten me in sticky situations, but I don't want another person feeling the helplessness that I did.
Lesley Melville 3 years ago
I am so sorry that you went through that. :-( Like you...I've been through situations (though thankfully not quite the same) that have made it so that I am more aware of what's going on around me these days, and I do not hesitate to stand up for myself or someone else.
Cecily Holland 3 years ago
Cowardly, selfish and nasty. That’s your attacker and all the POS around you that refused to help
Stannous Flouride 3 years ago
The number of times I have read about authorities saying, "We can't do anything because the CCTV wasn't working," makes me suspect that either they can't be bothered or none of the cameras were ever operational.
Katiekat 3 years ago
HELP OTHER PEOPLE! Shank any male who starts anything with a woman that you can clearly see is in distress.
Hutt'nKloas 3 years ago (edited)
I'm pro interfering but shanking someone without knowing exactly whats going on [even when others are in distress] has its own riscs. Wimen that end up in a fight are not pro definition always innocent[they might know eachother and have long standing arguements & she might have started it]. Secondly depending on where you live..........you can interfere but when physically harming someone with a weapon can get you jailed. It's all up to your personal choice but be aware there might be a huge price to be payed if you handle it wrong. I used to be a bouncer in my younger years, had my share of that kind of s**t.
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Katie Lutesinger 3 years ago
That was one of the most horrible things I ever read in my life. :(
Kantami Blossom 3 years ago
Under the UK's knife laws you can carry an EDC knife without needing a justifying reason providing said knife is a non-locking folding knife with a blade no more than 3inc(7.62centimetres) in length. I personally suggest all women carry one in an easy to reach pocket for precisely that sort of situation because a quick stab to the hand will serve as a warning, the blood on the blade will give police a DNA sample, and when the bawbag starts shouting he's been stabbed people will automatically break out their phones and start recording.
Yay Pandas! 3 years ago
D&MN IT. Absolutely despicable gross behavior on the BYSTANDERS to let sh&t go on like that!! May both the attacker and the evil people who stood my and let him do this get karma served to them smack in the face. Or other tender spots!
#6
When I was twelve years old I was beaten up in a crowded bus station at rush hour by a boy several years older than me for absolutely no reason whatsoever. It was a completely unprovoked attack and I was trapped against a one-way door. The adults standing around waiting for their buses to go home from work did absolutely nothing to help me or to stop me from being attacked.
BirFromHH 3 years ago
I learned to bei a bystander: Young guy harassing even younger woman at the subway station where I just came in. She cried "Help" and "No" and seemed terrified of the guy. I marched up an told him to stop (I am female). Result: the two of them ganged up against me, telling me to stop being nosey, to mind my own business, to geht the f... away, ... I will only try tohelp again if someone adresses me specifically.
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Helen Waight 3 years ago
I’m sorry. I was assaulted at lunchtime in central London and nobody even stopped. To this day I won’t go to that city ever again.
mst 3 years ago
I really can't understand at all why people allow violence. I don't think when I see such things, I scream I'm calling police or I just do. After, I may worry so I'm more careful about waiting for buses/walking at times when there's pretty much no one else around, but I shouldn't anyway because creeps. I wish people didn't allow others to ever be psycho, especially when it's right in front of them, we all have phones. YOU CAN CALL 911 AND SAY NOTHING, THEY WILL COME, IT'S THAT EASY. In case anyone doesn't realise
Sarah Turney 3 years ago
How could you just stand there. Yes the fear maybe over whelming but my anger and worry for the poor person would override it
T. Unnamable 3 years ago
I was jumped on and beaten up by a "famous" hometown bully in the early 60s. I was 8 and he was 10 or 11. I had never seen him before and we didn't go to the same elementary school. No one saw anything.
CnCitsdynamite 3 years ago
That’s so terrible. How could anyone just stand by and watch another be assaulted like that?
Yay Pandas! 3 years ago
SH*T. that's despicable behavior and damn it I hope those people get Karma'd right in their face. Or other tender places.
Jane Cortez 3 years ago
:( Reading your account and others makes me so sad for the horrible things that some people have had to go through..
#7
The hospital. Called 911 because my mom had a seizure. At hospital in the ridiculous bright light and the dr comes in and says they found a brain tumor. Texted my sister immediately and then moments later I could hear her sobbing in the waiting area from a where I was.
The beginning of the end.
Your Neighborhood Alien 3 years ago
OP wrote, "She had the tumor removed and we were able to enjoy 3 more years with her before she passed from the brain cancer two years ago this week. Thankful for the additional years of good days with her."
AffenpinscherMom 3 years ago
This is almost exactly what happened to our family. My dad had a seizure and my brother went with him to the hospital and then had to call me and my sister. He passed away a year later.
Ruth Kilpatrick 3 years ago
My oldest son was diagnosed with glioblastoma on August 23. With radiation and chemo we are hoping to have him around for a few more years. We are just hoping and praying for the best outcome.
#8
I accompanied my dad to the hospital while he was undergoing a routine procedure. They put him under for an hour to do a laryngoscopy. I kicked back in the cheery, well-lit lobby with my tablet, playing a game.
I was engrossed in the game, but about ten minutes later I realized the place had gone eerily silent. I looked up and there were no nurses or staff anywhere. I was the only person in what had been a room with a half-dozen people going back and forth. Looking around, I suddenly noticed a red light flashing over one of the doors.
My heart dropped out of my chest. My hands went icy and numb. I started counting the doors. The red light was flashing over my dad's door. I walked slowly down the hallway, trying not to make a sound. I didn't want to disturb anyone. I didn't want to miss any sounds. I didn't want to know what was happening in the room I was walking toward. I felt like a scared seven-year-old.
A nurse came out and he grabbed me on the shoulder. "Hey," he said casually, "we're working with your dad right now but I need to have you wait in the lobby right now, okay?"
"Okay. What's going on?" My voice was small and timid and high and I hated hearing it, hated feeling helpless.
"Oh, we'll be out to talk to you in just a second. Sorry, but I gotta go." He slipped back into the room and the unearthly silence came back. So, I walked back to the lobby and sat down.
A chaplain came by a bit later, as I was sitting motionless. My dad had a heart attack while under. He went into a coma, but they got his heart beating again. As I went in to see him, nurses and doctors filtered out of the room. Blood spatters on the sheets and floor. My dad quiet, wired into a half-dozen machines. About 15 minutes later, when my mom arrived to answer my urgent texts and calls, the lobby had a couple of families in there chatting happily, and the staff was back to its business. We pulled his life support four days later, after learning he was irrevocably brain-dead.
The world can change so fast. Your life can get turned upside-down. Your life can end. And for the people around you, it can just be another day. They go on without even noticing the pain inside you. That was the moment in my life this truth was most starkly plain. Nothing has ever been more terrifying.
Lori S 3 years ago
I’m so sorry for your loss… I wish I had been there to hug you or at the very least hold your hand. I’m a nurse and at times like those just feeling the touch of another human being can make all the difference in the world in that situation.
Surralvampi 3 years ago
I too am sorry for your Loss. My Wife is an advanced paramedic practioner. She sadly sees people on the worse day of their life, but for her, it's a Tuesday. But she can't let that build too much as she is often out on another job again. When my Dad passed, even though it was expected, it felt like I was stood still, but the world carried on turning. I remember vividly, that I had Landed on a different path in life to the one I had been on. And I could see the path I had been walking, and was desperate to return to it. It was like I had accidentally fallen off a steep hill, and as much as I wanted to, I couldn't climb back up to it. I left my 30 year old past self there. And for Months would stare back at her wishing it all wasn't true. Time does heal, but it doesn't erase. That moment is forever woven into my tapestry of life. Only now nearly a decade later, is the wound no longer a stark gaping burn, but has grown over leaving a scar which is absolutely fine. It does get easier.
Load More Replies... Lesley Melville 3 years ago
I'm so sorry for your loss. That was one of the parts I noticed too, after I had my baby girl who was born with a critical congenital heart defect and required lifesaving surgery as a newborn. We were airlifted to a Children's Hospital in a strange city and while she was in surgery, I remember staring out the window and having the most surreal feeling. My world was crashing down around me, and I was terrified that she wouldn't survive...and yet, out the window, life went on. The world kept on spinning and people jogged and grabbed their morning coffees and told jokes and laughed and gossiped....all while I tried to keep breathing and surviving and to pull myself together for this fragile, tiny baby girl who needed her mama to be ok. :-(
Chiara Lago 3 years ago
I'm so sorry for you and your family. I experienced this with both of my parents at different times. While we suffer heaps of grief the world keeps going and for me that was what helped me through it eventually. What I learned is everyone will go this at some point in their lives and as hard as it is, the world doesn't stop. I learned to appreciate the friends and family as well as medical staff trained to be there for the survivors can carry us initially and hopefully we can be there when it's time for them to be supported.
Kantami Blossom 3 years ago
I learned that the hard way the day my mother died, her body was just lying there as we waited for the morticians to collect her and all I could hear was people outside in the street laughing and joking whilst I was in agony feeling like a piece of my soul had been torn from my body.
Lia Salvatore 3 years ago
oh god. I wish to god I could give you a hug, or just be there for you. I am so, so sorry.
Cathleen Day 3 years ago
I'm so sorry. I have been where you were, not a hospital but a friend's house. We were visiting and my father dropped dead. That feeling of eereiness, life as you know it changing in a split second. Looking at everyone else differently because their lives are going on as usual. Hugs to you
Sheila Lambert 3 years ago
I’m at the hospital right this minute waiting for my significant other having a routine endoscopy. Feeling a bit freaked out now. :(
Katie Lutesinger 3 years ago
"The world can change so fast. Your life can get turned upside-down. Your life can end. And for the people around you, it can just be another day. They go on without even noticing the pain inside you. That was the moment in my life this truth was most starkly plain. Nothing has ever been more terrifying." This is very well said, and very very true.
#9
A guy tried to drag me to his room when I was sick and confused at a con. Pulled me right through the lobby.
The only reason I didn't end up in his room is because I couldn't think of how to get away, so I just sat right down in the middle of the lobby and he couldn't pick me back up again.
No one helped.
My friends came back from pulling the car around and found me sitting there. Thankfully they helped me into the car and that was that.
Stephanie Did It 3 years ago
I've read that if possible, the person under attack should call out to a specific bystander "You in the red jacket! Call 911!" and the person called out will be more likely to act. I've never needed to try it and hopefully never will.
Your Neighborhood Alien 3 years ago
OP said, "When we finally got back home I had a 101 fever and I didn't eat for another three days. It was awful," and, "I didn't know it then, but I was developing Ulcerative Colitis. I'm diagnosed now, and I haven't had an attack like that in years."
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Brenda Spagnola-Wilson 3 years ago
Cons are usually very crowded, but seeing someone pulled against their will with that many people someone saw something.
#10
When I was 3, someone tried to kidnap me from a shopping centre. I had been standing next to my mum when some random guy grabbed me by the wrist and started making a fast move to the exit. Even nearly 30 years later I can still remember this vividly, from what he looked like to being too scared to say anything as I was being led out whilst frantically trying to look for my mum. Luckily enough mum had spotted me and screamed as we we're next to the exit and he let me go and ran out. I had nightmares about the man with the yucky eyes for years after this.
Cecily Holland 3 years ago
Almost exactly how James Bulger ended up unalived. His mother literally turned to face the butchers counter with James beside her and had her eyes off of him for a minute. That’s all it takes
Sarah 3 years ago
This is what I immediately thought of. It's also another example of the bystander effect, people saw James and those two but didn't intervene.
Load More Replies... Stannous Flouride 3 years ago
I used to look down on parents who put their kids in harness leashes until we tour out 3 y.o. to a county fair. We never got one but at that moment I COMPLETELY understood the impulse.
Jenny Fullerton 3 years ago
This photo is of Melbourne Central shopping centre in Melbourne Australia
Katie Lutesinger 3 years ago
Exactly what I was going to say! I recognised the giant pocket watch right away. In fact I got my pocket watch repaired there. It's an awesome shopping centre. The Shot Tower for historical interest, a big cinema, etc.
Load More Replies... #11
A couple of years ago I was jogging in the centre of my town as usual, when I realized I was being followed by some guy I had never seen.
He kept trying to talk to me, and at some point he grabbed me from behind and went full molester on me. I shook free then started screaming, knocking on the hood of a car passing by. He ran away, never to be found.
I couldn't jog for over a year.
Edit to add: obligatory rip my inbox, also thanks for the encouraging replies (I resumed jogging after a year or so by the way).
Would also like to remind everyone in a situation of possibile assault to run away, make a lot of noise, run towards houses/people/cars so you can get someone's attention and be helped. Scream "fire!" if need be, people may ignore calls for help but usually respond in case of fire. And, lastly, report the incident to the authorities.
RezFidel 3 years ago (edited)
"Scream "fire!" if need be, people may ignore calls for help but usually respond in case of fire." Please dont. There is NO evicence for that! Stick to HELP or and loudly describe what is wrong. "FIRE" screams may even lead people to the wrong assumptions ergo to the wrong meaures.
DC 3 years ago
Be loud. Attract people. FFS, if no else helps any, scream "Free Beer!", or whatever stuff people would like to receive for free, ... they are in the wrong. They are interested in keeping it silent, unknown to bystanders, not you ... they have to fear something, not you. So ... make them, if you can.
KombatBunni 3 years ago
Is that before or after I do my best to crush his nuts or his windpipe? If someone tried to do that with me I’d go full psycho
HelluvaHedgehogAlien 2 years ago
Because human being are a******s and most of us are either too scared of being injured and thinking others would help, or they just don’t freaking care. Another reason to completely eliminate a*****e humans
Load More Replies... #12
Was walking down the sidewalk on a busy city street holding my 4-year old son's hand. He suddenly shouted "Yay!" and pulled away from me to jump, two feet, in the water at the curb. Just then a bus was pulling over to the bus stop in front of us. I opened my mouth to scream but no sound came out. I lunged forward-- too late, but the observant bus driver did a quick "yank-and-back" on her steering wheel and the bus went exactly around my son, no room to spare, and still pulled into the bus stop. I pulled my son back to the sidewalk, started started crying and yelling at him, which scared him, so he cried, then I hugged him so relieved he was still alive. By the time I looked up, the bus was gone.
What scared me the most was that no one else noticed, and it was over in two minutes. Those 120 seconds could have changed my life forever... but since no one else witnessed it it was like it didn't happen. How many other times has stuff like this happened?
THANK YOU bus driver, wherever you are. You had to be watching far in advance... "look there's a squirrelly kid up there, I better be ready in case he... s**t!".
Stannous Flouride 3 years ago
Transit operators usually get nothing but complaints their feedback lines. It would have been nice to leave a positive one, even if you didn't catch the bus number.
Tree P 3 years ago
I had something like this happen to me. I was out looking for yard sales, and I turned down a street with a sign. As soon as I turned, I saw a little girl riding a bike coming down a driveway. I slowed to nearly a stop, because there were parked cars on the street. Sure enough, she came right out in front of me from behind a parked car, but I was able to stop. I'm glad I was vigilant, I wouldn't want to think of hitting a child.
#13
I was 10 or maybe 12 years old. My mom took me to the mall so she could go to the Target. There was a baseball card/comic book store right next to the Target and while she shopped I got to go look at the collectibles. While I was looking at the cards in the case, a guy came in. He looked around for a minute, then approached me and asked if I liked baseball cards. I said that I did and he said he had a Babe Ruth card in his van and asked if I would like to see it. We were right at the counter and the clerk was right there, but I got a real creepy vibe from this guy. I said no and left the store to go back to Target and find my mom. I looked behind me as I walked into Target and, sure enough, he was following me. I was starting to get a little scared, so I turned into the women's underwear aisle, thinking he wouldn't follow me. He kept after me until I finally found my mom. I never told her about it because I didn't want to scare her. At the time I thought maybe he wanted to steal my $10 but now I'm pretty sure he wanted more than $10.
TL;DR Creepster tried to get me in the mall
Kitty Jordan 3 years ago
Why didn't the clerk say anything? The OP says the clerk was "right there", surely the clerk overheard?
Niall Mac Iomera 3 years ago
Having worked in retail, I tended to just tune out what customers were saying unless they were speaking directly to me.
Load More Replies... Katie Lutesinger 3 years ago
It's truly appalling just how often this kind of thing seems to happen.
Helen Waight 3 years ago
It’s really easy to say years later what you ‘should’ have done, but trust me it’s not what the victim wants to hear, ever.
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#14
I went to my local library which is very large. I was in the reference section which is a bit secluded looking for books about writing. I noticed a shady looking man following me up and down the aisles. I got a little nervous because I was pretty far from the desk or anyone else that I could see. Once he saw me notice him and that I was walking faster r ran at me and slammed me into a shelf, smelling my neck and grabbing a fistful of my hair. He reeked of alcohol. I screamed. Lots of people came running. Security and the police were called. I was later told by their security liaison that perhaps if I had dressed differently it wouldn't have happened (tank top, shorts). I was so dazed I just stared at him and the female officer said "are you f*****g kidding me?" It was so scary and surreal.
Katiekat 3 years ago
SO GLAD the female officer confronted. I'd have filed a complaint against the male officer who victim-blamed.
Zedrapazia 3 years ago
Should be filed no matter the gender, women who victim blame are as much of a problem as men
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Random Person 3 years ago
I say we do this to anyone who is convicted of sexual assault. That aught to keep them from doing it again.
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Iconic 3 years ago
WHAT HAS POSSESSED THIS PERSON TO SAY SOMETHING LIKE THAT TO A VICTIM THEY HAVE NO CONTROL OF WHAT HAPPENED IT IS NOT THE VICTIMS FAULT THAT THERE ARE CRAZY PEOPLE IN THIS WORLD
Mykidsartrocks 3 years ago (edited)
For a LOOOONNNGGGGG time, and I mean hundreds of years, if a woman were raped or beaten it was thought to be her own fault. Your husband beat you? You should try to make him happy. He cheated? You aren't giving him what he wants. A man groped you? You shouldn't wear revealing clothes. A man raped you? You must have led him on. You got robbed? You must have been showing off. Sadly, this still happens just not as often. This is primarily why arsenic was woman's best friend before diamonds. (Edit was to add the last sentence)
Load More Replies... Katie Lutesinger 3 years ago
I can't believe people still seriously ask the "what were you wearing" question. How does a private school uniform with full-length trousers and a blazer sound? Because you're literally at school and also about fifteen years old? BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT I WAS WEARING. F**k these people with a boxing glove covered in razorblades and the flesh-eating virus.
Engelhafen 3 years ago
Don’t take on that c**p - no one should be assaulted because of the clothing they wear
Stacey Rae 3 years ago
Ya the guy was wrong, dont blame the victim, but please don't job shame.
Load More Replies... Mykidsartrocks 3 years ago
If it were a man that this happened to I bet he would have been asked something like "why didn't you fight back?" It is ridiculous.
#15
i was in a local swimming pool and a ~~friend~~ mentioned how he thought i could fit into the storage locker. i jumped in and he locked it behind me. i learned a few things that day.
1 i can indeed fit into some storage lockers.
2 this person was not my friend.
3 strangers won't help you if your ~~friend~~ says you are fine even if you are crying for help.
4 putting the vents at the bottom of a locker is real dumb.
Louloubelle 3 years ago
As someone who went through school being the tiniest, I can also verify that a person can indeed fit in a locker, and that many people are not your friends.
Cathleen Day 3 years ago
5. Once I was out, so called friend would have been beaten to within an inch of his life! Glad you're OK
Kat 3 years ago
CO2 is heavier than air, so having vents at the bottom was actually good for you
BobTDG 3 years ago
Do you mean CO2 is heavier than O2. Because CO2 is in air.
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olx 3 years ago
vents in the bottom at a pool is so water doesnt pool as the bottom and cause mould
Cold Contagious 3 years ago
I'm so claustrophobic that I would have never gotten into a container or small space. I've had nightmares of spaces closing in on me or sinking on top of me since I was a child and I still can't sleep with my feet covered. It's a horrifying feeling, I can't imagine actually being locked inside something.
#16
Side note: it really disgusts and saddens me how many of these stories are women being molested/sexually assaulted by men in broad daylight and no one does anything about it. Wow. Anyway, I almost got killed by a city bus when I was like 13. I guess I wasn't paying attention. My friend reached out and yanked me back **hard** and the bus flew right in from of me. It was so close I felt the wind from it, didn't even have time to react. My life could have been completely different if he wasn't there.
Eat Dirt Crow 3 years ago
I used to ride the bus a lot when I was younger. So much that I got to know the bus driver pretty well. He told me that they were told if they were going to hit someone to make sure you make it permanent because paying out a one time settlement is more cost effective than a lifetime of medical treatments.
ButterflyCatcher56 3 years ago
just because he was hit doesn't mean he wouldn't have survived
Load More Replies... #17
i few years ago I was at a bowling center on a busy day. When we were about to leave we heard a big bang.
A man had thrown the heaviest bowling ball on a woman's head. Later I read that he did it on purpose and the women had severe brain damage. And was lucky to be alive. The man got sentenced to 18 months in prison.
edit: someone noted to me that I forgot forced psychological evaluation and the 7.5k reimbursement he had to pay
Susan Green 3 years ago
18 months is absurd. I wonder if this happened in Canada
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L hill 3 years ago
Just 18 months? Maybe he had rich parents. 2 sets of justice. One for the poor and one for the rich. Why do you think orange man is still running free?
Tree P 3 years ago
I agree. Money is definitely why the Cheeto is not behind bars where he belongs.
Load More Replies... Kantami Blossom 3 years ago
It's sad when you realise that in most countries nowadays you get more jail time for stealing than you do for attempted murder because most judges are happy to let you plead down to lesser charges to keep the prisons from getting too full.
Stannous Flouride 3 years ago
Severe brain damage =/= 18 months, a psyche evaluation, and a $7500 fine.
#18
Back when I used to wear a hijab, I got on a really crowded train with a friend after a day of shopping. Some a*****e grabbed my head and tried to rip it off whilst hurling abuse at me. My friend managed to get the guy to let go but everyone else just watched. I was only 17 and it scared the c**p out of me for a long time.
Anne McKinney 3 years ago
Oh how I wish I were there. Words would have been said and actions taken. Jerk!
Andrea Delden 3 years ago
I so sorry that this happened to you. I hope that isn't why you stopped wearing your hijab; I can see why it would though. I hope your okay now.
LinkTheHylian 3 years ago
Sadly you won't see many non-white/non-Christian people getting help from the white Christians unless they feel they're in danger as well.
#19
When I was in 5th grade, I had a seizure in the middle of class. When I woke up on the floor, kids were running around me and laughing, and the teacher was yelling at me to get back in my desk and stop trying to get attention. Everything hurt and I was completely out of it for the rest of the day, and I didn't understand anything about what happened, or just how big of a sh*tlord the teacher was, until a couple of years later.
Cecily Holland 3 years ago
Teacher should have been sacked, charged with child neglect and banned from anything to do with kids. That teacher is the sort that rips an insulin pump catheter out of a students body because they thinks it’s a phone.
Katiekat 3 years ago
As a retired teacher, not every teacher knows what to do when a child has a seizure, so don't assume negative or bad intentions, PLEASE. That teacher could have also frozen in the moment, not known what to do, AND other kids could have well taken advange of the teacher's freeze response and started being shitlords themselves. Teachers need to be TRAINED in what to do if/when a child has a seizure! I know in my 26 years in the classroom, it happened ONCE. I happened to know what to do. Not everyone knows!
Evy Cl 3 years ago
you're right, but this teacher was yelling at OP to get back in their seat and to stop trying to get attention, so he was just an a*s
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#20
Recently went to Dolphin Cove to take care of my number one bucket list item, swim with sharks. I went with my best friend. Her and I are in our 40's and cute enough in our own right. Our shark trainer flirted with us but we thought nothing of it. Once we were in the water, we had to sit on a bench. He maneuvered the shark on our lap. Part of the program was the trainer guiding our hands to feel the shark. He put both of our hands on his very erect p*nis. We again kind of blew it off thinking it was an accident. Then he told us to spread our legs so we could hold and balance the shark on our legs. He slid his hand up our thighs and got his fingers under both of our bottoms before we stopped him. We both felt violated and it ruined my very top bucket list item experience for me. It horrifies and frightens me to think of how often he's done that with other women and kids.
Cody 3 years ago
According to the OP on Reddit, she did. She reported him to his work and to the police, but he took of before the police could do anything. And it happened in Jamaica, where supposedly, the police don't have the capability to track him down and arrest him later.
Load More Replies... Mykidsartrocks 3 years ago
That is not rape darling. Rape requires penetration with an object of any kind.
Load More Replies... Katiekat 3 years ago
My #1 go to: violence. The moment he assaults you, he's a perp, and anything goes. His life is in his own hands the moment he commits a crime. Not remotely sorry.
Birma Gustafsson 3 years ago
What's wrong with men, who thinks this is an OK behaviour against women/girls??? And don't give me the "not all men" s**t, because a woman/girl can't know what kind of arsehole/gentleman she's meeting, until he makes his move!!! It's so easy to excuse men's behaviour with the "just boys" idea, that they're playing, that they don't "mean to" molest or scare the living daylights out of women/girls! You f*****g know what you're doing - no s**t!
#21
I'm not sure it was the most terrifying thing that happened to me, but it was the most terrifying thing that happened to me at that point in my life.
I was about 11, in Cape Town - South Africa, visiting family.
My parents were walking in front of me, and I was walking with my little cousin directly behind them. We were in a shopping mall (Tyger Valley Center for any South Africans out there).
Anyway, I think my parents had stopped to get some money out of an ATM, and my and my cousin were just being silly, as you do at that age.
This guy, maybe in his mid-20s sat across from us on a bench, pointed at us, then my parents, and then dragged his finger along his neck. He then pulled open his jacket, and pulled a gun out of a pocket.
I don't know if that was a real gun, and I didn't care to find out. I told my parents immediately, and we kind of circulated the security personnel before eventually leaving.
Was a bit of an uncomfortable situation.
Daniel Cadman 3 years ago
Welcome to South africa where everything is just done, how ever one sees fit to do it... load shedding, corruption etc etc ah the joys of a great government
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Alaskatgal 3 years ago
“Was a bit of an uncomfortable situation.” Oh my gosh that is terrifying! I’d have frozen in fear!
Jonathan 3 years ago
Yes, a bit... In South Africa that classifies as a bit. also boerewors and pap has made us tough.
Load More Replies... #22
I was 18 or 19 and picking up a prescription at the pharmacy. While I was waiting in line, a man (who I guess was waiting in line as well) started taking pictures of my feet with his cell phone. He wasn't even trying to be subtle, just kind of bent over and aimed his phone at my feet. I moved a few feet away and he just followed me. The pharmacist saw the whole thing and mouthed "do you know him?" I shook my head with my eyes wide, grabbed my prescription and bolted away from the counter. I hid in the store until I saw him leave and drive off because I was afraid he might follow me.
Maybe not terrifying, but definitely unnerving and creepy. Still creeps me out thinking about it.
ahyesthepotato 3 years ago
It's just their preference, if they aren't creepy about it like this dude it's totally fine
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Louloubelle 3 years ago
As a woman, and a mother of daughters, we need to stop teaching them to be polite. I was lucky and had parents that told me that if I felt uncomfortable to just tell someone to f*** off. I have tried to teach my daughters (and my son) that. I get that it can sometimes creep up on you, and people are taught to "not make a scene", but if your gut is telling you something is wrong - go with your gut. Scream, yell, and if they meant nothing wrong, who cares if you do create a scene.
Misty-Dawn Amayi 3 years ago
I wish you could have noted if this guy was wearing a mirror or a mirroring material on his shoes. Perv trick old as time, wearing mirrors or refective metals on shoes to look up skirts. You have every right to feel creeeped out. Hope that never happens to you again.
Anne McKinney 3 years ago
Why do people hide from this. I would say VERY loudly why are you taking pictures of my feet? Until women confront these jerks they will keep doing it.
#23
I was alone at the park and I was either 5 or 6 and these girls in grade 8 (there was 3 of them) started yelling at me to get off a swing I was sitting on. Apparently it was 'their swing'. I just sat there and stared at the sand cause I was terrified until one of the girls walked behind me and then violently pushed me off the swing. Then they proceeded to kick me, throw sand at me, and shove my face in the sand till I couldn't see and barely breathe. Then they took of my shoes and threw them in a tall tree. They were those Mary Jane shoes (Powerpuff girls wore them) and my mother had just bought them for me 2 days ago.
I walked home bare foot crying and not one person did anything. The park I was at was surrounded by apartment buildings. I'm sure somebody saw. I never felt so helpless in my life.
Fluffy mommy panda 3 years ago
They wouldn't done that if I was there. If I see anything happen to a kid I'm gonna say something
Tonia Stam 3 years ago
WTF is wrong with those people? How can anyone see a small kid like that and do nothing? This is really p****g me off
RandomFrog(He/They️️) 3 years ago
Sure if I was just a kid I’d be scared to help but it’s a park there’s parents around! Cmon!
TheHalloweenTeen 3 years ago
That makes me so sad! As an eight grader, I swear if anyone bullied a younger kid I would smack them- And I have!
Engelhafen 3 years ago
Part of the issue is strangers has been so vilified that no stranger dare do anything - when in fact over 90% of abductions and abuse is at the hands of relatives
#24
I'm a 20-something lady. I was heading home from the gym (tired) dressed elegantly (on my way from work) along a large, well-lit street. About a block from my house, a man first tried to catch my attention and then to grab me and pull towards the bushes on one side of the sidewalk, having already partly removed his pants.
I screamed bloody murder and ran home. After calling the police and describing the attacker, they asked what I was wearing. I was going to get mad, but it turned out he matched the description of a local pedophile suspect that preys on young girls form the nearby school. I was wearing a rather girly navy blue skirt with a white shirt that day.
He was never arrested.
CrunChewy McSandybutt 3 years ago
I'm confused, she was heading home from the gym but dressed in her work attire?
juice 3 years ago
she possibly had a bag with gym clothes that she changed in and out of, so as to not walk down the street in gym clothes
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Lori S 3 years ago
Were you ever asked in to do a lineup? I can’t believe they didn’t at least do that!
just me 3 years ago
They have to find the guy before you can do a lineup.
Load More Replies... #25
Seeing the guy who raped me stocking the shelves at Wal-Mart. I walked into an aisle and there he was. This feeling of dread washed over me. This guy looked familiar but I couldn't put my finger on it. Then it hit me. I knew and I froze. It had been seven years and he looked so different now. Next thing I remember is sitting in my car shaking and trying to get the keys into the ignition.
Edit: I would like to say thank you to all the people who had such kind words to say. And to the people with similar stories- I'm sorry. I know that it's hell. People keep asking why I didn't report him. I wanted to but when I seeked support from my friends I received nothing of the sort. Instead I was told that it was my fault. I went to his house willingly so I had to have known that he wanted sex. One friend even made a comment about him being cute. These were my best friends. If they didn't support me, how could I depend on strangers? I rationalized in my head somehow. He wanted me *that bad*. When I hear stories of people getting attacked and raped while walking home, I feel like my rape was so mild compared to that. I know that it's an unhealthy thought process but I still don't want to believe that it happened to me. I stopped thinking about it until I seen him that day.
Katiekat 3 years ago
I hope these SO-CALLED "friends" aren't your friends anymore. There's no excuse for victim-blaming. People do it to create distance, to scapegoat, to think it can't happen to them, because the idea is, it can, it does, and it's so threatening, they have to "other" victims. Don't rationalize abuse! I'm glad it was "mild" but the body keeps the score, as you saw that day. I hope karma serves him the justice he deserves, and that it's messy.
KombatBunni 3 years ago
Sweetheart, it’s never “mild” compared to anything. So quit thinking that and get some help xx
DC 3 years ago
Whereever you go, whatever you wear - this is neither your fault, nor has anything to do with it happening. People seek excuses. People try to justify. Some may even just want to analyze, but in the end, one person is guilty and one isn't. Even if you agreed to whatever degree and later decided not to, but were forced to, it isn't your fault, and the disappointment this may impose on some horny AH is by no means even comparable!
Stacey Rae 3 years ago
I hate people trying to rationalize or minimize a brutal attack. Hope you found some support.
Stannous Flouride 3 years ago
I was raped in jail when I was 17. It happens to young and old, every skin color, every body type, and both sexes. It's not about sex, it's about power. It doesn't matter what the victim looks like, how they are dressed, are any other of that usual "victim blaming" BS.
Pink Aesthetic 3 years ago
I've been raped by my ex, some people would think its just him wanting me but to me it left mental scars and trauma
Iconic 3 years ago
I think people should stop saying "oh its not that bad just deal with it" or "relax it's not a big deal" IF YOU'RE FORCED TO HAVE --- WITH ANYBODY AGAINST YOUR WILL IT IS A BIG DEAL
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Brindle Nutter 3 years ago
Shoulda grabbed an Easton from sporting goods and went to town on him
#26
An addict wanted money from me down town, but I literally had nothing but my clothes on me. So I said sorry man, all out.
Dude lumbers towards me slowly, pushes me over, and stab me in the thigh with a Swiss Army knife.
I booked it to the hospital for stitches. Didn't hurt until I actually looked at it. Adrenaline didn't stop pumping for a very long time.
Edit: Lot of people asking "why didn't you run if he was lumbering towards you?"
A: I was 13, he was a full grown adult, I had a bad haircut, he pulled a knife on me, I froze in fear.
tara 3 years ago
I Wonder if it is peoples way of being frightened and not wanting to imagine that it could happen to them, so they decide a bunch of stupid rules that someone must have broken to deserve it, rules they would never break, therefore they convince themselves they are safe from the bad things that happen to good people for no reason at all.
Load More Replies... tHeBoRdEsTpAnDa 3 years ago (edited)
1. Hate the victim blaming, 2. why does your haircut matter?
Ela 3 years ago (edited)
You know, when you bring a bad haircut to a knife fight, you are instantly aware that you are seriously outgunned! Um, so to speak.
Load More Replies... R F. 3 years ago
Why didn’t you have the awareness of a Navy Seal Why didn’t you fight like a UFC fighter? Have you consider “what I would have done”? You silly victim…all you did was survive, remember, and get yourself to a hospital. You should have tried disarming him with the flailing hands of Jason Bourne holding a pen. NOTE: everything written above was typed using the “sarcasm” font. You got home as safe as possible OP. You did better than most.
Engelhafen 3 years ago
How many kids expect to get knifed? Come on - I’m glad we don’t live in that world - yet
Alaskatgal 3 years ago
Hindsight is ALWAYS 20/20! It’s easy for people to say what you should have done, they were not experiencing the trauma as it happened. You are still with us so I’d say you reacted appropriately.
BasedWang12.3 3 years ago
I mean, at 13 you still know when you should swing on someone... That being said, it's a terrible and scary situation. To kinda shrug it off and say he shoulda just ran is a d**k move
#27
Fistula rupture of a patient in my hospital. Blood everywhere. Blood on the floor, ceiling, workers, and everywhere else you can imagine. Splurging everywhere. Doctors and nurses worked on her for 45 minutes, but nothing they could do to save her. It looked like someone had been slashed open with a sword in the room, and the worst part is that her 3 kids were there to see it.
shermes 3 years ago
Being a nurse who has worked in all the areas of a hospital where you might see something like this, I highly suspect this story. Where exactly was that fistula that could have caused that scenario? Hmmmmm
Stannous Flouride 3 years ago
A fistula is an irregular connection between an artery and a vein. Usually, blood flows from the arteries to tiny blood vessels (capillaries), and then on to the veins. Nutrients and oxygen in the blood travel from the capillaries to tissues in the body. With an arteriovenous fistula, blood flows directly from an artery into a vein, avoiding some capillaries. When this happens, tissues below the avoided capillaries receive less blood. Arteriovenous fistulas usually occur in the legs but can develop anywhere in the body. An arteriovenous fistula may be surgically created for use in dialysis in people with severe kidney disease. It doesn't say where on the body it occurred but I assume it was the torso because that's the only place it could not have been stopped with a tourniquet.
#28
Almost drowned as a 6 year old in a populated adult pool. I was floundering for what felt like a minute, quickly loosing breath and swallowing water. No around me heard my gargled cries. No one helped. Thank god my mother pulled me out before it was too late.
And that's how i developed my fear of water.
Pink Aesthetic 3 years ago
There are so many cases when a child has drowned right in front of adults eyes
just me 3 years ago
It's because it doesn't look like on tv. Real drowning is desperate and quiet and small. No thrashing and frantic screams for help (at least to outside observers), you can't get enough air for that.
Load More Replies... Engelhafen 3 years ago
A man drowned in my large city feet away from a crowded dock. The girl said she thought he was just holding his breath as he was floating face down for over 2 hours
Grudge-holding Treefrog 3 years ago
I was in a similar situation at age 6. The only reason I survived was because my best friend screamed for help
Stannous Flouride 3 years ago
People drowning do NOT look the way they do on movies and on TV.
Ronnie Beaton 3 years ago
Similar thing happened to me when I was 7 or 8. Crowded swimming pool, I'm being taught how to swim, somehow I drift out to the deep end, struggling to keep my head above water. If not for a lifeguard, I would have drowned.
Whitefox 3 years ago
I am a good swimmer. It was the senior school trip to the local water park. They have a HUGE wave pool and they used to do a thing called the storm. The waves went in odd directions during the sequence. I got caught in an undertow and could not breech the surface. I remember seeing the life guard watching a girl in a bikini on the other side of the pool and thinking, this is it.. this is how I die. It was a peaceful feeling as the sun got super bright, then I went out. When I came to, another swimmer hand seen me go limp and pulled me up. the stupid life guard never saw a thing. I was deeply embarrassed and went back to my schools picnic area and hung out there a while. I did not develop a fear of water, but got my life guard and white water rescue certs later in life. I never went back to that water park for about 20 years though. Small world, my then new bf worked there. He was able to help me work through my fear of the place.
#29
Junior high, first year. 85 Ib loner book gal. Get followed by much larger (150Ib+) boy, boy kicks legs out from under me, I pick up books walk on, boy shoves me face forward, I get to my feet and continue. Boy is enraged by my lack of resistance. Punches me between back of head and neck. Everything flies, saw neat colors. Stumble and struggle to pick up papers, books etc. There were at least fifteen or twenty kids watching this unfold, no one helped. No one said a word. I was lucky that I wasn't knocked out or hurt worse. But I lost a lot of faith in humanity that day. Now? Still lose hope in people, but work as tech in ER and there's always, AT LEAST one thing that makes your heart melt and feel like life's more than worth it, everyone's lives are worth it. Trouble is you can't be scared to intervene when needed.
Lori S 3 years ago
Working as a nurse has given me a weird sort of self-confidence, maybe the constant being around people who need help has fostered it. I once yanked a full grown man (and I’m a woman) off of a girl at a bus stop by his hair. I agree with you.
Lesley Melville 3 years ago
Nurses are a different breed, I swear! Thank you for what you do. <3 (mom to a medically complex toddler and a husband battling stage 3 cancer. I ADORE our nurses.)
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Katiekat 3 years ago
Lack of engagement SOMETIMES work, sometimes not as you can tell here. Sorry to say but that's when violence is called for, becauese that's likely the only language he could understand: power, control, dominance. Not OVER him, just to get him to back off and back down. I'd have done the same: first not bother to fight back, just keep on walking, BUT if it happened again, it's on, and his life is in his hands as a perp.
#30
My dog and I are stopped at a crosswalk and he barks and scares this woman. As soon as he barked the walk dude came up to cross but the lady started yelling about my needing to control my dog and she pulled out a taser. I'm just trying to get across the street and she starts making even a bigger scene saying how she's going to shock me. My dog is barking at the crazy lady we are standing in the street now, at a busy intersection and I thought to my self I'm about to get tased in front of all these people.
J. Grey 3 years ago (edited)
Your dog could smell something wrong with her. He probably saved you from an unprovoked assault.
R F. 3 years ago
Taser shoots darts as well as shocks when touched to the body. A stun gun is those little noisy sounding handheld toys used by the members of “Jackass”. A taser is a viable less-than-lethal self defense tool (why it’s used by police and the military). A “stun gun” is for pranks and near useless. Consider a third option: KIMBER PEPPERBLASTER and practice with it! You get 3 for around $90.
#31
A few things come to mind but this is the biggest one for me...a few years ago I was at the local mall, outside waiting for my mom to get there. I see her car pull up, and she turns around and goes to park. Parking is accomplished without incident. She's maybe 50 feet away from me. She gets out of the car, and some car drives up into that row of parking about 10 seconds after she finishes parking. This guy (maybe 45) gets out of his car and starts yelling at my mom for "stealing his parking" (even though he wasn't anywhere near her when she was parking), calling her some nasty s**t, and says that if this were his country that "she'd be dead for crossing a man." Anyways, my mom had parked fair and square. After he starts throwing this s**t at her, his relative gets out and also starts yelling at her. I'm a large person (6'1, 230 lbs and I have a lot of muscle but some extra chub too cuz I'm too lazy to diet perfectly and my wife likes it....that'll be my excuse), but I HATE fighting and violence. Regardless, I run towards them and my mind goes into warrior mode. This guy was getting uncomfortably close to my mom, so I bark some obscene stuff at him and act like a caveman in heat fighting a sabertooth and the guy actually screamed like a child and fell backwards over his car and begs me not to cut him (I didn't even have a knife or anything on me). I tell him that respecting women is both important and honourable and asked him to apologize, and then he drove off. Adrenaline was going crazy and my heart was pounding but my mommy dearest is safe and hopefully dickwad learned his lesson.
Cecily Holland 3 years ago
This happens too often. Like Karen’s “saving” a parking spot by standing in it
Stacey Rae 3 years ago
These were men attacking a woman. Nothing like a 'Karen'. These were men.
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#32
Many years ago, I was just about to walk into the restaurant where I was the assistant manager, when I was approached by this huge guy who was all smiles and generally gave across this body language of being friendly, is a "sorry but I need to ask you something" kinda way. Next thing I knew, he was screaming at me about some friend I hadn't seen in a while. Turns out my friend had stolen some weed off this dodgy guy, and my name had come up for some reason. Right there in the middle of a busy road in a busy city, he pulled out a Stanley Knife and told me he was going to cut my throat with it if I didn't give him his £350 right there. I still don't remember exactly what I said to him but he left, told me he was going to kill me if he ever saw me again and I went into work.
#33
A guy felt me up on an extremely crowded (peak hour) bus.
I totally froze.
Couldn't bring myself to move a muscle as his hand slid up the bare skin of my inner thigh (I was wearing a skirt).
It was an odd experience. I never expected myself to react like that. I always imagined that if something like that happened I'd shove them off or call them out or something,
but I didn't.
I didn't do anything.
Ranger Kanootsen 3 years ago
Don't blame yourself!! Freezing up in scary situations is a natural human reaction.
Sm!lez Tub3z 3 years ago
I hate that tho bc yesterday I happened to come across a run over cat while I was taking a walk , it looked horrible (not for the faint of heart but it’s head was crushed one of its legs were torn off the top half of the body was ripped of the lower half , blood was everywhere so many flies and a weird looking insect, the sad thing is that it’s tail was still moving when I saw it ) and because I froze up I couldn’t look away and it was scary :(
Load More Replies... DC 3 years ago
Happened to a friend of mine. Actually, more than one, sadly. One girl I went to school with was so frightened she peed on the creep's hand, who then acted grossed out as if it were entirely her fault, or her fault at all to begin with. Nobody did anything, some people even laughed at the entire situation.
Francine Govan 3 years ago
That's terrible. (Mind you, I find myself thinking that peeing on someone doing this is sorta genius).
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Nick West 3 years ago
This happened to me on a crowed bus in Rome when I was about 14. I froze too it's a normal reaction. The next time it happened a few days later I put my wedge on this man's foot and put all my weight on it staring him right in the eyes. Now I'd do that and tell him very loudly to get off. Maybe we need to train girls how to react?
Cecily Holland 3 years ago
It’s called freezing and that is exactly what happened to you. Many victims recount this happening to them and have their experience made worse by clowns asking why they didn’t do anything
#34
When I was little, I used to play "the hi game," where you would wave to strangers as you drove by. When with a group of friends, you'd try to get the most people to wave hi back to you. One time, my mom stopped to buy some flowers, and had left my friends and I in the car. For some reason one of my friends decided to keep playing the game while we were parked (which is obviously against the rules, but this isn't the time for technicalities). So she waves to this dude and he comes over, and the very first thing he says is "So, uh... Where's your mom?" To me as a kid, something about the way he said it was terrifying. We all thought we were done. Turns out he was just concerned, and somehow ended up tracking my mom down. But those few moments immediately after he said that were terrifying.
#35
I use to take those classes at a Catholic church in the evening. I was put ahead into an older kid class (I believe I was 8, and most of them were pre teens or early teens). This one guy (14 or 15) kept offering me money for a blowjob, which at the time I had no idea what it was. A bunch of the other girls would always swarm me when he was nearby and tell me to ignore him, not take the money, etc. He was known as a trouble maker. I asked my parents what a blowjob was, so they found out, and made a complaint. His family gave a lot of money to that church so nothing happened to him. Then I got to church early and was just roaming around. He was there and got physical with me. I didn't really understand at the time, but now I realize he was likely trying to rape me. I called out for others to help but absolutely no one did. A few adults would stop and watch, but then they'd keep walking. Thankfully my older sister ran into us and put a stop to everything so ultimately nothing happened. He got kicked out after that. I understand not getting involved, but no one even called the cops.
Cecily Holland 3 years ago
The least you can do is dial 000, 911, 999 or whatever the emergency number is in your country
Mad Kid 3 years ago
Why were you downvoted?You are correct. Also, downvoting can get people banned.
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#36
I walked out of the subway in NYC on a warm, sunny September day and found it was cloudy and snowing. It was 9/11. Over the next five minutes I learned the WTC towers had been hit by planes and the snow was actually ash from the collapse of the first tower.
#37
My sister and I were at a sort of outdoor flea market with my dog. A lady came up really close behind her, and my dog, who was sitting down, stood up and barked once. The lady moved away, and that seemed to be it. Out of nowhere, a man runs up to us, gets really close to me, and starts yelling about how he's a dog trainer, and my dog is clearly aggressive and unfit to be around people. He's fairly tall, way too close to me, angry, and his eyes are staring in different directions. We point out that she wasn't attempting to bite or lunge towards anyone, just barked once because she was startled, and Crazy Eyes starts screaming that we need to leave immediately or he'll call the cops. My sister and I start walking away, figuring if we just get away from him it'll be okay. Nope. He follows us, getting angrier and angrier, and now I'm getting pretty freaked out. I loudly tell him to stop following us. People are staring but no one is about to get in the middle of this. We ended up just ducking through a side gate to get him away from us. While we were at that gate, the lady who my dog barked at came up and told us that the man couldn't force us to leave and that my dog clearly wasn't dangerous. Some people just have scarily short fuses, and he seemed like he wasn't really all there, so I had no idea what he would have done if we weren't able to get away from him
Cecily Holland 3 years ago
Sure it wasn’t “Downtown Karen”? Search Downtown Karen on YouTube and google
#38
Got jumped, put in a headlock while groups of people looked on while I was screaming help(I was 13), and while this was going on a crack head picked up my bike and took off with it. All on my city's public square(literally the center on town). Now I carry a knife where ever I go. Got the bike back though!
Edit: it was mid day btw
EDIT #2:
So many of you have said that I shouldn't carry a knife. Well the problem with that is if I don't, I'm probably dead. That's sad to say but its how this area is. Most people wouldn't think a city in NorthEast Pennsylvania would be bad... But my city came in at #4 for the most homicides per capita in america 2 years back. I've had friends that have been jumped and almost killed just by a guy beating on them. I've had friends get robbed at gunpoint. I understand when people say it can be used against me and I wouldn't pull it out if someone had a gun. But its my only option. I'd carry a gun if I was old enough to get a concealed weapons permit but until then its my one line of self defense. I'd rather pull a knife and stab someone than loose my life. Its that simple.
Fluffy mommy panda 3 years ago
Yes aways carry a weapon when walking not everyone will help you. And sometimes there no one around. So you have to fight sometimes, for yourself cause you never know what bad people are capable of.
Richard 3 years ago
When I was a kid, I used to carry a rock in my hand in case anyone tried to hurt me walking to or from school.
Load More Replies... DC 3 years ago
Try a telescope bat. These extend your range, and you have a bit more control over how hard you hurt someone. A knife doesn't know if it hits an artery or a vein before, neither do you in a situation of serious self defense. And some kind of pepper spray may be useful, too. The attacker then is blind, your range extended, so ... knock out his legs. Knees. Make him unable to follow you, call the police then.
#39
One morning I was sitting in a café, waiting for a friend. At the table next to me, there was a Chinese exchange student, who obviously just came to the city and didn't speak our language. Some guy walked up to her, sat next to her, groped her and said very nasty sexual things. I said "Hey that's not cool, I don't think that you are welcome and this place anymore, get out of here." Then he got to me, tried to shove me and said "What do you want from me, let's get out, I will beat you up, you a*****e." It got a bit louder but finally he went out. Thing is, the café was half full, it was 10 AM and no one cared what happened to that girl or me. And no one even thought of calling the police. Pretty sh*tty of these people.
Komikat 3 years ago
While this is true, some people are just absolutely terrified :/
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naksaystheduck 3 years ago
I will never understand how a whole group of people can just silently watch and then ignore situations like that without even trying to help. The other day, I got attacked by a male couple in their 50s, I was at the dogpark and their dog was harassing my puppy, I tried to leave with my dog and gently moved their dog out of the way to open the gate without him escaping (totally normal thing to do). One of his owners caming running up to me, screaming "DON'T TOUCH MY DOG!!!", pushed my out, threw my dog through the gate, almost squeezed in another small dog when he slammed it shut. Luckily, most people there know me and one of them must have called police. I was already on the other side of the street when 2 police cars stopped directly in front of the park. Hopefully they have been reported. I will ask my fellow dog friends next time I am there.
#40
When I was living in Paris, I was attacked in the Bastille metro station during the early evening, while in a group of 5-6 girls.
This guy followed us off the train and onto an escalator, and placed himself right behind my friend. She went around me farther up the escalator to get away from him. He tried to follow her. Being fluent in French, I put my arm out to block him and told him to leave her alone.
He then grabbed my arm so hard that I later had fingerprint bruises. And then he just stared at me. It was terrifying. I was telling him to get off and leave me alone, all while trying to pry his fingers off me, and there was just no emotion or reaction on his face.
Luckily then, my friend just above me turns and sees this, **and full on Falcon kicks this guy right on the chest!** He fell back a bit, but caught himself, then grabbed her by her ponytail and punched her in the face.
By this point, we're finally at the top of the escalator (yes, this all transpired in the duration of an escalator ride) and a group of men chased the guy off.
I love you Paris, but f**k did the men there harass the s**t out of me.
**Edit:** I should also add, that while I was thankful that this group of men chased him off, they also then started yelling at us, saying we must have provoked him, and that we shouldn't talk to men like him, and next time just to call the police. To which I just yelled AND WHERE THE F**K ARE THE POLICE NOW?
Needless to say, our going out plans were thwarted and we went home. On the way home that night, I got my a*s grabbed twice and one guy flashed me right outside my house. Now, that one, he got punched in the face.
Cecily Holland 3 years ago
This problem in France was mentioned in the worlds worst holiday destinations post too
Nightmare 3 years ago (edited)
Actually France is a great place to have a holiday. Creeps are Creeps. You can't blame the place they live in. There are nice people to.
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Eastendbird 3 years ago
My first trip to Paris, when I was around 15 years old, I have never been stared at or catcalled so much ever in my life, before or since.
#41
I was pretty close to a Lightning about 36 years ago, and by pretty close I mean less than 10 ft from it. Was with family in a older hotel the pocono mountains, we had a thunderstorm roll through after dinner. I just stepped out of my room at the hotel and was going to walk to my parents room two doors down. Just as I stepped out of my room the bolt struck ground in the court yard followed by the loudest bang I had ever heard. There was this smell of burnt ozone, a patch on the ground were the rain water had been vaporized and was bone dry again. I swear that the bolt appeared to be as thick as a tree trunk and the sound of the bolt was like the Tesla coil I heard at the Franklin institute in PA. My parents said I literally levitated into the room and that all the hair on my body was standing on end and when my father touched me I discharged a static spark like I had been running on wool carpet for the last 2 days... Its a vivid memory and I sure do take care when I am out in severe weather.
#42
Sixteen, female fresh out from school for the day. Take bus home and am standing next to a kid who felt like wearing all red. Car pulls up and a guy in the backseat has a handgun. Points it at the kid in the red but I knew more or less everyone at the bus stop was going to get shot because some dumba** wanted to wear gang-affliated colors. Light turns green and the driver goes and I'm left reeling with the whole "what if" scenarios for a few days.
Cecily Holland 3 years ago
Here where I live gang on gang incidents are called “Postcode Wars”
#43
Was in Chicago last year for a conference and brought my friend who was slightly terrified of urban areas (Keep in mind, we are from rural Iowa.)
Had to use the subway to get to the conference when suddenly a fight broke out in the car infront of us. They moved the fight throughout most of the train and started to flash guns at one point in our car.
Luckily for us, a brave young fellow helped break it up and no one was seriously injured, but my friend legitimately thought there was about to be a shooting.
Catman 3 years ago
Why were you downvoted? It's true. Also, downvoting can get people banned.
Load More Replies... #44
Im a little late to this party but here goes. I was on a 300 mile ride on my motorcycle when I stopped for gas at a sketchy gas station. While I'm stopped this homeless guy in a puffy ratty fur jacket and a flava flav style Viking hat rides up on his bicycle with a milk crate for a basket and a home made trailer. He rings the bell on his handle bar and tells me I have a nice bike as I'm walking in to pay. I say "thanks you too bud" and he charges at me on foot and pushes me, from behind, hard and says "no man I said you have a niiiiiiiiceeeeeeee biiiiiiiiiikkkeee". Im freakin out now cuz this dude looks high as hell on something hard and, though I'm not a small dude, I've heard drugs make ya fight hella crazy. So I push this guy to the ground and yell for him to BTFU and he gets up, adjusts his hat and says "this is what you wear when you wanna sing immigrant song by Led Zepplin..... AHHHHHHH-AHH-AHHHHHHHHHHHH-AHHHHHHH!!!!!" then he runs to his bike like a mad man and rides off. Most terrifying and hilarious thing to every happen to me Tldr; cranked out homeless dude attacked me in a parking lot. May have been Robert Plant
Mary Zurlinden 3 years ago
you owe me a new keyboard for my laughing so hard I shot soda out my nose and onto my desk at this comment!
Load More Replies... #45
On a crowded bus and a drunk older man corners me. Talks to me until I take my earbuds out, then asks about the book I'm reading and before I can realize what I'm dealing with, he takes it out of my hand and starts telling me how beautiful and "yummy" he thinks I am. I'm trying to get my s**t back and he won't stop telling me how he could just eat me up, I'm delicious, etc. I'm attempting to be just polite enough that I don't set him off, but firm enough to get him to leave me alone. At one point I look around and see all these people staring at me and nobody did anything. It was a double length bus so the driver was clueless. I got off at a random stop because I didn't want him to know my real stop, thankfully he did not follow me. I had to call my work and tell them I was going to be late.
Katiekat 3 years ago
You're NEVER under any obligation to be nice. Creeps and predators take advantage of that, since most females are socialized to be polite -- at all costs, including our lives. GET ANGRY, SHOW ANGER. It's a form of power, and that creeps and predators don't like loud, angry, defiant women is the ENTIRE POINT. Shut him up, shut him down. You win, he loses. This is ALL ABOUT POWER.
HELIKOPTER HELIKOPTER 3 years ago (edited)
Yes. Be fierce. Fight hella crazy if you can and have/want to.
Load More Replies... #46
Saw how two hitmen in a motorcycle shot a guy walking right next to the restaurant I was in. I was probably 13 years old. Come to think of it fear wasnt the strongest emotion though, I was furious, I couldnt believe how someone could talk a life so easily.
HELIKOPTER HELIKOPTER 3 years ago
Especially if you just watched a guy get his head blown off
Load More Replies... #47
Well about 4 years ago a fighter jet crashed into my apartment complex and almost blew me up. Thank goodness for the creation of walls.
#48
As a young teenager, in the early 90s I went to a slightly low-rent amusement park on a school trip. They had some rides, nothing like the huge ones at premium parks, but there was a reasonable looking rollercoaster - with a full loop and a corkscrew-style part (I'm sure there's a bunch of terminology I don't know about rides, so don't mind me). My group of friends all decided to give it a try. I'd never been on one, so while I was a bit scared, it looked pretty cool, so why not? Our group all get on at the same time, talking and bullsh*tting each other in the way excited kids do. The cars start moving backwards up a slope. Once it gets to near the top, the cars would release and go down the track. We're still moving up the slope and I look across at my friend and his restraint is down. Mine isn't. Oh s**t. I panic naturally. We must be over a hundred feet up, on a 45' slope. There's nothing I can do to get off and it can't be too long until the cars will drop. I grab my restraint and pull it down across my chest. I *think* it locks into place, but now the cars drop. I can't do a f*****g thing except hold on. The speed pins me into my seat, and while I don't think I'd come out in the corkscrew part, here comes the loop. As I pass the top of the loop I feel the cars slow just a little. My knuckles must have been transparent, they were gripping the edge of my seat so hard in a vain attempt to hold my upside-down a*s in the seat... We exit the loop and go up another slope to then reverse the track direction. As it slows I can just about prise my hands from the seat to check my restraint and it felt secure. Naturally I didn't quite trust it and I gripped my seat all the way back through the course. I got off the ride in a daze and never said a thing about it. - Looking back I didn't know s**t about rollercoasters, I think I assumed restraints would come down and lock in automatically. There was a ride operator (a bored, tired kid not much older than I was) who probably should have walked down the cars before they left, to check stupid kids like me were locked in, and just missed me.
#49
London bombings in 2005. My friends and I were leaving the hostel to get to the airport. Somehow, the tube had just been shut down and we had to take a bus. Inside the packed bus, a man started screaming that other busses had blown up and we should leave immediately. The people didn't react with panic, but with silence, and to me that was pretty terrifying.
#50
It was well lit and populated as it was my workplace, i was a pourer in a foundry at the time. Due to a mistake in the metal, it had to be put back into the furnace instead of being poured, a job that is done by using a crane to take the ladle (big bucket full of molten metal) back to the furnace. The ladle is then manually rolled over and the metal poured back into the furnace.
I was the lucky guy to roll it in, and whilst rolling it the crane driver made a mistake and moved the ladle out of position. This resulted in a wave of 1600C (~3000f) metal flying toward me like water off a spoon in the sink. Due to the light coming from the molten metal I couldn't guage the depth of the wave at the time, but looked down to see nothing but orange light surrounding me from the waist up. This lasted a moment at most, but in that moment every possible injury that could come from that crossed my mind.
No injury came of that, like a spoon in the sink the wave was very thin and my gear was good enough. But I was genuinely terrified then.
[EDIT]
There's a few people having difficulty picturing this, the wave of metal that hit me was splash back off the top rim of the furnace. I was on a stand, about half of my body was above the rim of the furnace. When rolling the metal in, it comes out of the top of the bucket, and the crane operator managed to clip the furnace ventilation. This turned the ladle and caused it to go everywhere. What hit me was more like a sheet of metal that happened to be molten. Seeing it hit me, I was unable to tell how deep the actual wave was so from my perspective, I had a sheet of molten metal around my waist that was unknown depth and incredibly hot. As I was the one turning the ladle in, I flicked down the lock on the turning wheel and quickly turned to jump down from the stand. This all happened very quickly. There was a distinct line and some metal splash on the front of my jacket where the wave had come into contact with me. Once I determined I was OK, I put the gear back on and finished the roll over.
#51
In rio I was robbed at ..gun.. point on a crowded street in broad daylight. The guy just put the gun to my back and walked with me and said,"give me your money or your life." My heart hasn't ever beat faster..
Edit: God damnit.. I definitely was not robbed at fun point..
Also for those curious, I gave up my money without a fuss. Beforehand you may think you'll do something different but when you are there in the moment you don't have time to think through each scenario. Is your life worth risking 10 bucks over? Nah.. However, I was robbed again by the same guys 2 more times with a knife and then a gun again. On the third time I just yelled kinda pissed threw the money on the ground and kept walking, they didn't get my cell phone at least. Told the cops and they did nothing each time. We eventually stopped seeing them (we being exchange students and me who all got robbed by them on multiple occasions) around but idk why. I was studying abroad (on year two in Brazil) so I fit in fairly well and spoke the language but I guess I didn't fit in well enough.
For those going to rio for the Olympics, look up safety tips online. It isn't just a "be smart about it" scenario. Guys should watch their drinks be made as well (good night Cinderella druggings) and people should watch for credit card cloning, and be careful about when you withdraw money and who's watching outside the bank etc.
Cecily Holland 3 years ago
Better than being kidnapped and held for ransom. Also a common occurrence there
IDK_Something 3 years ago (edited)
Most of these are from 6 years ago on Reddit. ETA: That doesn't mean the scariest things happened only 6 years ago for people, that's just when the question was trending and many answered there.
Load More Replies... #52
http://www.nytimes.com/1991/05/03/nyregion/officer-is-shot-lining-up-3-suspect-slain.html
In the second grade, around 7-8 years old, babysitter picked me up from a church ( I went to a catholic elementary school and was practicing to make my communion that sunday, I think this was a tuesday or thursday), and we were walking down the sidewalk when I saw a man breakdancing on the street (Circa 1992 in Queens, New York at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church/School) and thought cool...
but at the same moment, my babysitter was pushing me against a metal fence alongside the sidewalk.
I didn't hear anything but what I was witnessing was a NYPD (police officer) being shot multiple times by two criminals who had stolen a womans purse several blocks away (how stereotypical). One criminal was on one side, the officer in the middle, and the other criminal on the other side, so who knows who shot who, but the officer was shot many times (over 5), one criminal was shot in the head and died on the spot, the other criminal got away but was caught nearby.
F*****g hectic, I believe my mother saved the newspaper the next day, and I remember watching the news that night. Astoria circa 1991-1992. If anyone could find more info, it would be like tying up some loose ends in my life as it's been something I've thought about many many many times before.
EDIT: HOLY S**T, I've googled this many times in the past couple of years and never found anything and in 2 seconds of searching I found the article. As you can read in the article, it seems my memory serves me slightly incorrect...
tara 3 years ago
Argh! I reached my free limit of articles and can't read the link! But That sounds so scary, I would have been scarred for sure.
MrsWelton 3 years ago
It says the same for me, but it always has said that. We haven't actually 'reached our limit,' they just want us to pay to read anything.
Load More Replies... #53
Walking back from lunch to my office. I work in a urban area but it usually is safe to walk. From the corner of my eye I thought I saw someone following me. Didn't think too much about it but picked up my pace a little. I had to stop at the crosswalk and the person behind me catches up and I feel something on my back and he tells me to make a left turn. I turn into the next street and he asks me for all the money in my wallet. I gave it to him and he bolted past me. It had to be no later than 1:00 PM and I got mugged right in broad daylight.
#54
I guess this qualifies... thunderstorm downdraft on a fully laden plane. Your seatbelt is done up, but there's fresh air between your butt & the seat as the plane drops.
HELIKOPTER HELIKOPTER 3 years ago
(Read in Alexa voice) I’m sorry, you mispelled OHHHHH HELLLLLL NAWWWWWWWWWW
Load More Replies... #55
This probably isn't on par with everyone else's posts, but when I was visiting a long-distance boyfriend in NYC. We were waiting to cross the street in Times Square and while traffic is going he proceeds to PUSH me towards it and then pull me back onto the sidewalk. That happened a few more times while I visited him. It wasn't even playful. When I asked him why he did that he just laughed. :c
IDK_Something 3 years ago
He is indeed their ex! There were other instances that are pretty scary. Found by clicking 'Jubi_Lumi' under the post.
Load More Replies... Performingyak 3 years ago
People do this to trains all the time. They don't seem to realise how serious it can be, even with a slow moving one. They always laugh as if it is a joke. Trains and traffic - no joke
#56
When I was living in Geneva, one day I got a craving for something from home. So, naturally, I went to McDonalds and got some fries / pommes frites. I'm sitting outside with my frites when I notice some chaos and cacophony coming across the bridge - looks like it's a WTO protest, complete with tractors and black bloc protesters throwing bricks and fire bombs. This is odd, Geneva is usually quiet, tidy, and calm. I get up and start walking away from the McDonald's to try to get to a different part of the city, not realizing how wild this was about to get. As they get closer things start getting real. They smash out storefronts, light cars on fire, and the Swiss police form a police line behind me. I am now stuck between black bloc protesters and irritated police. I get up and start moving quickly down the street as both parties are closing in on me and start inhaling a mix of burning car and some sort of gas - not sure if it was tear gas or some sort of improvised smoke bomb from the protesters. People are yelling and it is loud as hell. I round a corner and run right into about 12 Swiss police who are preparing to set up a cordon to corral the protesters into a more controllable part of the city and start asking them to please let me through. They tense up and stare at me, then one of them grabs me by the shoulder and sort of flings me behind them and then they move on. I'm in the clear and it is immediately quiet, with clean air and a free path back to a streetcar. Was pretty scary at the time. Now, it's just interesting.
Evy Cl 3 years ago
A black bloc is a tactic used by protesters who wear black clothing, ski masks, scarves, sunglasses, motorcycle helmets with padding or other face-concealing and face-protecting items. The clothing is used to conceal wearers' identities and hinder criminal prosecution by making it difficult to distinguish between participants. It is also used to protect their faces and eyes from pepper spray, which is used by police during protests or civil unrest. The tactic allows the group to appear as one large unified mass. Black bloc participants are often associated with anarchism, anarcho-communism, communism, libertarian socialism and the anti-globalization movement.
Load More Replies... #57
I got assaulted. In Jerusalem, by a pre-pubescent boy who in hindsight was probably trying to mug me. Longer story: I was watching the Wailing Wall around the start of the Sabbath (lots of dancing and rejoicing) from an observing platform with several tourists. I'm enchanted, then out of nowhere all I know is someone has grabbed me from behind and is *thrusting*. I yell and hit immediately (guess I can thank my brother for all our childhood roughhousing that that was my reaction before I knew what was what), I turn around, and it's some Palestinian kid. I keep yelling at the kid, he and his friend scamper off. Frankly this was nothing a shot of whiskey couldn't handle, and the only time in traveling to 60 countries as a woman where something like this happened. But the most upsetting thing about it was how there were so many others who saw a woman being attacked, and didn't do anything. Afterwards grown men told me stuff like "I saw it happen but I was so shocked I didn't know what to do!" and "wait, you didn't know him?!" WTF. I definitely understand now why worse things can happen in public while good people stand by and do nothing.
tara 3 years ago
Although it doesn't sound like it with a lot of these stories, I would like to think good people sometimes don't help cause they are scared, not because they don't care. Although in this story the future rapist sounds like a young little s**t and I'm not sure why anyone would be scared to intervene......
Load More Replies... #58
I was walking with my girlfriend in an outdoor shopping area, restaurants, stores, small business etc.. 2 guys started following us as we turned down one of the side streets to go to a particular restaurant. They started calling out to her, saying nasty & vulgar s**t, calling me names. I turned around told them to leave us alone, and they approached pretty quickly, saying they were going to kick my a*s and there's nothing I could do about it. I lifted my jacket, put my hand on my sidearm and told them to f**k off and leave us alone. Their eyes got big. They mouthed off some more, but walked off.
Lori S 3 years ago
And this is why I carry. I’ve got a concealed weapons permit. And yes I know other countries think Americans are crazy because of the amount and availability of guns. But the bad guys have them as well, and protection is a thing.
LinkTheHylian 3 years ago
That's not protection, it's intimidation. OP was lucky those guys didn't have their own guns or we wouldn't be reading their story. Same with you if you've ever revealed you're carrying to scare someone off.
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#59
My mother having a panic attack. I think I was 12 or 13. It got easier to deal with after that but the first one was nightmarish.
#60
**Most** terrifying. Well lit and populated. Okay, 4th grade on the playground after lunch a kid from a different 4th grade class pulled a big a*s kitchen knife out of his backpack, it was wavy and serrated and had forks on the end. Apparently he hated the gigantic (for a 4th grader) black guy that was in **my** class. So he's screaming and swinging the knife in big arcs in front of him and everyone else near the big toy basically loses their s**t and runs for it. I want to help but I'm small and nearly s******g my pants in horror. I'm behind the knife kid and he starts lunging and actually trying to stab the other guy. I'd like to think I was about to do something but who knows. Right then the black guy steps towards the knife guy and the knife actually slices his left bicep, but the black **GUY** is huge in comparison and still manages to wrestle the knife guy to the ground and sit on him until the adults show up, less than a minute start to end. About a month later I started my first TKD class. *edit: **GUY**. The black guy, not "The Black". Sorry.
What do you think ?
Tunk Moot Lopper Reebit 3 years ago
That was full on and completely disturbing. I kept thinking that old line of evil flourishes when good people do nothing but seriously, wtf? The dystopian future is here. The stories of women being violated is truly sickening. The future is looking pretty f****d up.
Powerful Katrinka 3 years ago
Unfortunately, these stories of women being assaulted in broad daylight are as old as the human race.
Load More Replies... Kat Min 3 years ago
I had to stop reading, at some point. So so many sexual predators in this world. It is terrifying adn utterly depressing. What is wrong with humanity??
Steve 3 years ago
Saw a guy drop a French fry on a sidewalk, it landed on flattened brown substance. He picked it up and ate it.
tara 3 years ago
But was it a McDonalds french fry....cause...well....it IS a Mcdonalds french fry..
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Nicole Blow 3 years ago
When I was only 18 years old and was at a local club with few friends. I was only having a few drinks this night, and half through my 2nd drink I was standing with my friends talking and all of a sudden my vision went really blurry and I felt really weak and suddenly just fell onto my mate next to me. I could only just talk and said I don't feel well, I can't feel or see anything. My friends picked me like a baby as I couldn't walk and took me outside to one of our cars. They waited around and watched over me but no improvement BUT I was fully aware of my surroundings the whole time. I never lost consciousness but I couldn't see it move for hours. I had been properly roofied!!! If I had happened to have walked off when I collapsed who knows what could have happened to me.
Christopher Anderson 3 years ago
I had a similar experience of getting stabbed in my leg with a pair of scissors when I was in high school because I was protecting a friend from a bully. Of course that was literally my worst day over. It started off with me getting my foot ran over, going to school and getting stabbed and ended with a near death experience of dodging a car that jumped the curb and into the bus stop seats that I was sitting on
tara 3 years ago
Oh my gosh that IS the worst day ever! Hopefully all that bad luck is over .
Load More Replies...
Adele Maestranzi 3 years ago
In the 1980s, I was walking down a busy Boston street at lunchtime. I stranger stepped in front of me, pushed me to the ground, and started kicking me. People watched; no one intervened. Luckily, after he left, someone followed him and stopped a cop in his car.
Cynthia Plath 3 years ago
Pandas, if you see anything like this kind of stuff EVER happening in public, be confrontational. Make a scene. Take out your phone and try to get an image / video of the harasser's face, it'll be extremely useful, I know from experience. ALWAYS speak up if you feel like something's wrong; If not you, then who? Don't bother being polite, a rapist isn't going to stop if you ask nicely. If you're the one being harassed / intimidated, then you have GOT to know that it's NOT your fault in ANY WAY, as well as the fact that what is happening to you is TOTALLY WRONG and that you're not going to have another opportunity to speak up about it. As I said earlier, try to get a video of the person, and DON'T be polite or nice, if you're feeling uncomfortable then make it VERY clear. Lastly, DON'T get the person get away with it, if you're feeling guilty or responsible if you did then you have to remember that you're not responsible in any way, shape, or form, and that you did nothing wrong.
T'Mar of Vulcan 3 years ago
When there was a shooting outside my school earlier this year. Robbers tried to get into the house across the road and the lady, her helper and their son hid in the bathroom & called her husband. The armed response also came. In class we just heard these loud bangs. Two, silence, then more. To their credit, the kids dived straight under the desks as they had been taught during emergency drill. I'm too old to be climbing on the floor, so I just hunkered down in the seat and looked through the window... There, not 20 feet away from me but on the other side of the palisades, is one of the robbers, running down the road with an AK-47, laughing. Long story short, one of the robbers was shot and killed in the bakkie (pickup truck) he was driving; the other (AK-47 guy) was cornered by the armed response and climbed into someone's yard and onto the roof, where the armed response shot him dead. We were all shaken, but okay.
Artsy Bookworm 3 years ago
When I was around 6, I got separated from my family in a crowded temple. It was for less than a minute but the fear I felt was insane. I was paralysed. I don't remember exactly what happened but my mom found me. I clung to her for the rest of the day and wouldn't let go.
Cynthia Plath 3 years ago
I've been sexually assaulted twice in public (once at school - boy behind me grabbed my bum in the lunch queue - and second time on holiday while walking around the streets - man touched me inappropriately on my breasts then walked off when I was too stunned to relax) and have witnessed fights between people in broad daylight. From these experiences, I've learnt that you will NOT have another opportunity to confront your attacker, and that you have GOT to be there in the moment to make a scene. Try to take a film (the people fighting were arrested in my case, though the boy in the lunch queue didn't get caught - no CCTV - and the man on holiday disappeared before I could do anything); don't doubt yourself, you will regret it if you don't. I had a hard time with the assaults since I thought it was my fault (although I'd been wearing trousers at school I was wearing a dress on holiday so I thought that was what might have caused it) and dealt with a lot of guilt. I was 13 at the time.
Tunk Moot Lopper Reebit 3 years ago
That was full on and completely disturbing. I kept thinking that old line of evil flourishes when good people do nothing but seriously, wtf? The dystopian future is here. The stories of women being violated is truly sickening. The future is looking pretty f****d up.
Powerful Katrinka 3 years ago
Unfortunately, these stories of women being assaulted in broad daylight are as old as the human race.
Load More Replies... Kat Min 3 years ago
I had to stop reading, at some point. So so many sexual predators in this world. It is terrifying adn utterly depressing. What is wrong with humanity??
Steve 3 years ago
Saw a guy drop a French fry on a sidewalk, it landed on flattened brown substance. He picked it up and ate it.
tara 3 years ago
But was it a McDonalds french fry....cause...well....it IS a Mcdonalds french fry..
Load More Replies... Nicole Blow 3 years ago
When I was only 18 years old and was at a local club with few friends. I was only having a few drinks this night, and half through my 2nd drink I was standing with my friends talking and all of a sudden my vision went really blurry and I felt really weak and suddenly just fell onto my mate next to me. I could only just talk and said I don't feel well, I can't feel or see anything. My friends picked me like a baby as I couldn't walk and took me outside to one of our cars. They waited around and watched over me but no improvement BUT I was fully aware of my surroundings the whole time. I never lost consciousness but I couldn't see it move for hours. I had been properly roofied!!! If I had happened to have walked off when I collapsed who knows what could have happened to me.
Christopher Anderson 3 years ago
I had a similar experience of getting stabbed in my leg with a pair of scissors when I was in high school because I was protecting a friend from a bully. Of course that was literally my worst day over. It started off with me getting my foot ran over, going to school and getting stabbed and ended with a near death experience of dodging a car that jumped the curb and into the bus stop seats that I was sitting on
tara 3 years ago
Oh my gosh that IS the worst day ever! Hopefully all that bad luck is over .
Load More Replies... Adele Maestranzi 3 years ago
In the 1980s, I was walking down a busy Boston street at lunchtime. I stranger stepped in front of me, pushed me to the ground, and started kicking me. People watched; no one intervened. Luckily, after he left, someone followed him and stopped a cop in his car.
Cynthia Plath 3 years ago
Pandas, if you see anything like this kind of stuff EVER happening in public, be confrontational. Make a scene. Take out your phone and try to get an image / video of the harasser's face, it'll be extremely useful, I know from experience. ALWAYS speak up if you feel like something's wrong; If not you, then who? Don't bother being polite, a rapist isn't going to stop if you ask nicely. If you're the one being harassed / intimidated, then you have GOT to know that it's NOT your fault in ANY WAY, as well as the fact that what is happening to you is TOTALLY WRONG and that you're not going to have another opportunity to speak up about it. As I said earlier, try to get a video of the person, and DON'T be polite or nice, if you're feeling uncomfortable then make it VERY clear. Lastly, DON'T get the person get away with it, if you're feeling guilty or responsible if you did then you have to remember that you're not responsible in any way, shape, or form, and that you did nothing wrong.
T'Mar of Vulcan 3 years ago
When there was a shooting outside my school earlier this year. Robbers tried to get into the house across the road and the lady, her helper and their son hid in the bathroom & called her husband. The armed response also came. In class we just heard these loud bangs. Two, silence, then more. To their credit, the kids dived straight under the desks as they had been taught during emergency drill. I'm too old to be climbing on the floor, so I just hunkered down in the seat and looked through the window... There, not 20 feet away from me but on the other side of the palisades, is one of the robbers, running down the road with an AK-47, laughing. Long story short, one of the robbers was shot and killed in the bakkie (pickup truck) he was driving; the other (AK-47 guy) was cornered by the armed response and climbed into someone's yard and onto the roof, where the armed response shot him dead. We were all shaken, but okay.
Artsy Bookworm 3 years ago
When I was around 6, I got separated from my family in a crowded temple. It was for less than a minute but the fear I felt was insane. I was paralysed. I don't remember exactly what happened but my mom found me. I clung to her for the rest of the day and wouldn't let go.
Cynthia Plath 3 years ago
I've been sexually assaulted twice in public (once at school - boy behind me grabbed my bum in the lunch queue - and second time on holiday while walking around the streets - man touched me inappropriately on my breasts then walked off when I was too stunned to relax) and have witnessed fights between people in broad daylight. From these experiences, I've learnt that you will NOT have another opportunity to confront your attacker, and that you have GOT to be there in the moment to make a scene. Try to take a film (the people fighting were arrested in my case, though the boy in the lunch queue didn't get caught - no CCTV - and the man on holiday disappeared before I could do anything); don't doubt yourself, you will regret it if you don't. I had a hard time with the assaults since I thought it was my fault (although I'd been wearing trousers at school I was wearing a dress on holiday so I thought that was what might have caused it) and dealt with a lot of guilt. I was 13 at the time.
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