Nightrider Alert! Jerk on bike commits random violence !

I was headed down Classon Avenue , between Eastern Parkway and Lincoln Pl. at 9:05pm on Wednesday 9/02, when a young black male with a red hat and loose fitting white shirt on a low rider bike rode from behind me and smacked me, knocking my phone from my hand - therefore also smacking me in the face. I yelled "you fu*ker!" as he was turning his bike back around he charged at me 3 or 4 more times. Each time I pushed or slapped him however he seemed to be having a really great time. I walked into the Lincoln Deli and called the police who said that because I wasn't hurt and nothing was stolen that they would not file a police report, but ensured me that they would drive around the block. I walked home with an increased sense of the neighborhood that I live in, as a young white professional male.

On a positive note, the police responded within 1 minute, driving up Classon the wrong direction to reach me.

:twisted: :?:

I have a feeling that this kid, or someone exactly like him, passed my wife and I around 7:30-7:45ish on St. Marks...almost like he considered as he past us, then realized it wasn't worth it.

Sorry that happened to you - totally totally sucks.

Just now, around 11:30pm, I saw a kid on a low rider bike who I was wondering about - this may sound dumb, but what seemed out of place was his banging on a cigarette packet for a long time. It was an odd agitated gesture - I wondered what he was pissed off about, or if it was a signal or what. Just a little thing, out of place. I could hear him continue bang those cigs all the way up the block. He was in Park Slope - outside the Garden of Union, on Union just up from 4th Ave, just up from the R train.

sorry you got slapped man.

now that it's in the past are you gonna remember these 2 things?
1. put your phone away and save your conversations for when you stop somewhere
2. walk everywhere with purpose and attention

also when you call the cops, go ahead and exaggerate. i hear about drivers doing this all the time in run-ins with bikers, you might as well do it too. say you're dazed, worried about a concussion or something. maybe they'll take you seriously then.

Subject: This one time, at Sal's Pizzeria....

wonderhoven wrote: Each time I pushed or slapped him however he seemed to be having a really great time.

Maybe he was having a fun time watching you fight like a redacted. Next time just punch him in the face. Lay 'im out.

MOD NOTE: Play nicely, folks...

this may sound dumb, but what seemed out of place was his banging on a cigarette packet for a long time. It was an odd agitated gesture - I wondered what he was pissed off about, or if it was a signal or what.

i'm not sure if you're joking, but he was probably packing the tobacco in a new pack of cigs.

bobbybrummel wrote:

now that it's in the past are you gonna remember these 2 things?
1. put your phone away and save your conversations for when you stop somewhere
2. walk everywhere with purpose and attention

Is that for all of NY or just Crown Heights?

Kind of sad in any case.

PROSPECT HEIGHTS

mr. met wrote:

this may sound dumb, but what seemed out of place was his banging on a cigarette packet for a long time. It was an odd agitated gesture - I wondered what he was pissed off about, or if it was a signal or what.

i'm not sure if you're joking, but he was probably packing the tobacco in a new pack of cigs.

I'm familiar with the action and it's purpose. He just did it for waaaaay longer and way harder than usual to pack tobacco. He seemed to be gearing up for something, not just packing his cigs. I could still hear him when I was up at 5th Ave, and was wondering 'what's up with that kid'. Then I came home and read this thread. So. Meh.

Predators are looking for prey all the time - I'm with bobbybrummel on staying off the phone and paying attention.

Subject: Like a turtle in search of roughage.

bobbybrummel wrote: 1. put your phone away and save your conversations for when you stop somewhere
2. walk everywhere with purpose and attention

I don't want to encourage cell phone use, nor do I want to discourage doing things with purpose and attention; BUT that's just wrong, Bobby. Wrong. If you have to limit your activities and walk in vectors, something's wrong. If you feel the need to limit your activities and walk in vectors, something's wrong with you. (Unless you really live in a war zone, but I doubt that).

Granted, Bobby hasn't had a cell phone in a long time and doesn't so much walk with purpose and attention, but rather waddles aimlessly with headphones locked to his ears; so he doesn't know what he's talking about.

Subject: Re: Like a turtle in search of roughage.

GermanHermann wrote: [quote=bobbybrummel]1. put your phone away and save your conversations for when you stop somewhere
2. walk everywhere with purpose and attention

I don't want to encourage cell phone use, nor do I want to discourage doing things with purpose and attention; BUT that's just wrong, Bobby. Wrong. If you have to limit your activities and walk in vectors, something's wrong. If you feel the need to limit your activities and walk in vectors, something's wrong with you. (Unless you really live in a war zone, but I doubt that).

Granted, Bobby hasn't had a cell phone in a long time and doesn't so much walk with purpose and attention, but rather waddles aimlessly with headphones locked to his ears; so he doesn't know what he's talking about.

Nah- Bobby's RIGHT. See, if you're walking around without a care in the world, your phone in one ear and your ipod in the other, without your knowledge, a big fat "V" appears on your forehead. That V stands for VICTIM. I walk in such a way that says, "go ahead, try to smack me in the head, I see you coming from a mile away, son. I gotcho number." This ain't Mulberry- this is Brooklyn.

If i understand you correctly, Hermann, walking in vectors IS what you're encouraging, since you agree with Bobby that one should walk with purpose and attention, as "in course or direction." Booby don't walk around aimlessly, and that's why he don't get smacked.

MeredithB wrote:
Is that for all of NY or just Crown Heights?

Kind of sad in any case.

i probably sound like a dwight schrute, but i think that is how you should behave EVERYWHERE.

people leave you alone, or sometimes, people approach you in their own need, if you just always look like you know what you're doing. it's the confused, the aimless meanderer, the distracted conversationalist who gets targeted.

GermanHermann wrote:

Granted, Bobby hasn't had a cell phone in a long time and doesn't so much walk with purpose and attention, but rather waddles aimlessly with headphones locked to his ears; so he doesn't know what he's talking about.

actually herr hermann, i'm smart enough to leave my headphones at home. when i walk around this city i'd rather hear the sounds around me than something from an ipod. also, i happen to bike just about everywhere these days. i want to punch headphoned bikers in the ear as i pass them.

I don't know... I see most people steer clear of the dude who can't walk straight and mutters to himself.

I live in this area and have not had any problems. I've seen shady characters, but I make eye contact and smile. It seems to work out for me.

I also bike with headphones on. I can still hear car horns and pedestrian shouts. it helps me focus and lets me enjoy the ride. I guarantee if you tried to smack me I would fling several ninja stars into your back tire.

Subject: Re: Like a turtle in search of roughage.

GermanHermann wrote: [quote=bobbybrummel]1. put your phone away and save your conversations for when you stop somewhere
2. walk everywhere with purpose and attention

I don't want to encourage cell phone use, nor do I want to discourage doing things with purpose and attention; BUT that's just wrong, Bobby. Wrong. If you have to limit your activities and walk in vectors, something's wrong. If you feel the need to limit your activities and walk in vectors, something's wrong with you. (Unless you really live in a war zone, but I doubt that).

Granted, Bobby hasn't had a cell phone in a long time and doesn't so much walk with purpose and attention, but rather waddles aimlessly with headphones locked to his ears; so he doesn't know what he's talking about.

Okay, this is just plain dumb. Walking with care and purpose used to be a biological imperative, born from the fact that there were predators that may have been looking to turn you into dinner. Fast forward a couple hundred years and all of a sudden sitting on the top of the food chain means you get to skip through the streets of Brooklyn singing "YIT-TA-DEE" at the top of your lungs?

The reality of being a member of this universe means that there are things that are out to get you. They are not always evil, but they are often able to harm you quickly if you aren't paying attention. I wouldn't walk through a forrest with my headphones on, wouldn't boat in storm tossed waters without a life jacket, and would not walk down city streets not paying attention to what was going on around me. I can choose not to be a predator, but I'm also aware that others might desire to make me prey.

I think one should be able to talk on his phone, walk (and chew gum) or listen to one's iPod and still be alert and not one should not have to worry about some gentrification-hating street thug with bad moral values.

IMO

prospectheightsyo, I often like riding with a blindfold on, it makes me aware of the sounds and smells of PH.

MeredithB wrote: I think one should be able to talk on his phone, walk (and chew gum) or listen to one's iPod and still be alert and not one should not have to worry about some gentrification-hating street thug with bad moral values.

sure, you should be able to do anything you want. i should be able to walk down sterling place with my little sterling flapping in the wind.

and i'm not blaming any victims here.

but as someone who doesn't like to be hit about the shoulders and face and has done a good job avoiding it, i think my course of action has been a great basis for such luck.

hey at least this isn't one of those threads where we say "hey maybe you should try looking like less of a douchebag." also aren't you glad no one has picked on him for the racial framing yet? or the fact that a black man can't pack his cigarettes in this town without scaring whitey?

bobbybrummel wrote: or the fact that a black man can't pack his cigarettes in this town without scaring whitey?

hey now...

To be fair, Bobby, I believe the dude who posted, said he was _over_ packing his cigarettes.

Project the persona of the calm assertive pack leader, hold your head high and walk with a "fuck off " expression on your face. It's worked for me for 30+ years on Lincoln. :cat:

Has anyone thought that the reason you haven't been targeted has nothing to do with how you carry yourself but all to do with how rare these incidents actually are? Carry yourself like a badass or like Phillie Phanatic, it won't matter: it's random.

fuck the Phillie Phanatic

yo man, haven't you seen the random board thread about how philly is fuckin RAW. phanatic don't take no shit. mr. met is all smiles, phanatic swings a sledgehammer!

mr. met has his t-shirt gun, the phanatic has a HOT DOG CANNON.

get that thing out of here

jimmy rollins is the most overrated player of the last 10 years

prospectheightsyo wrote: PROSPECT HEIGHTS

heh. Brokers have done their job all too well.

Don't be jealous. I live in luxury in P-heights.

bobbybrummel wrote: mr. met has his t-shirt gun, the phanatic has a HOT DOG CANNON.

See, Mougar? Pneumatics...no remanufactured shotgun shells! No ziplock bags full of natural gas.

arches wrote: [quote=bobbybrummel]mr. met has his t-shirt gun, the phanatic has a HOT DOG CANNON.

See, Mougar? Pneumatics...no remanufactured shotgun shells! No ziplock bags full of natural gas.

...single shot?

nonsense

http://www.myaircannons.com/potatocannon.html

this is what I want for my birthday.