got put in my place, feel kinda dumb

[Laser Sailor]

I went out to the beach/party area looking to make photographs of the spring break scene (I'm majoring in photojournalism and view this as part of my job). It was about 7pm the sun had just gone down and a thick fog had just rolled in. I was minding my own taking photos of the various people milling about acting like, well drunk people. I photographed a crew of (homeless) people playing their instruments. It was all good until one guy, who wasn't part of the group but still a homeless dude, began to harass me and my friends. CONDITION YELLOW! He called my best friend's wife ugly (she's not and I have to commend my friend for restraining himself on that point) and began to follow us down the street. He called us all sorts of names and kept getting in my way, forcing me to go around him. CONDITION ORANGE! I basically ignored him and hoped he would go away because (and I expect to get flamed for this) I wasn't armed, at all. No gun, no OC, no knife. The only "weapon" I had was my $2700 camera, which I'm a little hesitant to smash against someone's face unless I REALLY have to. Luckily force was not required tonight, he gave up after about 3/4 of a block.

So I learned a valuable lesson, which has sealed my commitment to being equipped to defend myself. Because what if, what if he was just a little bit crazier and decided to stab me for ignoring him?

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[eggs]

Thanks for sharing and being honest. Glad you guys are unharmed.
You did the right thing by walking away.
I'm curious tho how close did he get to you, that you had to walk around him?
IMO you should not let someone who can be a threat close to you.
If so you need to be prepared to defend yourself at all costs , I agree a 2700$ camera is not the best option but if the only one..USE IT.
O would from now on CC and try to always have another tool with you.
Anyway i'll get off my soap box.Seems like you have learned a lesson, and not the hard way.

[ccw9mm]

I wasn't armed, at all. No gun, no OC, no knife.

So I learned a valuable lesson, which has sealed my commitment to being equipped to defend myself.

'Nuff said, really.

Anytime. Anywhere.

[Laser Sailor]

eggs: he was within 4 feet, waaay to close, but I judged that the situation called for no reaction on my part, any response from me might escalate the situation, he seemed to be just blowing off steam, I kept an eye on him and weighed my options, my plan was to play it cool, unless he tried to touch me. I kept him to my left so he couldn't see my right hand, which I would use to deliver a full force punch to his nose if he tried to grab me. My friend and I arn't small people, we could have subdues him quickly if needed.

[9MMare]

Consider a white light tactical light for this kind of thing. I got that tip from another situation described by a member here. He shown it in an aggressive panhandler's eyes.

[HKtexas]

Mace would have cleared that situation up. In the end its just a homeless guy pissed off at the world, taking it out on you, trying to make himself feel big. You handled it well.

[Bark'n]

I think you handled things as best you could considering you were without a whole lot of resources to deal with a potential violent encounter.

As a matter of fact, even had you been carrying a weapon, you handled it in a pretty non-confrontational way. Maybe keeping a little more distance from him would have been in order.

Remember to beware of homeless people. A lot of people equate homeless with being harmless. Often times that may be the case, however, a significant portion of the homeless population have varying degree's of mental illness, including schizophrenia. A homeless person is to be considered far from harmless. For obvious reasons, many of them carry an edged weapon of some sort to defend themselves against other predators. But that doesn't mean they aren't of a predatory nature themselves or aren't willing to use their weapon to rob or injure an otherwise innocent people.

Lesson learned for ya. I hope you take heed and remember to stay armed when out on what you believed to be an innocuous photo session.

For future reference, a lot of homeless people do not like having their pictures taken! Many of them suffer from various degree's of paranoia, and with others it's the fact that they have a criminal past and may have warrants for their arrest.

[archer51]

Sounds like you handled the situation as best you could, and more importantly, learned from it.

[Harryball]

I think you handled things as best you could considering you were without a whole lot of resources to deal with a potential violent encounter.

As a matter of fact, even had you been carrying a weapon, you handled it in a pretty non-confrontational way. Maybe keeping a little more distance from him would have been in order.

Remember to beware of homeless people. A lot of people equate homeless with being harmless. Often times that may be the case, however, a significant portion of the homeless population have varying degree's of mental illness, including schizophrenia. A homeless person is to be considered far from harmless. For obvious reasons, many of them carry an edged weapon of some sort to defend themselves against other predators. But that doesn't mean they aren't of a predatory nature themselves or aren't willing to use their weapon to rob or injure an otherwise innocent people.

Lesson learned for ya. I hope you take heed and remember to stay armed when out on what you believed to be an innocuous photo session.

For future reference, a lot of homeless people do not like having their pictures taken! Many of them suffer from various degree's of paranoia, and with others it's the fact that they have a criminal past and may have warrants for their arrest.

You are so right about them not being helpless. Alot of them around here carry sticks and can be very dangerous. Ive had many dealings with the homeless and the OP did things right to a certain degree. Sometimes forceful voice commands gets them to go away, if you are scared or acting scared they feed on that.

[Tom G]

A lot of people are homeless due to the economy and normally do not bother people.But there are those who are mentally ill who do. I think you handled the situation well.

[QKShooter]

That sure would have a great time to at least have had a key-chain OC unit on hand.
It usually is decently effective on immature, infantile, teenyboppers with elevated alcohol induced beerballs at least with regard to making a judicious EXIT a bit easier.

[varob]

I've found that giving an agitated homeless person a dollar or some pocket change usually defuses the situation.
It's cheaper than an assault charge.

I had a similar situation a couple of times on the Mall in DC. Just a few coins changed the whole situation from cuss words to thank you sir.

[Vtxdpm]

I've found that giving an agitated homeless person a dollar or some pocket change usually defuses the situation.
It's cheaper than an assault charge.

I had a similar situation a couple of times on the Mall in DC. Just a few coins changed the whole situation from cuss words to thank you sir.

Yes, that might work. But it also rewards that type of behavior and ensures that it will continue.

[maddyfish]

+1 on the mace. My wife had a situation long ago with an aggressive homeless--aggressive enought that I called it an attempted robbery--She maced him and kicked the tar out of him while he was down. Worked like a charm.

The kicking was important as she was on foot, and due to medical conditions-very slow moving--could not risk him getting up and following.

[Laser Sailor]

Thanks for the kind remarks, I felt I handled it well.

As a policy I do not give money to homeless, I will however buy them a whopper or something if they ask for food. I had already done this once that day, for someone else.

I plan to get a keychain OC unit since the one I have is a 4oz LE bottle leftover from my navy days. And carry it 24/7 along with a small tac folder and flashlight, I can't carry the 9mm everywhere legally, but a post on a different forum has me rethinking that particular tactic.

For those interested that thread can be found here.