Something to make us think..

[Tony]

I deliver pizza when I'm not doing Kenpo, and muggings and robberies are fairly common in my industry. Not like convenience store clerks, but then again, how many of them have had bombs strapped to their necks?

http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/Northeast/09/02/pizza.bomb/

Anyway, every time I deliver a pizza I take things like environment, obstructions, position of the customer and their porch, lighting, whether or not they have dogs and the like into consideration. Many times, drivers have been robbed when they have taken pizzas to abandoned or empty homes. There are alot of things to consider, in fact, a brown belt friend of mine once considered doing his Black Belt thesis on defenses with a pizza bag and a 2 liter of soda.

I have had several friends mugged delivering pizza. My dad worked for Pizza Hut for 16 years and was mugged three times, and had the store robbed while he was there at least three times. His car was also stolen. Just recently there was an attempted car theft at the store he used to work at where the drivers saw the guy stealing the car and dragged him out of it and beat the tar out of him. Don't feel bad though, he had it coming. Right now I deliver on the nice side of town, and my store never really has any problems.

In some cities pizza companies have refused to deliver to certain high risk areas after dark. Due to the usually large minority populations of many of these areas, this has led to charges of racial discrimination, but it's really just a business decision. Once you've had a driver hospitalized following a robbery and your franchise has had to pay out hundreds of thousands of dollars in workman's comp., the $11.75 per medium pie doesn't always seem worth it anymore. And I'll tell you, when your friends, or your father, get mugged delivering a pizza, you start eyeing every customer as a potential threat, no matter what side of town you work on.


-Rob

Hi Rob

I was interested in your post! Luckily I work in an office so the chances of being attacked are pretty slim but not impossible! However I am always trying to make myself aware fof my surroundings and thinking about the possible techniques to use on various assailants! I don't think I could ever work in a supermarket or bank or Petrol Garage because I know how risky it could get working in these places where handling money is involved. I worked as a ticket seller for a tour operator in one of the major cities in England! A colleague of mine was robbed and she was lucky not to be hurt as the guy who robbed her had taken a swing at her. Even though she had not self defence training whatsoever she managed to duck! And I remember with that job we were always carrying large amounts of money in our pouches!
And the times I would be in this ticket booth, made me a target for potential thieves but there were always so many people around as witnesses!
Due to the nature of the job there were complaints but luckily resolved without any need for further action. One of the female bus drivers was attacked by another woman over an argument because I think she had been asked to move her car so she could get her bus through!

Another incident I remember was when I was 17 walking back home after being with my friends. I was attacked by about 4 guys, but before it happened one of the guys approached me, thinking he was askign for directioins but no, he demanded i give him all my money and alarm bells started ringing immediately! Its amazing how adrenaline heightens your senses because I became aware of 2 more people and although I knew they were behind me I instinctively concentrated on the 2 in front of me! I felt one of these idiots hit on my head from behind but I did not go down! they started launchign their attack but I was too paralysed with fear to fight back!
Not having trained in any Martial Art at point I didn't know what would have worked but I was so determined not to be on the 9 o clock news so I managed to shout and that helped me pull free and I ran like hell but they did not chase! It was the most scariest moment of my life because I actually believed they would have hurt me even more had they managed to get me in the alley way like one of them was suggesting then I would probably have been in hospital, even though I cooperated and gave them the money I had which wasn't very much! In fact as I write this it kind of brings back some of tthe fear I was feeling! I think it was my desire to survive that saved me and anyone who has a strong desire to survive will do anything!
I am 26 now and have been studying Kung Fu for over 5 years so I would like to think if I was in a similar situation I could deal with it better! Even now I am very wary of strangers and I take so many precautions like locking my car doors if I see anyone slightly odd! Luckily I haven't been in any physical encounters since I was 17, neither do I invite trouble!

When I'm walking down any street I try to make myself aware of any possible dangers, in pubs and bars I never make eye contact at anyone that looks aggressive!
Well I think i have rambled on enough!

 

[Thesemindz]

Hi Rob

I was interested in your post! Luckily I work in an office so the chances of being attacked are pretty slim but not impossible! However I am always trying to make myself aware fof my surroundings and thinking about the possible techniques to use on various assailants! I don't think I could ever work in a supermarket or bank or Petrol Garage because I know how risky it could get working in these places where handling money is involved. I worked as a ticket seller for a tour operator in one of the major cities in England! A colleague of mine was robbed and she was lucky not to be hurt as the guy who robbed her had taken a swing at her. Even though she had not self defence training whatsoever she managed to duck! And I remember with that job we were always carrying large amounts of money in our pouches!
And the times I would be in this ticket booth, made me a target for potential thieves but there were always so many people around as witnesses!
Due to the nature of the job there were complaints but luckily resolved without any need for further action. One of the female bus drivers was attacked by another woman over an argument because I think she had been asked to move her car so she could get her bus through!

Another incident I remember was when I was 17 walking back home after being with my friends. I was attacked by about 4 guys, but before it happened one of the guys approached me, thinking he was askign for directioins but no, he demanded i give him all my money and alarm bells started ringing immediately! Its amazing how adrenaline heightens your senses because I became aware of 2 more people and although I knew they were behind me I instinctively concentrated on the 2 in front of me! I felt one of these idiots hit on my head from behind but I did not go down! they started launchign their attack but I was too paralysed with fear to fight back!
Not having trained in any Martial Art at point I didn't know what would have worked but I was so determined not to be on the 9 o clock news so I managed to shout and that helped me pull free and I ran like hell but they did not chase! It was the most scariest moment of my life because I actually believed they would have hurt me even more had they managed to get me in the alley way like one of them was suggesting then I would probably have been in hospital, even though I cooperated and gave them the money I had which wasn't very much! In fact as I write this it kind of brings back some of tthe fear I was feeling! I think it was my desire to survive that saved me and anyone who has a strong desire to survive will do anything!
I am 26 now and have been studying Kung Fu for over 5 years so I would like to think if I was in a similar situation I could deal with it better! Even now I am very wary of strangers and I take so many precautions like locking my car doors if I see anyone slightly odd! Luckily I haven't been in any physical encounters since I was 17, neither do I invite trouble!

When I'm walking down any street I try to make myself aware of any possible dangers, in pubs and bars I never make eye contact at anyone that looks aggressive!
Well I think i have rambled on enough!

I would never want to work in a toll booth or some kind of small enclosed box with money in it. Money makes you a target for crime, no matter where you work, and being in a box SEVERELY limits your options. I heard a few years ago about subway toll collectors being attacked through the little slots where they give out tokens and not being able to escape because they are trapped in little bulletproof boxes. That sort of thing is not for me.

Like I said, I've never been mugged. My father, and several of my friends have been however, all in more or less the same part of town. My dad has been robbed many times as a Pizza Hut employee, but the time he was beaten he was closing the store at the end of the night and leaving alone with the bank bags. The assailants hid behind the next building over until he came out and then attacked him from behind. When your dad comes home with his eye swollen shut you have a serious urge to commit violent crime. Today I thank God that I didn't find the men who did it, because I don't know what I would have done, but I know I would have had to live with the consequences of my actions. Then, I just wanted to see someone else hurt.

One of my friends was hospitalized just down the street from where my dad was mugged two years later. He was with his adult son and a friend of theirs when he was attacked from behind by a gang of five young adult men. His first warning was when he was pulled over backwards by his pony tail and punched in the face. These kinds of scum have always existed where people congregate, and always will. Our only defense against them is awareness, and that is often not enough. If four or five men approached me aggressively, I would be in a very bad position, and I would be looking for escape routes like now! I wouldn't want to fight five guys. Whether I would win or not, it is very unlikely that I would walk away unscathed. Or walk away at all.

I'm constantly eyeing my surroundings, whether I'm at home, work, or play. It may never happen to me, but it's happened to alot of people I know, and I don't want my mom to have to go through that again.


-Rob