Tension Buildup and Hostility around Playing Children

[Jenna]

Both of you did exactly what I did, although we do things differently. I left my knife in its sheath on my belt like Tames D said (sometimes I'd let it show, but mostly concealed). I asked, but got no compliance. I told him to "Go" and pointed away from the taco stand. Still no compliance. I didn't kick him in the knees (my style doesn't condone violence- and certainly not risking the lives of innocent children). My phone would've been the bat signal, if it wasn't dead. So I did what CB Jones said, only I told the manager (perhaps a flaw on my behalf- thank you CB ) The manager said it was okay as long as he stopped bugging the lady. I bought an energy drink, went back and approached the guy who immediately resumed his "on-guard natural stance" as soon as I walked up. I talked to him for a minute. He calmed down. I made him smile. He let his guard down. We popped the tabs on our cans and took our first swigs together. Halfway into his second beer, it must have dawned on him that I was drinking the energy drink, because he decided to leave on his own accord.

Yes perhaps also you can ask the owners show to you few phrase in Spanish also yes for Spanish speaking patrons is good for you to know yes? calmato / tranquilo mi amigo, no te enojes

 

[Tez3]

I assume the Spanish spoken in Mexico and the US is Castilian?

 

[Steve]

It was a warm, Summer day. The air dripping with humidity, and a lingering smell of cumin, peppers and sweat. I was working at the taco stand that day. My phone was dead, but my knife... it was sharp and ready to go. Overall, the day was quiet, until a very... very large midget walked in the door. He was Mexican and spoke no English. I could tell, because he looked at me like I was speaking a different language. Which I was: English. But I already said that. I feel like this is getting a little confusing. Just nevermind about the language thing. It isn't that important.

What is important is that he was fat. Like 450 lbs. He was also short. I'm thinking about the height of your average 12 year old, a little over 5 feet.

He walked up to my taco stand carrying a six pack of beer and a whole lot of attitude. I asked him to leave, and he said, "Que?" I asked him to leave again and pointed at the door. He said, "Se trata de una taquería. No hay ninguna puerta." I didn't understand a word of it.

I also didn't like his tone. Or his smell. So, I left to cool off and buy myself an energy drink. Which I drank. With him. Except he had beer. After we drank our beverages of choice, we had a good laugh about the whole thing. I think (I honestly don't know what he was laughing about). And then he left.

It was then that I realized my boss, the owner of the stand, was really pissed at me, because I was supposed to be working that entire time, and he had a line that was a block long.

 

[elder999]

I assume the Spanish spoken in Mexico and the US is Castilian?

Only sort of not really.
It may have been Castilian once upon a time, but depending upon where you are, it could be quite a few varying dialects. There are three or four distinct dialects confined to New Mexico alone-some of them come from isolated mountain villages, and preserve an almost pure 16th century form of Castilian. Some are closer to what is now spoken in Mexico.

Don't even get me started about Puerto Rican.

Sure, they can all understand each other, somewhat.....but the languages aren't exactly the same. Mexicans settled in the northwest as well, and their language has also evolved.....
\
"Castilian?" If only it were that simple. My Spanish was a little too stilted and formal when I got here 20 years ago-I'm actually friends with someone from Spain, now, and we can hardly understand each other! Thank God we both speak English-sort of!

 

[Tez3]

Castilian Spanish is only spoken in the north and central parts of Spain, it's also what is taught here as Spanish. I suppose because it's the most widely spoken 'Spanish'. The rest of Spain speaks Galician, Basque and Catalan, they also have very good pro cycling races in these areas so I get to get the difference in languages in the signs etc. when watching the live racing on the tele.

I wonder too if my daughter is the only one who goes to Thailand for a couple of months and comes back with a taste for Mexican food....

 

[hoshin1600]

Ease up dude

Y'all beating on this dude, let him up for some air.

am i harsh...yes
look if he had presented a situation where he was in line waiting on his taco for him and his daughter, then yes what he did worked and no harm no foul.
however that was not the scenario, he said he was HIRED to be security for the food truck. the fact that everything worked out was purely luck on his part. he said the truck had been robbed several times. now if it was a robbery and the guy was waving a gun around he would have been totally unprepared and his knife and cell would have been robbed just like the food truck and everyone else that was standing around. didnt anyone ever tell you not to bring a knife to a gun fight? any mall cop who does unarmed security knows the only thing he can really do is call the police...and yet he let his cell phone go dead. this situation on a professional scale is full of errors.
i am being harsh because its clear to me the way the post was made it was an effort to show that his pacifist martial skill was better than physical skills. well my 80 pound wife who is a waitress knows those same skills it dosent take a martial artist to calm the guy down because his tacos are taking too long ,, you give him and extra one and tell him no charge for the order ..problem solved.
again if it was a real robbery he would have been screwed and wouldnt be able to preform the job he was being hired to do. professional secrurity sometimes will be responsible for peoples lives. imagine a LEO who forgot to wear his vest radio or his bullets.
the OP post ending with "what would you do" well what i would have done is not been in that poor situation to begin with. be prepared. that is the only real correct answer

 

[Bill Mattocks]

Castilian Spanish is only spoken in the north and central parts of Spain, it's also what is taught here as Spanish. I suppose because it's the most widely spoken 'Spanish'. The rest of Spain speaks Galician, Basque and Catalan, they also have very good pro cycling races in these areas so I get to get the difference in languages in the signs etc. when watching the live racing on the tele.

I wonder too if my daughter is the only one who goes to Thailand for a couple of months and comes back with a taste for Mexican food....

Andalusian is what is spoken in Mexico and environs. The Castilian lisp will get you the side eye.

 

[CB Jones]

Few years back we arrested a Mexican male who did not speak any English. One of the guys in our unit said no problem his buddy who works in patrol is Hispanic and is fluent in Spanish.

So we call and have him come to the office. He introduced himself to the arrestee and right away the guy started to talk 100 miles per hour in Spanish.

After a couple minutes we ask the "translator" what he was saying. The "translator" replied, "I dunno I'm Puerto Rican." Damn Dialects

 

[Mou Meng Gung Fu]

This thread is getting a little wild and going in different directions, but maybe that's a good thing. Some of your responses do seem harsh, but honest. All jokes aside, this wasn't really meant to be humorous. I agree with hoshin1600 that S.E.O.'s should always be prepared, especially when guarding others. As harsh as it sounds, in this case hoshin1600 is right to say "you messed up." This is a very serious matter, hence why I brought it up. Tensions are building up. You can sense the hostility, even though it hasn't occurred yet, and there are children at play. This is a serious judgment call, not really something we should be laughing about. Again I'm curious, what would you do in that situation? We got some pretty good answers so far. Let's keep it coming. You've done this several times before, but you messed up and were caught unprepared this time. What do you do?

 

[elder999]

If he turned out to be a problem, you're in a Mexican restaurant-or, at least at a taco stand.

Give him a face full of peppers or hot sauce, sweep his legs, put a bench over him and sit on it until the cops come.

 

[Flying Crane]

You work a bouncer detail and your weapon of choice, for confrontations, is a knife??? Jeezuz...just jeezuz..

And if you cut down on the internet porn, your phone battery won't be dead when you need to make an emergency call. Again, jeezuz. Just...jeezuz.

Pretty poor planning went into this one. Your problems started before the bad guy even showed up.

 

[Mou Meng Gung Fu]

If he turned out to be a problem, you're in a Mexican restaurant-or, at least at a taco stand.

Give him a face full of peppers or hot sauce, sweep his legs, put a bench over him and sit on it until the cops come.

Not even joking, I actually did grab a bag of chili powder that night. I really was thinking about throwing it in his eyes. Good way to use your head, my friend.

 

[Tez3]

This thread is getting a little wild and going in different directions, but maybe that's a good thing.

This place is similar to sitting around chatting, someone says something, it brings to mind something else so things do go off at tangents. Bear in mind too that we come from different countries and continents. I for one have no idea what a Mexican food truck thingy is! Nor do I know what type of Spanish 'Mexican' is!

 

[Steve]

 

[CB Jones]

You should have asked him:

Or better yet

 

[Mou Meng Gung Fu]

Pretty poor planning went into this one. Your problems started before the bad guy even showed up.

I think we already established that. There was some poor planning in this case, which brings about the reason for this discussion. How could it have been prevented with better planning? In any case, it's too late. The damage is done. You weren't prepared, so it's time to improvise. What do you do now? This isn't your regular job site, it was a last minute call and you don't speak Spanish (even if you do, just pretend you don't for the sake of this exercise). This is a simulation, a scenerio in which you're being tested. So what are some ways you could use your martial arts training (and the greatest weapon of all, your brain) to handle this situation? Again, you don't have a gun permit. Again, you were caught off-guard. Now, how do you adapt? What do you do?

Pretty good answers so far. Keep it coming. This is a great exercise.

 

[Steve]

I'd slip him a mickey in his taco.

 

[Steve]

Pretty good answers so far. Keep it coming. This is a great exercise.

Okay, I don't know if I've been transparent or not. I think some of the answers have been pretty good. But, I'm not sure this is a great exercise. I'm struggling to say this is even a good exercise. It just isn't all that useful, because the scenario is so foreign to most of the folks here.

Being a little more serious, I think for a scenario exercise like this to generate useful discussion, it would need to be more universally applicable. Let's say you're on a plane and they tell you they're taking your seat... no, that's already been done.

How about road rage? Or you're being followed by an aggressive panhandler. Something that might at least happen.

 

[CB Jones]

Let's say you're on a plane

Full of snakes?

 

[Mou Meng Gung Fu]

Okay, I don't know if I've been transparent or not. I think some of the answers have been pretty good. But, I'm not sure this is a great exercise. I'm struggling to say this is even a good exercise. It just isn't all that useful, because the scenario is so foreign to most of the folks here.

Being a little more serious, I think for a scenario exercise like this to generate useful discussion, it would need to be more universally applicable. Let's say you're on a plane and they tell you they're taking your seat... no, that's already been done.

How about road rage? Or you're being followed by an aggressive panhandler. Something that might at least happen.

You do realize you're in the Security & Bouncers section of the forums. This exercise wasn't meant to be universally applicable. (And in fact it's not even a fictional simulation, it's based on personal experience). So let's at least try to stay on topic and within reason. Honestly, security guards and police officers use mental exercises like this all the time simply because they are useful. It allows open discussion and presents ideas to the table so that all of the officers can reflect and grow, adapt and be better prepared for future conflict. In martial art, you might practice simulation sparring (with one hand or blindfolded to simulate injury). This exercise is somewhat similar, only it's designed to work your mind instead of your body. The improper planning in this case is your handicap or injury. I'm asking how you would handle this specific scenerio. We can talk about jetliner aircrafts another time. Right now you're at a taco truck in the Spanish ghetto, and there are children at play. Deal with this first.

Fair enough?