Interesting Interaction

[Deserteagle]

Went to the store today and apparently made one guy rather angry. As I was driving through the parking lot, a guy in his truck started to back out of his parking spot and did not like me forcing him to stop as I drove by (I had the right of way anyway).

Anyway, I pull into a spot and get out of my car to walk into the store and sure enough there is a truck blocking my car in with a guy yelling at me. Pretty much every insult in the book came out of his mouth at me. I listened for the first 5 seconds and then decided enough was enough and turned my back to him without a word and continued into the store. Along with the insults, he invited me to fight him.

After in the store, he parked his truck outside of it and waited for me. After a minute he drove away.


That was my experience but it leaves me wondering. Of course, the one time I decide to leave my CCW in my car (because I had gym shorts on), I get invited to fight a guy. Lets say this was you and you did have your CCW on you. If the guy got out of his truck and started coming at you wanting to fight, what would you do?

My reaction was to leave the situation. Surprisingly, this worked because he stop waiting for me and did not pursue me. (He was notably more angry that I walked away from him which led me to believe he would follow me). But if he had pursued me, I would certainly have called 911 first. However, if he backed me into a corner while still coming at me, I was not sure what I would do when I first imagined this. After further thought, assuming 911 was called, I came to the conclusion that I would have to either prepare for a fight, or prepare to use my weapon. I do not like the thought of getting into a fight with an angry guy, nor do I like the thought of having to prove to a jury that I feared for my life before letting the man start beating me. For all I know, he could be a bad fighter, or he could be a very strong fighter who could easily cause severe bodily harm. Either way, I would not like to find out which one he is. Any thoughts?

One last comment- The more I think about situations like this, the more I think if I had been open carrying, the guy probably would have been deterred the second I stepped out of my car.

 

[eagleeyes]

i think you did the right thing by walking away.
and i'm glad he didn't try to continue trying to pick a fight with you

 

[PestControl02]

It's amazing how juvenile adults can be..lol, I mean seriously, a grown-ass man starting a fight in a parking lot? what an idiot.

I think you did the right thing, just walk away. Let that fool go home & beat his dog.

 

[TlWheatley]

If you live in a "stand your ground state" you would still face an uphill battle if you even pulled your gun. Many factors would be taken in to decide if the threat was real, like his physical size compared to you, your ability to avoid the confrontation...etc....

 

[Ryan.moran]

I think you made the right choice by walking away. I had a similar but not nearly as aggressive situation today when I crossed the road in a parking lot in the cross walk where I had a right away because their is a yield sign for drivers but I guess I did not walk fast enough for the car that was coming down the road. He had to slow down some and must have gotten mad because he stopped and rolled down his window to yell some words at me. I just kept walking.

People are just too self centered and some adults are more immature than some teens I know.

 

[Bob_M]

Is this a store that you frequent a lot? Maybe he does too. If so, then next time you see that truck, try to get the plate number and description for possible future reference. A snap shot of it would be great. Also his physical description.

Also try to remember and type in a text file on your computer in the "My Documents" folder all of this just in case you have another encounter or hear of a similar story at a latter date, maybe on the news, that somebody got beat up by some screwball in that lot. This guy sounds like an aggravated assault just looking for a place to happen.

I'm sure the cops would love to get that info. :smile:

 

[UDoggie]

I don't think the decision to fight the guy or not should have anything to do with you having a firearm.

If you wouldn't fight him without one, why on earth would you fight him with one? This is not self defense...

Just my 2 cents worth, as a fellow CCW holder who carries.

UD

 

[Andrew17]

You did the right thing by walking away. If he had pursued, and if you had your gun on you, I would call 911. If he posed any threat of bodily harm to you and you did not have the chance to talk him down or escape, then you can draw. Just remember that it's your last line of defense, but that it becomes your primary defense if you fear threatened and cannot escape.

 

[CapGun]

You had the right of way. Great. Maybe a little courtesy would have avoided this whole thing. You know, stop and let him back out of his spot which can be a challenge in many busy parking lots. Unless you were going to fast to do that.
So if you had your gun on you you would risk in escalating an already stupid situation. If you did many people here would be lamenting the fact that you made things look bad for the rest of us that legally carry.

 

[BC1]

Went to the store today and apparently made one guy rather angry. As I was driving through the parking lot, a guy in his truck started to back out of his parking spot and did not like me forcing him to stop as I drove by (I had the right of way anyway).

Anyway, I pull into a spot and get out of my car to walk into the store and sure enough there is a truck blocking my car in with a guy yelling at me. Pretty much every insult in the book came out of his mouth at me. I listened for the first 5 seconds and then decided enough was enough and turned my back to him without a word and continued into the store. Along with the insults, he invited me to fight him.

After in the store, he parked his truck outside of it and waited for me. After a minute he drove away.


That was my experience but it leaves me wondering. Of course, the one time I decide to leave my CCW in my car (because I had gym shorts on), I get invited to fight a guy. Lets say this was you and you did have your CCW on you. If the guy got out of his truck and started coming at you wanting to fight, what would you do?

My reaction was to leave the situation. Surprisingly, this worked because he stop waiting for me and did not pursue me. (He was notably more angry that I walked away from him which led me to believe he would follow me). But if he had pursued me, I would certainly have called 911 first. However, if he backed me into a corner while still coming at me, I was not sure what I would do when I first imagined this. After further thought, assuming 911 was called, I came to the conclusion that I would have to either prepare for a fight, or prepare to use my weapon. I do not like the thought of getting into a fight with an angry guy, nor do I like the thought of having to prove to a jury that I feared for my life before letting the man start beating me. For all I know, he could be a bad fighter, or he could be a very strong fighter who could easily cause severe bodily harm. Either way, I would not like to find out which one he is. Any thoughts?

One last comment- The more I think about situations like this, the more I think if I had been open carrying, the guy probably would have been deterred the second I stepped out of my car.

Regardless of any stand-your-ground law I would retreat quietly. I prefer not to engage him if at all possible. If he wants to engage he needs to work for it. He needs to make a scene and attract witnesses. I'm not interested in needing an attorney over a parking spot road-rage incident. In states hat have a duty to retreat, the retreat requirement applies only prior to the engagement. Once the action starts the victim is no longer required to retreat so of course I would have met force with force in protection of myself. For a guy who waits I would definitely get LE involved and ruin his day. Once you file the charge don't ever let him off.

Also... one thing about carrying... if you're gonna carry a gun then carry it.

 

[SGB]

If you live in a "stand your ground state" you would still face an uphill battle if you even pulled your gun. Many factors would be taken in to decide if the threat was real, like his physical size compared to you, your ability to avoid the confrontation...etc....

Agreed.

I'd never turn my back on a threat. I'd have continued to face this jack wagon, pulled out my cellphone and dialed 911.

 

[Deserteagle]

If you live in a "stand your ground state" you would still face an uphill battle if you even pulled your gun. Many factors would be taken in to decide if the threat was real, like his physical size compared to you, your ability to avoid the confrontation...etc....

It definitely would be an uphill battle, especially because the only weapon he seemed to have was his fists, but I do not plan on finding out how deadly his are.

I don't think the decision to fight the guy or not should have anything to do with you having a firearm.

If you wouldn't fight him without one, why on earth would you fight him with one? This is not self defense...

What decision to fight him? Did you misread what I wrote? I would suggest re-reading my original post. Remember when I said "I would not like to find out which one he is?" That was in reference to how good of a fighter he is. If we use our comprehension skills, we quickly realize that I am saying I do not want to fight. Crazy right?

You had the right of way. Great. Maybe a little courtesy would have avoided this whole thing. You know, stop and let him back out of his spot which can be a challenge in many busy parking lots. Unless you were going to fast to do that.

It is true that people generally like when others stay out of their way. Does that mean that we should all give up our right of way? I dont think so, but I sometimes do, just not this time. Every day I have to wait for people to move out of my way so I can back out of my spot, but I dont chase after them and confront them for not getting out of my way. Guess Im not the crazy one, that guy was. So who knows what could set him off.

Going off your point, you could probably also improve the day of many people if you also did not drive during rush hour, but does that mean you are not going to?

So if you had your gun on you you would risk in escalating an already stupid situation. If you did many people here would be lamenting the fact that you made things look bad for the rest of us that legally carry.

I would argue that pretty much any physical confrontation is a stupid situation, and that any time you introduce a firearm into a situation where one was not present already, you are escalating it. Im guessing you dont carry a gun because you would not want to risk "escalating" a situation if one day you get confronted by a person who wants to cause bodily harm to you.

Regardless of any stand-your-ground law I would retreat quietly. I prefer not to engage him if at all possible. If he wants to engage he needs to work for it. He needs to make a scene and attract witnesses. I'm not interested in needing an attorney over a parking spot rode-rage incident. In states hat have a duty to retreat, the retreat requirement applies only prior to the engagement. Once the action starts the victim is no longer required to retreat so of course I would have met force with force in protection of myself. For a guy who waits I would definitely get LE involved and ruin his day. Once you file the charge don't ever let him off.

Also... one thing about carrying... if you're gonna carry a gun then carry it.

Another reason why I walked right into the store- more witnesses of a crazy guy chasing after a customer who is minding his own business.

 

[DLeeHarley]

I think you did the correct thing in walking away and into the store. If he had followed you I would have done as SGB suggested, I would have faced him as I was calling 911. I'm a Big old boy 6'4" and 280 so when I had that happen to me before the guy just yelled from his truck. Never got out and drove next to me and talking all kinds of %@#$ as I was walking to the market. I told him either get out of the truck or shut up and he continued to ***** so I just told him his Parents were Brother & Sister. Everyone around laughed so hard the guy got embarrassed and just drove away! Don't let someone ruin your day by their actions. You can ONLY control yourself. Later

 

[Kalamity023]

I too had a similar situation over a parking space. I pulled in to one and apparently the jack-hole had his eye on it, I'd like to add I signaled, he did not. He continued to pull into a spot 1 space up, get out of his car and yell at me... I looked at him and said "really, it's a ********** parking space". I turned and walked to the building I was going into and waited at the door for the people I was meeting. He proceeded to enter the same door without saying a word. Most of these people are blow hards and think that by being verbally aggressive they can get their way. Most times a reality check is what's needed to defuse them. I'll echo Deagle here I don't want to find out how adept they are in a fight. But breaking out the verbal judo is a wondrous tactic. Then when words fail; actions will be dictated by state law and the aggressor.

 

[Treo]

Get a smaple pack of Chick tracts Chick Cartoon Tracts when they start yelling walk right up to the car and hand them one.

Works every time

 

[AppliedPerspective]

Hah! Love it, Treo.

 

[Bikenut]

To Deaserteagle:

My personal opinion worth what you paid for it...

I think you did exactly what should be done when confronted by someone wanting to fight and the ability to leave is present... you de-escalated and defused the entire thing by leaving him there to fight all alone. So no fight happened... no response involving force (deadly or otherwise) was needed.... no one got hurt... no one went to jail.. no one needed an attorney...

other than some jerk being pissed you didn't recognize how important he was and you didn't defer to his magnificence and stop to let him go ahead of you....

nothing happened.

And I agree that had you been open carrying the odds are the encounter would never have happened in the first place. But that isn't a guarantee... just the odds are very high the mere sight of your sidearm would have de-escalated, defused, and deterred, the entire incident.

But I must ask.... does the law in your State allow for audio and/or video recording in public? Had the encounter gone bad a legally made video/audio recording would be gold in a courtroom.

 

[TruckTurner68]

Having a ccw is no substitution for using decorum in public. Why not let him back out? What happened to being polite? And if he did want to fight walk away. Honestly sounds like a little passive aggression going on. Sure stand your ground is a great law, but having the responsibility of taking anothers life can be a life long nightmare. Dont be so gunho. Be in peace with all men.

 

[sambo42xa]

Shoot his tires out, then blow him a kiss.

 

[BC1]

I too had a similar situation over a parking space. I pulled in to one and apparently the jack-hole had his eye on it, I'd like to add I signaled, he did not. He continued to pull into a spot 1 space up, get out of his car and yell at me... I looked at him and said "really, it's a ********** parking space". I turned and walked to the building I was going into and waited at the door for the people I was meeting. He proceeded to enter the same door without saying a word. Most of these people are blow hards and think that by being verbally aggressive they can get their way. Most times a reality check is what's needed to defuse them. I'll echo Deagle here I don't want to find out how adept they are in a fight. But breaking out the verbal judo is a wondrous tactic. Then when words fail; actions will be dictated by state law and the aggressor.

No remark is better. First rules of PP... avoidance, deterrence, de-escalation. Any response can cause escalation with a nutjob.