guthmund

Brilliant, indeed and it will absolutely work. As long as these guys have no vested interest in the particular area (meaning they can run dice and drugs elsewhere with little problem) then I imagine it would be easier to move down the block or across the way than put up with the hassle.

Back in my restaurant days, if we wanted to get rid of "undesirables"--disruptive groups of teenagers, obnoxious drunks, etc.--we'd crank up whatever lame ass music we could find on the dial and pump it through the speaker system.

I love him, but, sadly, Billy Joel's stuff seemed the most effective. Maybe a little 52nd Street will clear out your street....or something, the hook it eludes me...

__________________
No signature. None. Seriously.

Willravel

I'll be blasting Piano Man as soon as they get here. Thanks for the ideas!

LoganSnake

Why don't you try one of these:



DUAL BARREL!!


Or if that fails, you can always blast some Beach Boys while pointing one of these at the leader:

__________________
Maturity is knowing you were an idiot in the past. Wisdom is knowing that you'll be an idiot in the future. Common sense is knowing that you should try not to be an idiot now. - J. Jacques

JumpinJesus

I don't know. There's always that certain element of society that if you push the wrong buttons, they could very well end up shooting you. That wouldn't be such a great response.

"Thanks for the replies, guys. I played really loud polka music and he pulled out a gun and shot me."

or

"Thanks for the replies, guys. I put fake poop on the ground for 4 days. On the 5th day I put real poop on the ground. He got mad and shot me."

It could happen.

__________________
"I can normally tell how intelligent a man is by how stupid he thinks I am" - Cormac McCarthy, All The Pretty Horses

Cynthetiq

Why would one do that? Will bought them lunch first, you know random act of kindness...

__________________
I don't care if you are black, white, purple, green, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, hippie, cop, bum, admin, user, English, Irish, French, Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Buddhist, Muslim, indian, cowboy, tall, short, fat, skinny, emo, punk, mod, rocker, straight, gay, lesbian, jock, nerd, geek, Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, Independent, driver, pedestrian, or bicyclist, either you're an asshole or you're not.

Willravel

I'm still left wondering how reasonable it is to assume one would pull a gun. God knows we hear enough about 'gangs' and 'unidentified black males' on the news, but when statistics come down to it, I'm more likely to die from heart disease or an auto accident than being shot. I still eat pork and drive my car (and when I really want to have fun, I do both at once!). That's why I wasn't afraid. Not only that, but so long as you don't respond in kind, even the most riffy of the raf will leave you be if they know you're not going to continue the posturing. I don't posture. It's not in my nature.

LoganSnake

I think you have too much trust in people, will.

__________________
Maturity is knowing you were an idiot in the past. Wisdom is knowing that you'll be an idiot in the future. Common sense is knowing that you should try not to be an idiot now. - J. Jacques

JumpinJesus

Wait, haven't I read somewhere before that you've both died and been shot?

Dude, if you've better odds dying of heart disease, I'd say you better get to a doctor, and quick. But take the bus.

But back on track...I don't posture, either, but there have been numerous times I've been threatened, approached, whatever, even though I was minding my own business. So either you live in the friendliest, most conscientious gangland ever, or something about this isn't meshing.

__________________
"I can normally tell how intelligent a man is by how stupid he thinks I am" - Cormac McCarthy, All The Pretty Horses

hunnychile

Let your local cops who patrol the area know that you have fresh hot coffee for them whenever they wish along with....wait for it....DOUGHNUTS.

That always worked for us on lower Mission St. in SF when we had loiterers on one of our doorsteps. (And the cops loved us.)

__________________
"I need compassion, understanding and chocolate." - NJB

Cynthetiq

Brownsville, Brooklyn or South Bronx. Can't even ask someone for the time without them fronting on some shit.

__________________
I don't care if you are black, white, purple, green, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, hippie, cop, bum, admin, user, English, Irish, French, Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Buddhist, Muslim, indian, cowboy, tall, short, fat, skinny, emo, punk, mod, rocker, straight, gay, lesbian, jock, nerd, geek, Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, Independent, driver, pedestrian, or bicyclist, either you're an asshole or you're not.

Willravel

I'm hardly in the Bronx. San Jose is a relatively safe large city. It's one of the reasons I live here. Now if only it could be 10 degrees cooler...

albania

I'd have to say that if you simply keep on going out there and politely bother them away a few times they aren't too likely to return. Nobody likes to be annoyed, or put in an awkward situation. Most humans of all classes and backgrounds employ a rationale; committing crimes doesn't generally exclude one from the truism, although it means their rationale is different from yours.

The reason I say that they are likely to leave is because you mentioned they were young. If they're of high school age or pretty close to it that's good. In a group that size there's bound to be at least 3 or 4 that will have a hard time even making eye contact with you. If the group as a whole is not moving, you can take a gander at these few individuals. They're likely to leave first and the group will probably disperse afterwards.

I also don't think you’ll encounter any violence that’s directed towards you (vandalism, on the other hand, idk). The most feasible scenario in which I think violence is likely to occur is if one of the members of the group tries to impress the others. This would probably be an inexperienced fighter who may simply walk up and try to punch you. If they’re truly inexperienced he won’t try to hit you squarely on the chin and he’ll go for somewhere around the lower jaw. His expectation would be that you’ll fall like a sack of potatoes to the ground. You wrote that you had fight training, evaluate the situation to see how much danger you’re really in. If he hesitates then lunge forward and he’ll flinch. You probably won’t even need to attack him, and if anyone in the group asks why you didn’t fight back all you need to state is, “There are 10 of you guys, there is only one of me”. They’re likely to accept this and just leave. (BTW, something very similar to what I describe above actually happened to me, so I’m not trying to bs you, but I’m also not an expert. I’m quite a pacifist, yet, somehow, I’ve been around some pretty volatile situations in my childhood and adolescence)

Willravel

Sound advice. They are maybe a little over high school age, a few years my junior. I can defend myself, but I would view the situation as a magnificent failure if it came to a physical altercation. My goal would be them leaving without ill will. Ill Will is my other nickname, btw. Calling the cops strikes me not only as cowardly, but the cops already have their hands full and can't park out in front of the building every night.

Thanks for the advice!

host

A "no brainer", will.... you simply need professional help, and the money you pay, goes to a good cause:

Dilbert1234567

A-Team?

__________________
Donate Blood!

"Love is not finding the perfect person, but learning to see an imperfect person perfectly." -Sam Keen

JumpinJesus

Okay, nevermind. After reading most of this thread more carefully, I've realized there are a lot of Dwight Schrutes running around.

__________________
"I can normally tell how intelligent a man is by how stupid he thinks I am" - Cormac McCarthy, All The Pretty Horses

Willravel

Without the mention of Ninjas or secret military training, this can't be 100% Dwight.

analog

Right... but the differences in probability skew drastically when you walk up to a group of street gamblers/drug dealers with the desire to tell them "what's what".

Willravel

What I mean is that assuming they are murderers or violent criminals isn't necessarily reasonable.

ziadel

Listen man, with luck my court nonsense will be over very soon, then I'll come up there and take care of this.


/yes I'm very serious
//no I wont shoot them
///or even brandish a weapon.
////I am Ahab.
/////Degenerate douche bags are my white whale
//////yeah, I fark too much.

__________________
Ron Paul '08
Vote for Freedom
Go ahead and google Dr. Ron Paul. You'll like what you read.

analog

No one's a murderer until they've killed their first.

Cynthetiq

Sure, I guess when you are swiming with sharks one can just pretend they are dolphins.

__________________
I don't care if you are black, white, purple, green, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, hippie, cop, bum, admin, user, English, Irish, French, Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Buddhist, Muslim, indian, cowboy, tall, short, fat, skinny, emo, punk, mod, rocker, straight, gay, lesbian, jock, nerd, geek, Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, Independent, driver, pedestrian, or bicyclist, either you're an asshole or you're not.

Willravel

That's an excellent comparison. Sharks are scary as fuck, but the reality is that they almost never attack (less than 100 total annually, 30 times more likely to be hit by lightning than bitten by a shark). So long as you respect them, you're not really in danger.

albania

It's really nothing, plus this is an interesting situation. I hope you'll keep us informed. As an aside, they were doing a small piece on phobias on the news because of the whole bridge collapse and how bridge phobia is a top 10 phobia of people in the US. I think they said that fear of strangers was on the top 10 according to some government statistic as well. I found that interesting, although, I’m slightly confused as to where they got their statistics from, the show was Good Morning America so I think it might be trustworthy enough. Personally, I’d have never thought there were that many people afraid of bridges.

JumpinJesus

There you go with those statistics again. May I reiterate my earlier thread? I think you may have missed it. If you've both died and been shot, then you should really stay away from saying things like: I'm 10,000 times more likely to choke on chocolate than be attacked by a shark.

And respecting sharks? What, you mean like ask it casually and coolly to go hunt in someone else's waters? What if it's a drug dealing, dice rolling shark? How do you respect a shark that don't respect the law?

Or, do you mean respect the shark by realizing you're in its territory and you have to obey its laws? Wouldn't that follow that you should then bring out some crack and dice with you next time you approach those hoodlums dealing dice and throwing crack outside your business?

__________________
"I can normally tell how intelligent a man is by how stupid he thinks I am" - Cormac McCarthy, All The Pretty Horses

Willravel

You know the fact that those things have happened to me doesn't change the odds of it happening again. If I won the lottery, my odds would still be the same if I played the lottery again.
I mean understanding how to treat them. You don't swim up to a shark and punch it in the face. You swim in a group, stay close to shore, don't swim at night, don't swim if bleeding, and don't splash a lot. Likewise, there are reasonable steps that can be taken to not provoke the anger and possible violence of young people throwing dice.

ziadel

no, you punch it in the eye.


they dont like that.

__________________
Ron Paul '08
Vote for Freedom
Go ahead and google Dr. Ron Paul. You'll like what you read.

MSD

Bullshit. Your cover's blown, Cheney.
If they're selling crack, it's a pretty good guess.'



edit: nobody argues with tear gas.

powerclown

Beat me to it. willravel, you really need to just call the cops. If that doesn't work call them again. If that doesn't work call ziadel.

Plan9

Just invite all the unruly elements over to my neighborhood.

They're probably my joes from Bragg. Damn soldiers outta control!

Those fuckers need to get back in uniform and get a haircut for formation.

(hangs head)

__________________
Whatever you can carry.

"You should not drink... and bake."

JStrider

is there something in particular to your area that makes it nicer for them to hang out there? shady tree? benches? if there is get rid of it.

also you said they were youngish? There is a range of sound that is audible to most kids and teens that most people above their mid 20s are unable to hear, and its really high pitched and annoying. heres a link, might be worth trying out.

http://www.compoundsecurity.co.uk/te..._products.html

__________________
-=JStrider=-

~Clatto Verata Nicto

Willravel

Well they like the steps, but so do we. Also, I'm 24.

They've not come back, so hopefully it took care of itself.

SortOfRussian

you should Put up a small booth in front of your building, hire someone to sit In it and play loud country music,polka and yodelling all day, and have them announce every song over a megaphone. i give them 2 days before they either destroy the booth (earning criminal charges) or relocate

edit: nm

Strange Famous

mate, rule number ONE is "dont talk to police"

I mean, if its a rape, or an assault or murder of a young kid or a woman, then it is okay, but in no other circumstances do you really want to be talking to the police. If people find out, I think its a lot more dangerous situation for you than having people deal drugs out the building.

There is a guy who sells drugs lives two doors away from me, and I would never dream about snitching... if I had a problem I'd handle it myself.

__________________
"Do not tell lies, and do not do what you hate,
for all things are plain in the sight of Heaven. For nothing
hidden will not become manifest, and nothing covered will remain
without being uncovered."

The Gospel of Thomas