Yesterday Claudia walked from Bullingerplatz to Hardplatz. It was dark. Nothing but parked cars and empty windows. A man following her, walking faster, and faster, and finally shouting at the top of his lungs: “Stop! Hands up!” and when Claudia did not react, he started calling her all sorts of insults. Claudia crossed the road, walked on, stopped, never looking him in the eyes, and finally he kicked the pavement, insulted her some more, and walked on.
Just because there are less idiots clearly visible doesn’t mean that the roads are safe.
In Memoriam Langstrasse.
#Life
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Yowch. That’s scary. Well done to Claudia for keeping going and not giving the idiot the satisfaction of reacting to him.
I guess there are idiots everywhere, eh?
– greywulf 2008-02-25 11:08 UTC
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That’s true greywulf. But what is the best way (if there is one) of dealing dealing with these types of situations ? If the guy (it is always a guy, isn’t it) is drunk, ignoring him would probably be best, but if he’s sober and is just poorly socialised, should you kick him in the nuts or ignore him ?
– AlokSingh 2008-02-25 11:36 UTC
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As Claudia works in the psychology and psychiatry service of the justice dept. here in Zürich, she knows of enough stories were such people were armed or trained or strong enough to seriously hurt or kill their victims. Getting away must be the first priority.
I’m relieved nothing happened and suggested reporting the incident to the police. Not because I thought that it would help arresting that person, but it would help the police to set priorities.
– Alex Schroeder 2008-02-25 11:47 UTC
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I’d love to kick him in the nuts if I were physically superior. But I guess it’s better to play the underdog because if he has a personality disorder or something similar to it then so be it. He feels superior by excercising power, but at least I’m safe.
– Claudia 2008-02-25 23:13 UTC
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Kick him in the nuts? tut tut... Kubo San is very disappointed.
Rule #15: Never go anywhere without your naginata.
– Marco 2008-02-26 11:57 UTC
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Scary story indeed... I wonder why that kind of things never happend to me. Well, sure it’s a question of size too, but even as a kid I never got into something like this. Or did I just forgot? Bucharest is for sure not a city to be quoted ’save’. As for the psychology background, I am sure that this is by far the best method to get save out of it. Claudia, do trainings exist for Kindergarden _ primary school?_
– Mircea 2008-02-29 16:05 UTC
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Mircea, if you knew how different the world can be for a women, you’d stop wondering... I still find it hard to believe how much harassment a woman needs to endure, and how used some of them are to a treatment that could not end but in a brutal brawl if it happened to a man. Men following her into the toilet, groping, blocking the pavement so that she has to step onto the road or squeeze between somebody and the wall, verbal abuse, threats of violence including death threats, the list is long and every year a few more incidents get added to the list.
It’s a sad world out there, and people like you and me just never see it. Because we are men, because we look able enough, or because we were born under a lucky star.
I thank God every day that I was born a man. (We also get to have lots of fun because we are so simple minded. It’s awesome.)
– Alex Schroeder 2008-03-01 00:15 UTC
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Life seams suddenly so much easier, looking through your eyes! 😃 I agree, the simple minded part MUST have something true!
– Mircea 2008-03-01 16:11 UTC