French Tourist Shot Dead In Front Of Hotel In Pasay.

[Dave Hounddriver]

My ex room mate from when I lived in Liloan, Cebu was one of those who stood up to guys with guns.  I remember standing behind the concrete post while he was telling the local gang members (who were scaring the neighbors by firing a few shots over the water) to take the pistol and f - - - off before he came out there and rammed it up their collective a - - - - s.  When the one fellow pointed the gun at Tom, he said: "That don't scare me, I was in the military and I been shot before, you wanna see the scars?  Now get that gun outta here or I'm coming over there and taking it from you".

 

So my wife was laughing at me for standing behind the concrete post while this was going on but he stood up to gang members with a gun and they backed down and left.  Could have been a lot different outcome though.  And yet, if no one had stood up to them then they would be out there every night shooting off that pistol.

 

So I am of mixed feelings how to respond to gangsters with guns.

 

Edit:  I guess it helps to know that Tom was standing 6 feet away from the guy with the gun and he was standing in the open.  It was his tone of voice that mean the younger man back down.  Bluffing can go a long way.

Edited March 12, 2013 by Dave Hounddriver

[Will]

Well, the punks that surrounded me only had knives. But in my mind, all I could picture were knives sticking into my arms and that pissed me off even further. The thing that pissed me off the MOST was my brother (who is twice my size) ran away when they threatened him, leaving me alone. I kept thinking, Our dad taught us to always stand together. Valuable lesson learned that night, don't count on anyone helping you when trouble comes along.

[Americano]

I can't tell you how I would react now to being robbed because it would depend on a lot of factors, but I can tell you what I did in the past.

Several years ago I was driving my pickup truck to my brother's house in Alabama. It was very early in the morning so I stopped at a Hardees drive through to order something to eat. A black man in his 30's was standing beside the order window with a Hardees bag in his hand and asked if I would give him a ride a short ways up the highway where he lived. He said he would ride in the back so I agreed. Before we even got on the highway he started knocking on the back window saying its cold can he ride inside, so I let him get in on the passenger's side. We rode up the highway and then turned into the community where he said he lived. During the few minutes it took to drive there we where talking about our experiences of serving in the US Army so it seemed like everything was fine until we arrived near his home. He said give me your wallet I have a 32. His right hand was inside his jacket so I couldn't see if he had a pistol or not.

I remained very calm and said to him, I thought we were friends and he said don't ever trust a nigger or you will get killed. I took out my wallet removed the cash and handed it to him. It was only $15. because I always used an ATM card for purchases. He wasn't happy with getting just $15. so I showed him that there was no more cash in my wallet and then put the wallet back in my pocket. A couple of minutes later he said stop so I did and he jumped out and ran away between some houses.

A few days later when I told my son what happened he said since you were wearing your seat belt and he wasn't you should have crashed into a tree or telephone pole. That may have worked but my truck would be severally damaged and I could have gotten hurt too.

I owned several guns all of my life but didn't carry one with me that day. If I was carrying one of my pistols concealed that day I would have shot him several times because I wouldn't give him the chance to shoot first. I needed two things when I was robbed, one of my pistols and a pair of my shooting ear muffs to protect my hearing since we were inside a vehicle. I can see the puzzled look on his face when I put on the ear muffs. He wouldn't have been puzzled long because I would have fired several shots through my jacket as fast as I could.

I made two decisions that day. I would always carry a concealed pistol on all road trips and never give a ride to strangers.

A few months before I moved to the Philippines, I was up late one night watching TV while my wife was in a bedroom on the computer. At about 1:00am someone started knocking on the front door. Of course being late I didn't open the door. No one ever visits me that late and if it was some kind of emergency there were many other doors to knock on since I lived in a compartment complex. The knocking continued for several minutes so I told my wife to stay in the bedroom and not come out. I chambered one round in my .40 cal Beretta pistol and held it behind my back with the hammer still cocked. I opened the front door but didn't step out. A black man in his early 20's who I didn't know was standing outside. I asked him why was he knocking on my door and what did he want. I asked him two times and he didn't answer any of my questions so I quickly aimed my pistol at him and said did you come here to rob me? Still no answer so I said I will put ten holes in you before you hit the ground. He turned around and walked away.

The element of surprise is very important and that is where the criminals have the advantage in the Philippines because they know foreigners are not allowed to carry a gun so they are always easy pray waiting to be robbed and killed.

Edited March 12, 2013 by Americano

[JJReyes]

The element of surprise is very important and that is where the criminals have the advantage in the Philippines because they know foreigners are not allowed to carry a gun so they are always easy pray waiting to be robbed and killed.

 

There are other weapons that foreigners are permitted to carry. If you walk around the neighborhood at night, carry an old golf putter or cane. A machete in the Philippines is considered a farming implement, not a weapon. Make friends would a couple of police officers in civilian clothes and walk together to have a few beers. It visually informs the neighbors you have powerful friends.

[brock]

I was just thinking, If I walked into one of the bars on Mango one night carrying a Machete and asked one of the girls if she wanted a date...

Wonder if she would say Yes ?. :mocking:

[JJReyes]

I was just thinking, If I walked into one of the bars on Mango one night carrying a Machete and asked one of the girls if she wanted a date... Wonder if she would say Yes ?.

 

Before saying "Yes." to a date, she will ask, "Were you an axe murderer in the United Kingdom?"

 

When visiting bars on Mango, bring a cane but carry it in a manner to show that you don't really need it to assist you in walking.

 

I usually had a few farm implements in the car under the driver seat. The basis of most martial arts weapons were common farming implement because the general population was not permitted to carry swords, lances, etc. The bow and arrow was okay because they were needed for hunting. The point is to have something that provides an advantage since it is illegal to carry firearms. I also had a six foot staff made of rattan for hiking and beating tall grass just in case there were snakes. It could also serve as a weapon against someone with a knife.

Edited March 12, 2013 by JJReyes

[ibemarshall]

...*Note To Self #8...stop by Ace Hardware in SM Mall and purchase a hand pruning or keyhole saw...run fingers over saw blade...ask asawa for tissue to stop bleeding...hmmmm....a sharp point to poke and a 'rough' edge for other endevo(u)rs...like harvesting fruits and vegtables at the market*...

Edited March 13, 2013 by ibemarshall

[i am bob]

Before I joined the Air Force and just a young lad of 18, I drove taxi in Niagara Falls.  One night I had a gun put behind my ear and told to drive out into the country.  Once we were quite a bit away and between fruit farms, I was told to pull over as he had a car waiting for him.  He got out of the car and took my keys which he tossed out into the field.  Then they were gone.  It took me over an hour to find the keys so I could radio back for the police to show up.  When they got there, i wasn't shaking from fear but steady and burning with rage.  But before that?  Yeah, I shook a lot.

 

Another time somebody tried to rob me using a knife.  I was so mad that I grabbed his wrist, twisted it out and to the side and just drove myself around the knife and into him.  220 pounds of muscle (back then at least.. hehe!) makes a good battering ram. The police wanted to charge me because I broke his wrist, his jaw and knocked him unconscious along with a good concussion - excessive violence they said.  Once they found out I was one of the Canadian military visiting the island, they just changed their minds, said "Have a wonderful night, sir" and walked away.

 

Sometimes it's better to walk away, others you are better taking the initiative.  You won't know which is right until after it's all over though...  :)

[brock]

The trouble with carrying a weapon is that it could possibly be taken from you and used against you, Fists, Feet and your Wits is best

[Americano]

The whole point of carrying a concealed weapon is the enemy doesn't know you have a weapon and therefore doesn't know they need to take it away from you.  And, never let your enemy see your weapon until you use it.  As I have already said, the element of surprise is very important.  One of the popular sayings where I come from is, never pull your gun on someone unless you are prepared to use it. In my 60 years of owning guns I only pulled a gun on one person and if he went for a gun or pulled a knife he would have been dead before he could have used his weapon.