The government and news outlets keep telling us the economy is bouncing back. I honestly don't know if that is true or not. All I can say for sure is it is not happening in my area.
Even though I live in the suburbs of Atlanta, we are in an area that is not heavily populated. The area was hit hard during to collapse of 2008. Our area is unincorporated but we are considered part of the city of Stockbridge where there are large numbers of empty houses, empty industrial buildings and storefronts. To make matters even worse, the part of the city with the largest number of businesses and the newest and biggest homes recent de-annexed and started their own city.
That leaves the city down to about 4000 residents spread out over about 20 sq miles with a lot of buildings and homes far past their useful life span. There is not much hope from anyone that the city will ever revive with a major influx of big money.
Attracting the wrong kind of people
Owners have been dropping rent prices on both business and homes, but both are attracting the wrong type of people and crime keeps going up.
My daughter in law was almost car jacked just before Christmas and would have been had it not been for a man that saw what was happening and intervened with his gun. Since then, we both make sure we are home before dark.
A man accosted me Saturday
The closest store to me other than a little gas station that carried nothing but junk food, is a Dollar General about 5 or 6 miles from the house. I had forgot to buy eggs that last time I was in town, and drove there to grab some for the next day.
While waiting in line to check out, a man walked up behind me. I could smell him coming. The smell of alcohol was so strong. He tried to strike up a conversation with me and he was obviously slurring his words. Before he finished his first "story" he was asking for money. I tried to simply ignore him.
When I checked out, I went straight to my car, but he only had 1 item to pay for and before I could get buckled up and crank the car, he was beating on my passenger side window and pointing at my front tire yelling my tire was low. (so original)
Hell would have froze over before I would have rolled that window down. I am sure he was too inebriated to realize my car car tells me if my tires are low, so I didn't believe him. I tried to de-esculate the situation, told him thanks, I'll get it checked and went back to what I was doing.
He would not stop. I think he realized I was not going to open the window and was getting mad. He voice was getting louder and louder and he kept hitting the window over and over. It had reached the point I was afraid the glass was going to break.
I didn't have my phone
My big mistake was in forgetting to carry my phone. I had no way of calling the police. But, it had reached the point when I had to do something. He had been calling me vile names and beating harder and harder on the glass. Where he was standing, if I tried to back up, I was going to hit him with the passenger side mirror or I would not have allowed it to go on this long.
When he switched to both fists pounding together, I backed up anyway. He didn't get out of the way in time, so the mirror hit him, but I don't think it hurt him.
He followed me out of the parking lot
I had to wait for traffic to clear before I could turn out of the store parking lot. He was behind me the whole time beating his horn. When I was finally able to turn, he came out right behind me.
I kept my cool, but was prepared to drive defensively if he decided to ram my car or something. Instead of going home, I head straight to the closest police station, about 8 miles away. When I turned into the parking lot, he kept going.
I didn't have a tag number or the make or model of his SUV (I have very poor central field vision and don't see details) There was nothing they could do so I didn't bother to go inside the police station.
Forgetting my phone was a major contributing factor
If I had my phone with me, the fact of him seeing me calling the police probably would have been enough to make him go away. But when someone is drunk and/or on drugs, you can never know for sure. That is why I have decided to get my concealed carry permit.
If calling the police had not of defused the situation, there is a very good chance simply pulling the gun would have caused him to leave or at least to step back so I could leave without hitting him with my car.
Pulling a gun is a last resort
No one wants to shoot another person. But it is easy to find yourself in a situation where you have no choice. You have to keep your head about you and make logical decisions about when or if you are going to pull a gun. If you are an emotional type of person who can't think straight in a situation like this, carrying a gun might not be a good thing for you.
There are people who carry guns all their lives. My son is one of them. He was a trained and licensed armed guard for the State of Georgia Department of Revenue for many years. He carries almost everywhere he goes and has never shot anyone.
Carrying a gun is no guarantee you will not be robbed. Most people intent on robbery already have a weapon held on you before you would have a chance to pull your weapon. In most cases like this, giving them the money is the best thing to do.
With this guy, for whatever reason, it pissed him off that I would not give him money. Being drunk probably caused his temper to flame higher and higher when I would not obey his orders.
People in an altered frame of mind, not matter the reason are the ones you are most apt to be able to protect yourself from. They are the ones that will make the most mistakes that give you opportunities to end the situation without getting hurt.