Why is pickpocketing such a problem in Europe?
Jun 14th, 2003, 07:04 AM
#61
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jsmith,
Your backpack sounds like my camera bag. It's a task opening the bag while it is in my control. It would be even more of a task for a pickpocket no matter how skilled he/she is while the bag is slung over my shoulder.
Your backpack sounds like my camera bag. It's a task opening the bag while it is in my control. It would be even more of a task for a pickpocket no matter how skilled he/she is while the bag is slung over my shoulder.
Jun 14th, 2003, 07:40 AM
#62
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Maybe some of it has to do with economics. Tourists probably carry more cash than they ever would at home. I know I do (with a properly worn money belt for me though.)
So you're in Chicago surrounded by a bunch of Americans who each have 7 credit cards and 11 dollars in their pockets or you're at the Eiffel Tower in Paris with a bunch of tourists with 1 credit card and 150 euro in their pockets. Where's your best payback?
So you're in Chicago surrounded by a bunch of Americans who each have 7 credit cards and 11 dollars in their pockets or you're at the Eiffel Tower in Paris with a bunch of tourists with 1 credit card and 150 euro in their pockets. Where's your best payback?
Jun 14th, 2003, 04:13 PM
#69
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Yes, I punched a pick-pocket in the nose! It was in Paris, in the shopping area below Sacre-Coeur. She unzipped my purse, my friend caught her, and she walked away, pick-pocketing several people as she walked up the street. When I saw her unzipping a guy's "USA" backpack, I got really angry. My friend grabbed her arm, spun her around, and I punched her in the face. (Boy, did that feel good.) What pissed me off is that she started crying and all these people came around to help her...and hold me back. I yelled that she had stolen from people on the street, but no one seemed to understand or care. *I* had to break free from their grips and run away before they called the cops on *me*. This all happened on my first trip to Europe 16 years ago...it didn't affect me much, as I've been back many times since (without similar problems)!
* * * * *
Actually, since we are on this topic, I have to get off my chest something that happened to me last night here in NYC, where I live:
I was out with friends and got a call on my cell from my boyfriend. BUT it wasn't him on the other end, it was some guy at the Yankee game who had found my bf's cell phone lying there on the ground (it is a top-of-the-line, expensive little phone, mind you). I got the guy's work number and he is going to mail the phone back (and don't worry, he said, he wouldn't make any other calls) - how nice people can be sometimes!!
And then, as I was walking home from the subway, 3 guys surrounded me demanding my money. Great. This had never happened to me before, ever. Two of them had long metal sticks in their hands. I wasn't going to give those little bastards anything. I just prayed a car would come by. I cursed one guy out (he was kind of shocked), then he started swinging at me with his stick. Luckily (!) it was raining and I also had a weapon of sorts...my umbrella! I used it to shield the blows. After a minute of this (I was actually crazy laughing b/c it seemed so surreal) a truck came down the street so I jumped in the road and the guys fled. I called the cops a minute later when I got home. Of course I couldn't remember what any of these juvenile delinquents were wearing (damn- they say you never remember - they were right!) I was fine until some of my neighbors saw me, surrounded by cops in front of the building. Then the tears came. Adrenaline letdown, I guess...
Sorry, just had to get this ("my awful Friday the 13th"
off my chest. I'm debating on whether or not to tell my dad when I call him tomorrow for Fathers' Day.
* * * * *
Actually, since we are on this topic, I have to get off my chest something that happened to me last night here in NYC, where I live:
I was out with friends and got a call on my cell from my boyfriend. BUT it wasn't him on the other end, it was some guy at the Yankee game who had found my bf's cell phone lying there on the ground (it is a top-of-the-line, expensive little phone, mind you). I got the guy's work number and he is going to mail the phone back (and don't worry, he said, he wouldn't make any other calls) - how nice people can be sometimes!!
And then, as I was walking home from the subway, 3 guys surrounded me demanding my money. Great. This had never happened to me before, ever. Two of them had long metal sticks in their hands. I wasn't going to give those little bastards anything. I just prayed a car would come by. I cursed one guy out (he was kind of shocked), then he started swinging at me with his stick. Luckily (!) it was raining and I also had a weapon of sorts...my umbrella! I used it to shield the blows. After a minute of this (I was actually crazy laughing b/c it seemed so surreal) a truck came down the street so I jumped in the road and the guys fled. I called the cops a minute later when I got home. Of course I couldn't remember what any of these juvenile delinquents were wearing (damn- they say you never remember - they were right!) I was fine until some of my neighbors saw me, surrounded by cops in front of the building. Then the tears came. Adrenaline letdown, I guess...
Sorry, just had to get this ("my awful Friday the 13th"
off my chest. I'm debating on whether or not to tell my dad when I call him tomorrow for Fathers' Day.
Jun 14th, 2003, 10:49 PM
#71
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Pickpocket theft is considered a very minor offense. I have been in and out of both Krakow and Warszawa many times. I now recognize the same groups working the train car entrances. In short there is no police or public concern.
Jun 14th, 2003, 11:17 PM
#72
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Suzanne - go grrl!
I think the advantage of being a chick is that the bastards don't expect you to fight back. Especially the North Afrricans, who have a slightly different view on women and girls than most Westerners. Women actually need to learn how to use this to their advantage, rather than be the damsel in distress.
I think the advantage of being a chick is that the bastards don't expect you to fight back. Especially the North Afrricans, who have a slightly different view on women and girls than most Westerners. Women actually need to learn how to use this to their advantage, rather than be the damsel in distress.
Jun 15th, 2003, 10:26 AM
#73
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Oh man, I so do NOT agree!! Suzanne, I think you took your life in your hands by fighting back in that situation. I would have given them the money. There were THREE of them! There's no way you could really hold them off if they seriously attacked you. You could have been seriously injured or killed, all for the sake of money. I don't think it's worth the risk, especially with all the crazies out there today. I would fight back only if I thought my life was in danger. And I would feel the same way about a man's reaction in that situation. Why risk it?
But sometimes our adrenalin dictates our behavior, not our rational thoughts. I'm glad you're ok!
But sometimes our adrenalin dictates our behavior, not our rational thoughts. I'm glad you're ok!
Jun 15th, 2003, 02:42 PM
#74
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Marilyn,
Thanks for your concern...but the guys were teenagers (cmiminals-in-training), not very tall, and I could see that they were a little scared of getting caught. If they had guns or knives though (which I'm sure they would have shown me right away) it would have been a different story. OR if I didn't have my trusty umbrella . Also, it's typically a fairly busy street, and I knew a car or person would come by within a minute.
I'm feeling much better today! I won't tell my parents, though...not today, anyway. I'd hate to worry them.
S
Thanks for your concern...but the guys were teenagers (cmiminals-in-training), not very tall, and I could see that they were a little scared of getting caught. If they had guns or knives though (which I'm sure they would have shown me right away) it would have been a different story. OR if I didn't have my trusty umbrella
. Also, it's typically a fairly busy street, and I knew a car or person would come by within a minute. I'm feeling much better today! I won't tell my parents, though...not today, anyway. I'd hate to worry them.
S
Jun 15th, 2003, 02:48 PM
#75
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What a scary experience Suzanne!!!Luckly you were able to defend yourself, but the next time be careful with these thugs, you never know if they carry a gun or not..
The schools should teach self defense classes to girls..it is very important to be able to defend oneself..
The schools should teach self defense classes to girls..it is very important to be able to defend oneself..
