So I almost had to punch someone out...

[JuniorMintz]

Wow...

Guess I'm lucky to live where I do after all. Pretty much any thing goes out here...

[Record Store Tough Guy]

Yeah, funny thing about gangs (at least around here) is if you're not in a rival gang, they'll generally leave you alone. I once had three Brown Side Locos in the record store one Saturday night. All of them were covered in gang tats, had the long belts on, obvious gangbangers.

They were the most polite customers I dealt with all evening.

They don't want to draw attention to themselves. At least in suburbia it means not angering the locals. In places where they're the majority, though, the rules are different.

[auntiem]

I hate to tell you, but in some parts of the east coast (aka central new jersey) the stereotypes, 9 times out of 10, are true. Trenton is one of the scariest places I've ever lived, and said theater is a big contested piece of gang territory amongst the Bloods, Crips, and the Latin Kings/Queens. Don't ask me how LA Gangs got to the East Coast, but they're here, and there's at least 4 stories a day about gang war violence and casualty in the Trentonian. That's why they have cops there now, to try to erradicate gang behavior.

They got there because they were imported by developers is my bet. It happened where I used to live. They bring them up to depreciate property value in the theory that then they can snap up cheap real estate - kick them out and gentrify the area and make a ton of money. Problem is they can't get rid of them.

[Rapscallion]

They were the most polite customers I dealt with all evening.

Reminds me of when I went to EuroGencon some years back. It was held at an off-season holiday camp that was shoddy at best. We're talking about LARPers bursting through tournament finals playing an Alien vs Marine game, people in all sorts of costumes, and some very strange people indeed. I was in my element.

However, I got talking to the guy running the chip shop on site. "Have our lot been any trouble?" I asked.

"Absolutely fine," he said. "Very pleasant, in fact, unlike those bastards we had in last week."

"Bad?"

"Ballroom dancers," he said through gritted teeth. "Bastards all the way through."

Rapscallion

[ArenaBoy]

Language

Even if a non-black, usually white person doesn't do something wrong, or is just standing in the wrong place at the wrong time, they will often try to egg you on into a fight so you throw the first punch and get labelled a racist. Those surrounding them will egg you on and on and on until your nerves are hit so badly that you just want to slam their face into the ground.

Agreed. I turned away many a customer out of my lot if they used their race as an excuse.

"HEY YOU STUPID FUCK YOU'RE BEING RACIST!"

"No, you're not following the venue's rules."

Now, before anyone starts crying the "you can't label everyone blah" thing on me, be aware that I have many black friends, and I do NOT judge people by the way they look. Unfortunately, however, living in this area has made me cautious of people based on a combination of their mannerisms and the color of their skin. It might be unfair, but it might be keeping me out of the grave too. A well groomed person who speaks at a reasonable volume and does not wear their pants below their ass cheeks is generally someone I find more approachable and less likely would I be to lump them into the gang category. Red or Blue are automatic flags for me.

Pretty much what I've had to do when I go to Detroit. Sadly a lot of times stereotypes as the ones in the OP are true 95% of the time.

[Pezzle]

All of them were covered in gang tats, had the long belts on, obvious gangbangers.

They were the most polite customers I dealt with all evening.

Funny enough, the Aryan Brootherhood are usually my most well behaved customers. I notice this too in NYC, because they all (brotherhood, kings etc) go to one tattoo parlor.


I have a hard time telling the difference still, Dude. I try to play it cautious. My motto here is "Better to be judged by 12 than carried by 6"

[JustADude]

"Ballroom dancers," he said through gritted teeth. "Bastards all the way through."

I am SO, stealing that!


And yeah, cautious is good, but "Judged by 12/Carried by 6" refers to using all available force, even if there's no "self defense" laws to protect you, to end a violent situation, thus risking assault/murder charges, rather than allowing yourself to be killed or grievously injured. [/Motto Nazi]

[Pezzle]

I am SO, stealing that!


And yeah, cautious is good, but "Judged by 12/Carried by 6" refers to using all available force, even if there's no "self defense" laws to protect you, to end a violent situation, thus risking assault/murder charges, rather than allowing yourself to be killed or grievously injured. [/Motto Nazi]

That's kind of what I was getting at... but my tangets make no sense sometimes

I meant that I'm cautious in both regards. And if I feel my life is in danger by either wannabe or not, I'll react the same way, becuase you never know who's packing.

[Great Unknown]

Now I almost understand why all the theaters around here have firearms prohibitions. It's for the jacktards who didn't pass their concealed-carry class and/or bought their piece out of the trunk of a car in exchange for ill-gotten stuff I don't want to know about.

*sigh* I my .45.

[Lace Neil Singer]

I had to laugh at Raps' ballroom dancers remark cuz of a similar situation at the country park where I used to work. Every year there, they have a bikers do. Can't remember the name of the group that hosts it, but they have stunt biking competitions, a funfair, stalls selling biker merch and leathers, pretty much anything to do with motorbikes. And of course, we got the biker gangs showing up along with the regular motorbike owning public.

Now, a lot of people once they heard about it, would kick up a huge song and dance about the bikers causing fights, about rampaging Hell's Angels, about fires being started etc etc. However, the bikers were the best behaved group we ever had at the park. They came to the stables, took the tour and didn't do anything untoward; they even took dray rides. The bikers eventually invited all the stable staff to meet them at the funfair that night; so, we all went, tho we were deafened by the screams of those who automatically equated "biker" with "psycho". We all had a great time, tho I was bruised on the legs after going on the dodgums. XD And yes, the Hell's Angels were there, and they were all really nice and well mannered.

In comparison, when we had the army people here, the people who are supposedly protecting our country, they were the pits. They stole two fields that were supposed to be reserved for the stable staff to put the horses and farm animals in for their stupid tanks and tents; they left a huge tank on the dray route which they refused to move til we got the owner in to yell at them; they left the showers running up in our staff room (we had generously let them use the showers there) and flooded two stables below that had to be completely cleaned out; they were forever trying to feed the shire horses chips, crisps, pie and other wrong things; they were all rude, surly and completely disregarding of the rules laid down.

After they flooded the stables, we banned them from using our showers, and the head groom who had to tell the army people this got a mouthful of abuse that would have made a sailor blush. They also dropped loads of litter around and I lost count of the number of times we had to go up to an army person who was smoking in the stables and tell them to put their damn fag out. -.- In short, the army people and the army groupies were the most hellish people I've ever met; I'd take the biker gangs over them any day.

[cinema guy]

Yeah, I predict movie theaters are nearing their expiration date very, very soon.

I don't know about anywhere else, but our cinema had record admissions this summer. More than at any time in its ten years of business.

That does partly come from poor weather but also a large number of blockbuster films.

[crazylegs]

In short, the army people and the army groupies were the most hellish people I've ever met; I'd take the biker gangs over them any day.

It does very much depend on the regiment, a lot of squaddies (and lower ranks of RAF and RN) can be self important, arrogant pr1cks, but just as many who have a trade or area of expertise normally have a lot of pride in that and so that shows. Of course there are exceptions, and they will be found.

[JustADude]

And yes, the Hell's Angels were there, and they were all really nice and well mannered.

As with most things, the Wannabes give the Real Deals a bad name. The Hell's Angels, at least the Old Guard from the original group in California, aren't... overly concerned... with legality, but they're great guys.

[Broomjockey]

Well, I'd almost think that if you were engaged in illegal activity, a smart person would be well behaved and polite. Think about it, if you're not giving the police an excuse, you're less likely to get busted. Probable cause is a heck of a thing.

[DesignFox]

I don't go to the movies that much anymore. There is little that Hollywood is churning out that I care to bother with.

Also, I don't want to pay half an arm and three toes to sit around and listen to some dumb fuck's cell phone go off at the height of the film. Without fail at least one idiot keeps their phone on...or opens it up to text message (shining the bright screen light in my face, and making button noises)..or brings a screaming toddler....or is an obnoxious teenage* groupie that can't shut their mouth...etc.

It's not worth the annoyance.

Thankfully, at least I don't live in a "bad" part of New Jersey...

(*no disresprect meant to the well-behaved lovely teens that I know do exist!)

To the person who commented about the developers...yes, that does happen-I've seen the results in some areas. The problem is they clean out one nest of rats...and the rats just scuttle to a new area. You'll never get rid of them, just keep re-locating them...and New Jersey is the most densely populated state in the nation. We're all bound to come in contact with the rats at some point...