Strange encounter at diner with family: what would you do?

[MT1]

Your candy stalker is a bit odd, maybe even creepy, but old(er) people do odd things. Sometimes the slightest action can get them talking endlessly as they recall a memory.

Don't take this personally but you're wired a bit too tight by the reaction your described. Unless you walked in with gold coins spilling out of your pockets or you're tagging old guy's underage grandchild he has no interest in you. Maybe you work in an industry where you are a high risk target, I have no idea, and that increases your odds of a threat. Unless you lead a higher risk than normal lifestyle why would an old man be waiting for you in a diner? Sure, criminals sometimes target folks for no reason but we're talking an extremely low percentage. A crowded diner isn't exactly a good location for an opportunity crime.

Scanning the crowd when you first walk in? Good idea but the true threat is good at keeping a low profile and you're likely not even going to notice him/her. With that said, keep scanning, it's pretty much all you can do prior to an incident. Situational awareness is your friend. How do you react when a passerby reaches into his pocket for a cell phone? I can only imagine what's going through your head when some possibly Middle Eastern looking 20 yr old reaches into a backpack for a college book or iPad. I'm always reaching in pockets (I tend to carry a lot of stuff) and making eye contact. I'd probably be a statistic if I stopped in your town for dinner.

[gdc]

I would have pulled my gun and taken all of his candy.

What was he doing with a bag of candy, just hanging around...??

Attachment 98804

ok who should sit in the big guys seat...

[psweigle]

It's a tough call, I think I would have told him that my kids are taught not to accept anything from strangers, and thanked him anyway for his kind gesture. If he THEN became agitated that would put me on alert. Most people are just trying to be polite, but if you read them, it isn't hard to see who is who.


As for the gunfighter seat, I almost always try to sit where I can watch the exits and can have my back to a solid wall. My wife and kids know this and so do the wait staff at the restaurants we go to.

[RenoV8]

It's a very suburban place, with lots of 'rural' areas. All families and really senior folks eating breakfast on a sunday morning. I didn't expect something bad coming out of the bag, but it crossed my mind as a possibility.

As a concealed carrier myself, I think we have brought this situation onto ourselves. Not every situation is a bad one. Not every person is a perv. Not every diner or restaurant has people scoping us out.
Maybe the problem is us. I bet 99% of the people who do not carry don't think like we do. I say this seriously. I wonder sometimes if we don't "create" situations that are not what we think they are, but more along the lines of someone just being good natured.

Need to look at the whole picture and not just the delusions in our head. How many of you who carry, will absolutely not leave the house without your sidearm? How many of you who have left the house without your sidearm are still with us? How many of you are paranoid when you don't carry? My point is this...get out of your head and live in the moment.

[Delkal]

I understand completely. Still sucks that this is the world today. The creeps and freaks have taken something precious from us.

Not really. Violent crime rates have been dropping for the past 30-40 years. Look up the violent crime or murder rate from 1987 and you SHOULD feel safe. The old adage "remember how good" it is total BS. Unless you are in your 80's it wasn't.

Unfortunately in the internet world of hyping stories and click bait most people think its the other way around.

Everything you wanted to know about crime rates.......

http://www.disastercenter.com/crime/uscrime.htm

[eagleclaw]

If you recall what the man looks like, go to the state police website and go onto the Megan’s Law offender list. Query the location of the restaurant either by city, county or zip code, and see if you find his picture. If you find his picture maybe the police department covering that area needs to be notified.

[raxar]

As a concealed carrier myself, I think we have brought this situation onto ourselves. Not every situation is a bad one. Not every person is a perv. Not every diner or restaurant has people scoping us out.
Maybe the problem is us. I bet 99% of the people who do not carry don't think like we do. I say this seriously. I wonder sometimes if we don't "create" situations that are not what we think they are, but more along the lines of someone just being good natured.

Need to look at the whole picture and not just the delusions in our head. How many of you who carry, will absolutely not leave the house without your sidearm? How many of you who have left the house without your sidearm are still with us? How many of you are paranoid when you don't carry? My point is this...get out of your head and live in the moment.

You could say the same thing about wearing a condom.

[RenoV8]

You could say the same thing about wearing a condom.

You could say the same thing about a lot of things...hence the reason I stated to get out of your head and back to the moment.

[JAKIII]

You could say the same thing about a lot of things...hence the reason I stated to get out of your head and back to the moment.

Agree... I practice situational awareness and don't take chances like most guys have commented. However, nor do I obsess about everyone and everything. I believe in fate, so when 'He' says my time is up it won't matter if I'm in the gunfighter seat.

[Boo Vuccla]

Paranoia, big destroyer! (And it goes like this.......................)
There are wackos out there among us BUT not all wackos are violent or even criminal! Many people have no social skills or can put themselves in other people's shoes. Hell, that man could have had the same IQ as Forrest Gump. Imagine if a confrontation had occurred. Great headlines for the gun grabbers! Situational awareness is a great attribute but only when done on the fly subconsciously without effect of a person's ability to have a good time with family and friends. is it possible he was trying to "fish up" a confrontation? Well, this goes back to my second sentence above! Take away is: don't live in the headlines and TV news we consume. Too much of it and we get consumed by it!