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Oldgringo wrote:You can find a bar with a higher level of clientele for your future R & R exercises - perhaps a smoke free establishment?

The thing is, wealthy, chic people act like idiots and jerks when they're drunk, too.

- Jim

I guess the only solution would be to avoid letting a stranger hold something of value of yours.

Can I see your cell phone? Show it to him in your hand. If he wants to "hold it", I'd rather not. You would never expect anyone to do something like that, but obviously it happens.

Maybe you should go drinking in non-51% establishments.

CHLSteve wrote:I guess the only solution would be to avoid letting a stranger hold something of value of yours.

Can I see your cell phone? Show it to him in your hand. If he wants to "hold it", I'd rather not. You would never expect anyone to do something like that, but obviously it happens.

Maybe you should go drinking in non-51% establishments.

Another polite and reasonable response to someone's request to hold your cellphone is as follows:

"Sure - as long as you let me hold your wallet." Most folks will decide holding your cell phone isn't all that important after all.

I actually just held it up for him to look at when he did what he did. I was partially in another conversation and the phone was between my line of sight and his other hand. I realized what was happening when I felt the ash on my hand as it broke off from being pressed against my phone.

I live in San Marcos, we don't really have higher class establishments.

I'm not sure that being at a non-51% establishment would have been a good thing. Although I know I wouldn't have even thought about shooting, I may have been tempted to "brandish" as a way of trying to help the guy make the right choice as far as paying me for damages. A horrible idea, I know, but man was I furious.

The thought did cross my mind to stalk him to his car, grab the plates, locate his place of residence, then wait til he's not home... but then again, I'd hate to be a bad CHL stat. I also daydream of fighting ninja's and single handedly winning the war in Iraq with nothing but a Katana and my lightning-fast reflexes, so don't take this too seriously.

I guess it helps to hear that I acted about as well as I could.

What the jerk did was malicious mischief. You can use force to stop it, but you can't use force to punish the guy after the damage is done.

I think following him would have been escalation, IMHO, IANAL, etc.

As soon as a weapon is produced in what was an argument or minor physical confrontation, the guy holding it looks like the bad guy (assuming two healthy men). That's unfortunate, but that's the way it is.

- Jim

I must be out of it then...I cant imagine anyone asking to see my (a strangers) phone. Unless you were on the phone at the time and he found, in his bulletproof mental state, it annoying that you were talking on it.

this goes to show that you just cant know what is going through peoples' minds. My wife is trying to get me to stop going to sites like this and the armedcitizen because it is making me think everyone is out to get me.

On the martial arts end...I have a black belt in Tae Kwon do and a Green belt in karate. I am assuming that you have had formal training and know that you have been told EXACTLY when to use your training (actually you are using your training to STAY OUT of situations as you are always aware of what is going on). Any jury in the world would hang you if you beat someone up that was equally armed. You are "trained" to stop the attack and leave. Personal insults and all that are to be a "I'm rubber you're glue" thing as well as him shoving you or something. You are to WALK away.

I know that if I ever pull on someone that I better have video and about 100 witnesses and they better find an uzi on the gang of people because the brady bunch will say that big tough karate man was beating or shooting some poor guy because he was down on his luck. If you have the formal, documented training that you say, you have to make doubly sure that you keep your nose clean.

That being said, outside of being in the situation itself, I think that you handled it very well with not escalating it. I am sure thoughts of taking his hand and twisting it to that sweet sound of the rotater breaking sound were dancing through your head and I (and other CHL and martial artists folks) am happy you didnt go all American Ninja on him.

All that is required for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing.

...and I didn't want to hi-jack this thread...

I've met some really good friends from something as simple as, "Hey is that a Blackberry?" here in San Marcos. I guess the overwhelmingly positive contacts with strangers on the Square (mostly Texas State students) has made me a lot less weary of such requests.

I'm usually pretty good at letting things go without a second thought, even having someone pour beer on me on purpose didn't bother me (I was going to go home and shower anyway... ), but this just caught me so off guard. I just recently bought the phone too, and money's a bit tight around Christmas as it is. This really is the first time I can remember where I looked at someone and actually weighed my options as far as causing them physical harm. As dewayneward said, martial arts training is a double-edged sword. I'm usually very forgiving and like to assume the best in everyone.

Just to give you an idea, my first thought upon noticing what he did was, "Oh it's no big deal, it won't damage the glass." Then I looked closer and realized it was plastic.

In the end it's only going to cost me $50. Not nearly worth the loss of my CHL or court fees. Based on my experience in this life, sooner or later he'll reap what he sows, and hopefully I'll get to read the newspaper article.

Fangs wrote:...snipppp. Based on my experience in this life, sooner or later he'll reap what he sows, and hopefully I'll get to read the newspaper article.

Maybe you will get lucky and he will run into me...or even someone like me.

Fangs wrote: In the end it's only going to cost me $50. Not nearly worth the loss of my CHL or court fees. Based on my experience in this life, sooner or later he'll reap what he sows, and hopefully I'll get to read the newspaper article.

If your antagonist continues to do stuff like this (which he probably will - folks seldom do something like this just once) he's virtually certain to do it to someone with much less restraint than you showed, and he'll get what he's been asking for - at someone else's risk and expense instead of yours.

You took the wisest course of action here, and you showed commendable restraint. You also gained some wisdom at the cost of the cheapest option available under the circumstances.

Fangs wrote:In the end it's only going to cost me $50.

Dude, the no-fault replacement plan is worth every penny of the $5/month.

Fangs wrote:Is there anything I could have done to right that wrong legally? Is it the law-abiding citizen's lot in life to bend over and take it in situations like this? I have to go replace my phone soon, every time I look at the screen it just makes me mad all over again.

There are three legal things you can do.

1. You could use the phone to call the police and report the CRIMINAL MISCHIEF but it's only a B misd for $50 to $500 in damages so the police may not do anything.
2. You can sue him and try to collect damages for the CRIMINAL MISCHIEF but it's probably not worth the time and money especially if you think his friends will perjure themselves to protect him.
3. You can wait in the parking lot until he leaves and get his license plate and a description of the car and call the police to report a drunk driver.

There are a lot of things you can do outside the law to deal with bullies.

KD5NRH wrote:

Fangs wrote:In the end it's only going to cost me $50.

Dude, the no-fault replacement plan is worth every penny of the $5/month.

I don't know what kind of phone it is but, many companies offer no replacement plan for PDA phones. I've got one and I'd be furious to say the least if some drunk put his coals out on my screen. I've seen bar brawls start over a lot less.

Captain Matt wrote:You can wait in the parking lot until he leaves and get his license plate and a description of the car and call the police to report a drunk driver.

Man, that's cold. A good revenge tactic, but cold.

I personally think that you should give yourself a medal. Not sure if I could do what you did.

bridge wrote:

Captain Matt wrote:You can wait in the parking lot until he leaves and get his license plate and a description of the car and call the police to report a drunk driver.

Man, that's cold. A good revenge tactic, but cold.

When I worked for a motel, I did it for every obnoxious drunk I tossed out.

Sometimes it was a bit more literal tossing...