You Are Not a Neutral Civilian

 

I’m retired and now live in Florida. I worked in lower Manhattan for 40 years and lived in Manhattan for about eight of those years. Despite NYC’s reputation, especially in the 1970s, I always knew where I could go and when and never really felt threatened by street violence in all those years. I maintained situational awareness, I guess. That is until late winter 2013 near the end of my time there.

One morning after arriving in Manhattan at 8 AM via the NY Waterways ferry to the east end of Wall Street, I started to walk the half mile to my office along Water Street and then Maiden Lane. On that morning, the streets were empty of pedestrians but I noticed that down the block and on the other side of Water Street, the NYPD was shepherding a large group of Occupy Wall Street activists on the sidewalk. The police seemed to have the group concentrated in a semi-orderly fashion. About four cops flanked the group by walking next to them in the street.

The Occupy group had been downtown since Autumn 2011 and had become a regular feature of the Wall Street area. They marched here and there in order to block regular pedestrians and traffic and to generally make their presence known. They also took over a small park (Zuccotti Park) where I sometimes went after lunch on nice days. This ended after the Occupy people set up tents throughout the whole park. The scene was one of dirt and squalor. The activists defecated in the foyers of buildings adjacent to the park and demanded free food from area shops. This park, diagonally across from the World Trade Center site, had become a “No Go” zone for the regular population of the area. I thought the police to be strangely quiescent to all of this, but business commuters like me did not feel physically threatened.

On this morning in 2013, I was walking far out in front of the Occupy marchers who were now back and around the corner on Water Street or so I thought. I was on the opposite side of Maiden Lane from where they would walk anyway and thought myself alone on an empty sidewalk. Of course, I was thinking about the upcoming day at work.

In fact, one of the Occupy activists had separated himself from the main group, singled me out and came running at me from behind. I didn’t hear him, but suddenly received a violent blow against my right shoulder. Totally caught by surprise, I spun around in an attempt to keep my balance and not crash to the pavement. The Occupy Wall Street activist had run at me from behind at full speed in order to straight-arm me down to the sidewalk. After hitting me from behind, this young man continued running as fast as he could down the street (west on Maiden Lane). I caught myself just in time and didn’t fall to the pavement. I was very shaken and could not believe what had just happened.

At the time I was 62 years old, wearing a business suit and carrying a briefcase. In short, I must have appeared to be one of the “enemy.” Had I gone tumbling to the pavement more than just my clothes would have been ripped. The moral of all this is that whether they call themselves Occupy Wall Street, Antifa, or BLM these are violent people who intend to cause you physical harm. Things have escalated since 2013 so never think of yourself as a “neutral civilian” if they are around.

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  1. JudithannCampbell Member
    JudithannCampbell
    @

    A young man hits a 62 year old man from behind and then runs away? Sounds like the definition of cowardice to me. Despicable; these people would be nothing without police protection. Why are the police protecting them?

    • #1
  2. Randy Webster Inactive
    Randy Webster
    @RandyWebster

    I know you can’t do it in New York, but I carry.  This would never happen to me.

    • #2
  3. Arahant Member
    Arahant
    @Arahant

    Indeed.

    • #3
  4. Arahant Member
    Arahant
    @Arahant

    Randy Webster (View Comment):

    I know you can’t do it in New York, but I carry. This would never happen to me.

    Well, it might happen, but he wouldn’t run far.

    • #4
  5. Rōnin Coolidge
    Rōnin
    @Ronin

    Washington Square:

    The moral of all this is that whether they call themselves Occupy Wall Street, Antifa, or BLM these are violent people who intend to cause you physical harm. Things have escalated since 2013 so never think of yourself as a “neutral civilian” if they are around.

     

    I would like to quote the venerable Col. Jeff Copper:

    “The police cannot protect the citizen at this stage of our development, and they cannot even protect themselves in many cases. It is up to the private citizen to protect himself and his family, and this is not only acceptable, but mandatory.”

     

    • #5
  6. Bob Thompson Member
    Bob Thompson
    @BobThompson

    Here is what I think I am hearing from the Left and that will include the MSM regarding incidents similar to that described in the OP. When described as mobs they immediately go to  First Amendment protections for public protests using the exercise of freedom of expression, assembly, and association. I have not been able to find where these protected rights would allow impeding public movement, proper exercise of private business enterprise such as restaurants, or any physical contact with or intimidation of citizens in public spaces. Have I missed something in how this should work?

    • #6
  7. JudithannCampbell Member
    JudithannCampbell
    @

    Rōnin (View Comment):

    Washington Square:

    The moral of all this is that whether they call themselves Occupy Wall Street, Antifa, or BLM these are violent people who intend to cause you physical harm. Things have escalated since 2013 so never think of yourself as a “neutral civilian” if they are around.

     

    I would like to quote the venerable Col. Jeff Copper:

    “The police cannot protect the citizen at this stage of our development, and they cannot even protect themselves in many cases. It is up to the private citizen to protect himself and his family, and this is not only acceptable, but mandatory.”

     

    Cannot or will not? At this moment, in the places where this happens, it seems like will not-presumably because those in charge don’t want the violence to stop. There has to be a reason these folks show up again and again in Portland, Berkley, and NYC, but virtually never appear anywhere else. They know that the police won’t tolerate them anywhere else.

    Obviously, we should all be prepared to protect ourselves regardless of what is going on with the police, but the police must be held accountable.

    • #7
  8. Arahant Member
    Arahant
    @Arahant

    Bob Thompson (View Comment):
    Have I missed something in how this should work?

    Nope.

    • #8
  9. Arahant Member
    Arahant
    @Arahant

    JudithannCampbell (View Comment):
    At this moment, in the places where this happens, it seems like will not-presumably because those in charge don’t want the violence to stop.

    Or they fear it will escalate even more.

    • #9
  10. JudithannCampbell Member
    JudithannCampbell
    @

    Arahant (View Comment):

    JudithannCampbell (View Comment):
    At this moment, in the places where this happens, it seems like will not-presumably because those in charge don’t want the violence to stop.

    Or they fear it will escalate even more.

    Considering the governments of the places where it happens-Portland, Berkely, NYC, I doubt that is the reason. Also, considering the cowardice of most of the people involved-such as the guy who hit @washingtonsquare from behind and then ran away, I am sorry but I just don’t buy it. These losers only go to places where they know the police will stand down, and the police in those places stand down because the powers that be in those places want mobs and riots.

    • #10
  11. Rōnin Coolidge
    Rōnin
    @Ronin

    JudithannCampbell (View Comment):

    Arahant (View Comment):

    JudithannCampbell (View Comment):
    At this moment, in the places where this happens, it seems like will not-presumably because those in charge don’t want the violence to stop.

    Or they fear it will escalate even more.

    Considering the governments of the places where it happens-Portland, Berkely, NYC, I doubt that is the reason. Also, considering the cowardice of most of the people involved-such as the guy who hit @washingtonsquare from behind and then ran away, I am sorry but I just don’t buy it. These losers only go to places where they know the police will stand down, and the police in those places stand down because the powers that be in those places want mobs and riots.

    I brought this subject up in another tread a few days ago: http://ricochet.com/562112/control-of-the-courts-is-essential-to-democrats-and-other-tyrants/#comment-4307900

    And I still don’t have an answer.

    • #11
  12. JudithannCampbell Member
    JudithannCampbell
    @

    Rōnin (View Comment):

    JudithannCampbell (View Comment):

    Arahant (View Comment):

    JudithannCampbell (View Comment):
    At this moment, in the places where this happens, it seems like will not-presumably because those in charge don’t want the violence to stop.

    Or they fear it will escalate even more.

    Considering the governments of the places where it happens-Portland, Berkely, NYC, I doubt that is the reason. Also, considering the cowardice of most of the people involved-such as the guy who hit @washingtonsquare from behind and then ran away, I am sorry but I just don’t buy it. These losers only go to places where they know the police will stand down, and the police in those places stand down because the powers that be in those places want mobs and riots.

    I brought this subject up in another tread a few days ago: http://ricochet.com/562112/control-of-the-courts-is-essential-to-democrats-and-other-tyrants/#comment-4307900

    And I still don’t have an answer.

    Maybe I am just an eternal optimist, but in many ways it is a good thing that the leftists have ripped their mask off and are showing everyone who they really are. Those who tell us that we don’t need guns to protect ourselves are the exact same people who want the police to stand down in the face of rioting mobs. This must be pointed out again and again. 

    • #12
  13. Fake John/Jane Galt Coolidge
    Fake John/Jane Galt
    @FakeJohnJaneGalt

    The mobs are Democrats and the government are Democrats.  The whole thing is to force the citizenry the way they want it to go.  Understand that all, Democrat Party, mobs, special interest groups, government workers, unions are all part of the same thing.  

    • #13
  14. Washington Square Member
    Washington Square
    @WashingtonSquare

    I have to respond with an additional fact about that morning.  A little later further up the street a little later on the Occupy Wall Street activists in the main group caused a minor riot to which the NYPD could not and did not stand down.  These Occupy clowns were literally yelling and screaming at the police and broke through the organized, cordoned area they had been marching in.  They were literally hanging from the branches of the small trees that line the street.  I had the immense satisfaction of seeing one of these guys pancaked directly onto the street by a beefy NYPD cop.  I don’t know if it was the same guy who hit me though.  The real crime however was committed by the NY press.  Later that day I searched in vain for news reports on what, after all, had been a small riot.  There were none.  The NY press simply would not report negative news about these guys.  I retired several months later, left NYC and never set foot on the island again (pass throughs via car not included).

    • #14
  15. Robert Poste's Child Inactive
    Robert Poste's Child
    @RobertPostesChild

    Indeed. The Media are not just complicit; in my opinion, they are the true masters, and they are running the show.

    • #15
  16. Arahant Member
    Arahant
    @Arahant

    Robert Poste's Child (View Comment):

    Indeed. The Media are not just complicit; in my opinion, they are the true masters, and they are running the show.

    Hey, Flora! I saw something narsty in the woodshed.

    • #16
  17. Muleskinner Member
    Muleskinner
    @Muleskinner

    Our local occupiers were encamped on the mall right outside my office building, and we had to run the gauntlet going from the parking garage to the office, or over to the capitol building.  Some of their posters were incredibly anti Semitic, and some merely advertised their foolishness. There was one older white woman who styled herself as the camp mother, and seemed to think that her disapproval of anyone walking toward the capitol in a suit should be taken seriously, somehow. 

    One day I had an appointment in the capitol, and was thinking about some way to express my displeasure without actually wasting time attempting to engage any of them in a conversation.   A young economist on my staff had made something of a weekend hobby of having a few beers and then walking down to the camp to sow discord by alternatively making policy arguments from Marxian and libertarian perspectives. When he’d get two factions going, he’d just go home. But, I didn’t have the time or patience for that, and it struck me to question what kind of effect it might have if someone walked past openly claiming to be part of the dreaded 1%, and whether it was possible to determine if there was any common ideology of the group, and, if there was, was it anti Semitism? 

    I cut out a six-pointed star from a piece of yellow construction paper and wrote “1%” in big letters in the center if it, and pinned it to my jacket when I left the office. I covered it up with the trapper I kept my meeting notes in, until the mob had lined up to confront the white men in suits walking by. I was right in front of the “camp mom” who was chanting some leftist platitude, when I put my arm down. The look on her face was priceless. She stopped mid chant and gasped, then looked over toward the woman holding the poster that said something about blood sucking 1%ers above a sketch of a person with a hooked nose that looked like something copied from a 1930s propaganda poster. I think for a second “mom” might have actually felt shame, or at least some embarrassment. I just smiled, and gave her a “I know who really are” look, and walked by. I suspect that the symbolism would have been lost on many of the younger occupiers, which is why they must erase, or tightly control, history. 

    • #17
  18. Arahant Member
    Arahant
    @Arahant

    Muleskinner (View Comment):
    I cut out a six-pointed star from a piece of yellow construction paper and wrote “1%” in big letters in the center if it, and pinned it to my jacket when I left the office.

    I love you, man, in a thoroughly manly-brotherly way.

    • #18
  19. Doug Watt Member
    Doug Watt
    @DougWatt

    In large cities a police chief’s authority is limited. They serve at the pleasure of the mayor, and politically powerful city council members. Unlike a County Sheriff who is elected, and have their own political base a police chief, and the command staff can be fired at any time, or at the very least the command staff can be demoted at any time.

    City mayors, and council members in large cities tend to be to the Left of Bernie Sanders. Another factor is that most people that have real lives, read into that families, and real jobs do not go to city council meetings. City council meetings are packed with screamers, chanters, and socialist low lives.

    God help you as a street cop if you shoot someone that is walking towards you with a gun, that has already shot two people, and ignores your commands, especially if they are not White. This is exactly what sparked the latest Antifa temper tantrum in Portland.

    • #19
  20. Simon Templar Member
    Simon Templar
    @

    Muleskinner (View Comment):

    Our local occupiers were encamped on the mall right outside my office building, and we had to run the gauntlet going from the parking garage to the office, or over to the capitol building. Some of their posters were incredibly anti Semitic, and some merely advertised their foolishness. There was one older white woman who styled herself as the camp mother, and seemed to think that her disapproval of anyone walking toward the capitol in a suit should be taken seriously, somehow.

    One day I had an appointment in the capitol, and was thinking about some way to express my displeasure without actually wasting time attempting to engage any of them in a conversation. A young economist on my staff had made something of a weekend hobby of having a few beers and then walking down to the camp to sow discord by alternatively making policy arguments from Marxian and libertarian perspectives. When he’d get two factions going, he’d just go home. But, I didn’t have the time or patience for that, and it struck me to question what kind of effect it might have if someone walked past openly claiming to be part of the dreaded 1%, and whether it was possible to determine if there was any common ideology of the group, and, if there was, was it anti Semitism?

    I cut out a six-pointed star from a piece of yellow construction paper and wrote “1%” in big letters in the center if it, and pinned it to my jacket when I left the office. I covered it up with the trapper I kept my meeting notes in, until the mob had lined up to confront the white men in suits walking by. I was right in front of the “camp mom” who was chanting some leftist platitude, when I put my arm down. The look on her face was priceless. She stopped mid chant and gasped, then looked over toward the woman holding the poster that said something about blood sucking 1%ers above a sketch of a person with a hooked nose that looked like something copied from a 1930s propaganda poster. I think for a second “mom” might have actually felt shame, or at least some embarrassment. I just smiled, and gave her a “I know who really are” look, and walked by. I suspect that the symbolism would have been lost on many of the younger occupiers, which is why they must erase, or tightly control, history.

    Good on ya’

    • #20
  21. I Walton Member
    I Walton
    @IWalton

    Randy Webster (View Comment):

    I know you can’t do it in New York, but I carry. This would never happen to me.

    Serious question.  Is bear spray legal in NY?  

    • #21
  22. Stad Coolidge
    Stad
    @Stad

    Randy Webster (View Comment):

    I know you can’t do it in New York, but I carry. This would never happen to me.

    I recall a story a few years ago about a punk who tried the knockout game with a CWP holder.  He assumed room temperature rather rapidly, IIRC . . .

    • #22
  23. The Reticulator Member
    The Reticulator
    @TheReticulator

    Arahant (View Comment):

    Muleskinner (View Comment):
    I cut out a six-pointed star from a piece of yellow construction paper and wrote “1%” in big letters in the center if it, and pinned it to my jacket when I left the office.

    I love you, man, in a thoroughly manly-brotherly way.

    Me, too. Group hug? Also that young economist in the group. I love him, too.

    • #23
  24. Bryan G. Stephens Thatcher
    Bryan G. Stephens
    @BryanGStephens

    Well, you cannot respond to their violence. That just will make it worse. All we have to do is sit back, and wait, until the people say “enough” to their violence. I mean this was just 5 years ago, man. 

    At least, that is what I keep hearing at Ricochet.

    • #24
  25. Nanda Panjandrum Member
    Nanda Panjandrum
    @

    Simon Templar (View Comment):

    Muleskinner (View Comment):

    Our local occupiers were encamped on the mall right outside my office building, and we had to run the gauntlet going from the parking garage to the office, or over to the capitol building. Some of their posters were incredibly anti Semitic, and some merely advertised their foolishness. There was one older white woman who styled herself as the camp mother, and seemed to think that her disapproval of anyone walking toward the capitol in a suit should be taken seriously, somehow.

    One day I had an appointment in the capitol, and was thinking about some way to express my displeasure without actually wasting time attempting to engage any of them in a conversation. A young economist on my staff had made something of a weekend hobby of having a few beers and then walking down to the camp to sow discord by alternatively making policy arguments from Marxian and libertarian perspectives. When he’d get two factions going, he’d just go home. But, I didn’t have the time or patience for that, and it struck me to question what kind of effect it might have if someone walked past openly claiming to be part of the dreaded 1%, and whether it was possible to determine if there was any common ideology of the group, and, if there was, was it anti Semitism?

    I cut out a six-pointed star from a piece of yellow construction paper and wrote “1%” in big letters in the center if it, and pinned it to my jacket when I left the office. I covered it up with the trapper I kept my meeting notes in, until the mob had lined up to confront the white men in suits walking by. I was right in front of the “camp mom” who was chanting some leftist platitude, when I put my arm down. The look on her face was priceless. She stopped mid chant and gasped, then looked over toward the woman holding the poster that said something about blood sucking 1%ers above a sketch of a person with a hooked nose that looked like something copied from a 1930s propaganda poster. I think for a second “mom” might have actually felt shame, or at least some embarrassment. I just smiled, and gave her a “I know who really are” look, and walked by. I suspect that the symbolism would have been lost on many of the younger occupiers, which is why they must erase, or tightly control, history.

    Good on ya’

    Sounds like a powerful, yet non-lethal deterrent.  Fantastic!

    • #25
  26. Joe Escalante Member
    Joe Escalante
    @JoeEscalante

    Randy Webster (View Comment):

    I know you can’t do it in New York, but I carry. This would never happen to me.

    I don’t see how a concealed weapon would prevent this. I think one of the points of Randy’s story, that he generously shared with us, is that it can happen to anyone, except maybe Spiderman. I carry, and if someone hit from behind and kept running I certainly wouldn’t pull out a firearm.  Thanks for your Story Randy.

    • #26
  27. Instugator Thatcher
    Instugator
    @Instugator

    I am already against the next left wing darling.

    • #27
  28. Goldwaterwoman Thatcher
    Goldwaterwoman
    @goldwaterwoman

    Bryan G. Stephens (View Comment):

    Well, you cannot respond to their violence. That just will make it worse. All we have to do is sit back, and wait, until the people say “enough” to their violence. I mean this was just 5 years ago, man. 

    At least, that is what I keep hearing at Ricochet.

    I fear that another Civil War will begin when we start to physically defend ourselves.

    • #28
  29. Instugator Thatcher
    Instugator
    @Instugator

    Goldwaterwoman (View Comment):

    Bryan G. Stephens (View Comment):

    Well, you cannot respond to their violence. That just will make it worse. All we have to do is sit back, and wait, until the people say “enough” to their violence. I mean this was just 5 years ago, man.

    At least, that is what I keep hearing at Ricochet.

    I fear that another Civil War will begin when we start to physically defend ourselves.

    I am working with a guy in the office to imagine what the road to war would look like. While it might include instances of lawlessness, we think it will take the form of violent state resistance to federal mandate.

    • #29
  30. Skyler Coolidge
    Skyler
    @Skyler

    Randy Webster (View Comment):

    I know you can’t do it in New York, but I carry. This would never happen to me.

    Getting hit from behind by someone unseen is not a factor that carrying a pistol would prevent.  I’m not understanding your bravado.

    • #30
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