Staying cool in the face of a hostile personality

[johnelmore]

When I first saw this video I thought it was another Youtube gag to get views. However, I found out this is a real video. I thought this was a good video to post as a fine example of keeping cool in the face of an idiot.

Are the actions of the driver really appropriate though? I would have driven off as sitting in the car is truly a vulnerable position. If the road rage man pulled a weapon or shattered the window the driver has little defense. Fortunately towards the end three men show up to calm the man down, but most of the time that wont happen.

This actually happened to me last year when I had tooted my horn just to find a hostile man chasing me down. I called the police but they were of little help. The dispatcher told me to drive to the station, but where was the station and what if I got caught at a light or if the angry man decided to ram my vehicle.

Around these parts drug and alcohol fueled rages seem to have been on the rise lately with the local chief commenting that nearly all of the incidents in the last month have been connected to heroin or alcohol.

Things to think about...

https://youtu.be/Rym5unx0ZCo

[coyotewsm]

First off what made the guy mad? You can say he should have drove off, but what if he had just rear ended the guy and was waiting for the cops to show up? My cousin had something similar happen to him in Atlanta. The difference was he was in bumper to bumper traffic. I'm not gonna say if what he did was right but when the guy got crazy he held up his gun to the guy could see it and he backed off.

[Pond, James Pond]

I find the way the lunatic loses his voice half way through detracts from the bad-ass attitude.

Seriously, though, I don't know what caused the ruckus, but the head case does make some reference, amongst the boringly repetitive expletives, to getting rear ended.

Either way, the guy keeps his cool nicely, although some response on his part to the tune of "We've called the police, they'll come and sort it out and take down our details" might have been an idea, rather than ignoring the guy completely which enraged him even further.

Here is the other side of the story.

[Limnophile]

You can say he should have drove off, but what if he had just rear ended the guy and was waiting for the cops to show up?

The target of the out-of-control rager did lightly tap the rear bumper of the rager's car, apparently lightly enough that no damage occurred to either vehicle. Driving off could be considered leaving the seen of an accident, but such action, I believe, would have been excusable given that that target's safety and life were being threatenend and his car was being pummeled.

While driving away would have been justifiably and perhaps even wise, doing so would have likely resulted in the rager becoming further enraged, and the victim of the rage has no legal or moral duty to do or say anything under the circumstances. In fact, a case could be made to justifiably run the rager over or shoot him.

Anyone who loses control to that degree over such a slight issue is not fit to serve in the US military.

[Pond, James Pond]

Anyone who loses control to that degree over such a slight issue is not fit to serve in the US military.

More to the point they are not fit to drive.

He is clearly completely out of control. The subsequent news report in one of the other related vids says he is now in counseling due to claimed PTSD.

Why was he not in counseling before?!

[SC4006]

I am not in the Marine Corps, nor do I know anything about this guy, but from what I saw, his actions are totally pathetic, especially for an NCO. NCO's are supposed to hold themselves to such a great level of professionalism, not only in appearance, but how in they conduct themselves in any situation. I might expect this type of behavior from a junior enlisted, not an NCO.

I'd say what the driver did was okay given the situation. There is no telling what the aggressor would have done if the driver had gotten out of his vehicle. Driving off could have lead to even worse things, like potentially being run off the road.

[SocialAnarchist]

The first time he kicked my car I would have told him I called the police, the second he went around and was yelling at my wife he would have seen my pistol. The video clearly shows he was a threat and justified pulling my pistol.

And YES, if he broke the window and started to reach in the car I would have shot him.

If he was suffering from PTSD then the military really needs to re-evaluate how they reintroduce soldiers back into society. Because that is no excuse for letting uncontrolled rage individuals loose on the streets to act like this.

Truth is though there are plenty of azz hats like this on the loose in the US without PTSD from military service. They are just hotheads always looking to prove how macho they are. An armed society is a much more polite society.

[FireForged]

I do not consider every personal trespass to be a "gun" situation. I am not likely to present a firearm simply to avoid a fist fight with 1 unarmed person.

[Pond, James Pond]

I am not likely to present a firearm simply to avoid a fist fight with 1 unarmed person.

Just curious:
Does this mean you'd rather enter into a fist-fight rather than present?

Might that not be a bit risky? What if, once you're in that fist fight and at contact distances, the other guy escalates it to a knife fight, from his POV?

Seems like an unnecessary risk if one knows that an altercation is all but sure to ensue.

[FireForged]

I am not going to threaten or imply the use of deadly force in order to avoid a circumstance which on its face does not cause me to fear for my life. I will not use a firearm as some sort of exclamation point or veiled threat. A firearm is a tool with a very singular purpose and when that purpose is not called for, I am not inclined to interject it actively into the equation.

[Ridgerunner665]

Amen to that....

[coyotewsm]

Well I'll pose this question. What if the guy you were fist fighting was in a rage and was intent on causing you bodily harm. And while the two of you were tussling he discovered your firearm and pulled it on you?

[Glenn E. Meyer]

I suggest that readers consider many of the serious training courses on vehicle defense, appropriate responses, avoidance, defusing situations and the like.

I don't find the level of discussion particularly useful.

Closed.