509 - (FREE TO READ) A question about repeat victimisation
A young man asks about violent robbery. Also: Update
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Firstly, Thank You!
Thanks to the guys (new and not so new) from Tuesday’s men’s group here in Stroud - I had a blast sharing a cocktail of survival oriented boxing, wrestling with nods to anti-knife and stick work too.
Getting to spend time with each of you and donning gloves and mouth guard and training with you is always an honour and the next day’s bruises attested to the fun we had while the “normals” sit in the wine bar down the street…
Thanks also to my friend Hock over in Texas, U.S.A for the mention and kind words (I’ll endeavour to live up to them) in his newsletter (Click here to get added).
Who is that clean cut young man from days of yore?
Hock writes: “
JETHRO RANDOLPH / ONE IN ONE, THE U.K.
Covid hit the U.K. very hard and so many combatives, martial arts, self defense and combatives schools failed. Disappeared. Yet, Jeth stayed the course just a bit west of London in Stroud area. He's intellectual, he's analytical, a great instructor and been a terrific ally and friend to us in the Force Necessary instruction world. He has a great, educational Substack page, classes and seminars.”
Hock’s right about the post-2020 environment with regard to staying open, it’s been a hell of a battle to stay open as a business and be able to continue doing this, pretty much constantly, despite having the most low-tech business model imaginable - a rucksack of gear and a rented space.
With even those costs increasing, I really appreciate those of you that show up to training and support this journal too as that’s the only reason I can afford to still be here.
Anyone considering making the upgrade to paid supporter here on Substack, buying a book on Amazon or coming along to a training session will be making all the difference - thank you!
Hock’s also right about staying the course - as I intend to, and I will be announcing news of my major new collaborative project here very soon.
J
Reader question:
A question from a young man (statistically the highest demographic of victim of violent crime), concerned with a perhaps unconsidered aspect of violent robbery.
“Hi Jeth, Can giving money to a local mugger because you don't want to die, make a repeat target of the same mugger?”
Just hand it over - the giving money part
Thanks for your question.
“…because you don’t want to die” hints at the fear that many have at the thought of falling victim to this and also the assumption that death is a conceivable consequence in the era we find ourselves in here on the Septic Isle.
Common advice is to hand over your possessions and be thankful if you just get a slap as it could be worse and it’s not worth dying over your wallet, right?.
This seems logical and is what your tax inspector is literally banking on.
That you might dare to do anything else other than simply hand over what is demanded by right, is likely to be met with righteous punishment and is off the agreed script of the now accepted narrative.
Most people will fall into this bracket of thought, after all it is what is stated everywhere as the done thing to do, right?
Other points of view
I know others who will not hand over anything of theirs in this manner.
Despite the risks, they plan to never accept this insult to them and accept the potential consequences. To say this is wrong is to negate their life experience and reasons for doing so. Not everyone can replace stuff so easily nor be willing to accept aggression repeatedly which may well be the case in their lives.
Agency
Your ability to make this kind of decision for yourself, and it can only be you, is based to a large part on your physical (and mental agency) to resist aggression.
This will also be highly dependent also on the situation that you find yourself in.
Some fights are “unwinnable” by anyone, don’t lie to yourself, but at the same time does this mean that in the face of this, that you just acquiesce and capitulate? What if they want to hurt you anyway? Are you going to gamble on their good nature?
“I’d just give give ‘em what they want”.
“I’d just run away”.
Typical poorly thought out answers from those that have thankfully never experienced the type of situation they may be commenting on.
Fighting back
This business owner in the video above fought back and derailed the attack upon him despite being outnumbered with age, also not on his side.
Should he not have done this?
Edged weapons would have changed this probably but here the street taxation agents (STA’s) are working in numbers and accordingly are expecting a textbook result.
Bigger guys?
Being pushed into the “second location” of the shop away from public eyes - what might have happened then?
From memory
I’ve been the “intended victim” of robbery several times, cities, abroad, a few times too in the small “safe” town that I live in (the last time as I recall, was late afternoon in Camden back in July this year ) though not successfully for any of the STA’s involved.
All involved me being aggressive. Was I lucky? Yes.
As I get older and weaker in the eyes of younger assailants (or “superiors as street culture would regard them), I know full well that this luck will run out.
Likelihood of repeat robbery?
When we look at the original question, we are talking about the same individuals victimising you repeatedly rather than it being several incidents by different actors.
Well if you live in a small town this isn’t as unlikely as some may think, especially if you are seen as an easy mark.
Of the times that I experienced this, only in the small town where I live that I mentioned before did I see the same people again (and again!).
Even in larger towns and cities, areas like estates are like small villages in terms of your chances of the same people seeing and targeting you.
What are you going to do now - “run away”?
Where to?
A lot of knife crime headlines will be fuelled by carrying a weapon to balance the odds of this happening to you, of feeling that you have a chance.
Give them the money? They’ll be back.
For the most vulnerable members of the community this is how cuckooing works in the case of isolated people that live alone as they literally move in with you to exploit you more fully:
“Organised criminal gangs often use high levels of violence and intimidation to protect the ‘county line’ and control them. One of these forms of control exploits vulnerable people by using their home as a base for dealing drugs, a process known as cuckooing. Dealers often convince the vulnerable person to let their home be used for drug dealing by giving them free drugs or offering to pay for food or utilities.
Often gangs target people who are lonely, isolated, or have addiction issues. It's common for gangs to use a property for a short amount of time, moving address frequently to reduce the chance of being caught.
There are several signs to look out for that may indicate someone is a victim of cuckooing:
frequent visitors at unsociable hours
changes in your neighbour’s daily routine
unusual smells coming from a property
suspicious or unfamiliar vehicles outside an address”
Go to the cops? Networks have a way of figuring out who did that and that’s a whole new problem.
Plus, it’s unlikely now that they will go to jail.
Very, very unlikely.
Will they be pleased to see you next time you bump into them down the shops?
“My son (13) was threatened and mugged yesterday… by a group of three, on the High Street between Costa and M&S right in front of the passers by and no one helped. People just kept walking by.
"He came home shocked and shaken and still is struggling to recover from this, obviously affected by this massively. We of course reported it to police, they said that it was dark and chances of finding them are slim even with the street cameras checked but they will try. I have heard about at least one other boy mugged yesterday by the group with the same description!"
Other parents replying to the post said that they'd had similar issues in the area, one writing: "It’s actually ridiculous right now and the police are aware of it going on but not policing the area. My younger was mugged in the same place twice a year or so ago all reported to the police. I do hope your son is ok."
The answers will become uncomfortable from here… because there aren’t any easy or clear cut ones.
Think ahead and decide what you WILL/ WON’T do so that you have some peace with that at least.
I’m sorry that I can’t give you a set answer or some easy youtube- friendly soundbite. Bullshit like:
“Do these 5 things to escape a robbery!”
“The 3 things muggers don’t want you to know!”
Would be great for business wouldn’t it? But then, that isn’t the truth.
Everything is both personal and situational.
It’s ugly and amorphous too.
Can fighting back go wrong?
Can not fighting back go wrong?
The answer to both of these questions is: Yes.
Nice to see you are getting some recognition out there. Hock is a legend.