Handling aggressive people

[Citi Wheel]

So I was riding my EU tonight when this guy said to me "you should be knocked off that f****** thing right onto your f****** head." This was the second time someone has said something aggressive towards me while on my EU. My question is what's the best way to handle this? I know how to deescalate situations but should I start carrying around some type of protection just in case I can't.

[unicycle distribution]

Can't believe, it will be the way you are in which country. If true, with a point guard

[Cloud]

The best way to handle aggressive people is to be calm and get away from them in a calm but expeditios manner. Its just common sense. Dont engage in a conversation with them, dont argue back, just leave. Dont ride too close to them. Remain your pace and ride away. Id tell you to get off the wheel and walk away or speed up and get away, but it can be considered by some as a sign of weakness, and if someone is, in fact , aggressive towards you , it can invoke more agressive action. Just ride away calmly.

a decision to have protection is up to you. You can if it makes you feel more confident and secure. Choosing to use it is specific to a particular situation , it could help you or hurt you -  you will have to make that call yourself...

Also, you need to discern if the comment is in fact aggressive or if it is just frustration. In other words, is the person gonna bark or is he gonna bite? If an old lady just calls you an a...hole, when you pass by her, she is not going to attack you but if you have several teenagers in a group and their body language seems agressive, you need to make a judgement call and act accordingly.

[unicycle distribution]

The best way to handle aggressive people is to be calm and get away from them in a calm but expeditios manner. Its just common sense. Dont engage in a conversation with them, dont argue back, just leave. Dont ride too close to them. Remain your pace and ride away. Id tell you to get off the wheel and walk away or speed up and get away, but it can be considered by some as a sign of weakness, and if someone is, in fact , aggressive towards you , it can invoke more agressive action. Just ride away calmly.

a decision to have protection is up to you. You can if it makes you feel more confident and secure. Choosing to use it is specific to a particular situation , it could help you or hurt you -  you will have to make that call yourself...

Also, you need to discern if the comment is in fact aggressive or if it is just frustration. In other words, is the person gonna bark or is he gonna bite? If an old lady just calls you an a...hole, when you pass by her, she is not going to attack you but if you have several teenagers in a group and their body language seems agressive, you need to make a judgement call and act accordingly.

Say very good.

[Citi Wheel]

Can't believe, it will be the way you are in which country. If true, with a point guard

I'm in the US/NYC

The best way to handle aggressive people is to be calm and get away from them in a calm but expeditios manner. Its just common sense. Dont engage in a conversation with them, dont argue back, just leave. Dont ride too close to them. Remain your pace and ride away. Id tell you to get off the wheel and walk away or speed up and get away, but it can be considered by some as a sign of weakness, and if someone is, in fact , aggressive towards you , it can invoke more agressive action. Just ride away calmly.

Yeah I was riding at walking speed and as far on the side of the sidewalk as I could, and not taking up a lot of room, so I dont think he said it because I was riding like a jerk.

I said I'm sorry while giving him the finger but I dont know if he saw that. It was just one guy and he wasn't that big so I wasnt too worried but a bigger guy or a group of guys would've been a different story. That's why I thinking about maybe getting something.

[unicycle distribution]

Best to keep a low profile, don't try to provoke. Your finger is obviously wrong.

[Citi Wheel]

Best to keep a low profile, don't try to provoke. Your finger is obviously wrong.

Yeah I know it was but it really would've bothered me the whole night if I had just stayed quiet after a comment like that.

[Cloud]

Giving someone a finger is enough to piss them off, and if their intent is aggressive, it can cause counteraction on their part. Doesnt matter if you were right or wrong.  If you are afraid of aggression, first step is to avoid an interaction, whether you are protected or not. 

[Citi Wheel]

Giving someone a finger is enough to piss them off, and if their intent is aggressive, it can cause counteraction on their part. Doesnt matter if you were right or wrong.  If you are afraid of aggression, first step is to avoid an interaction, whether you are protected or not. 

I'm not afraid of aggression and think I'd be able to diffuse most situations. I'm just wondering in case I can't, would it be wise to carry something around. 

[WayneZengAU]

Here in Australia, I do get some idiots who try to shit talk me when I ride past them. Depending on what they do, I might just tell them to F*** off or some other combination of insults. Some of them even have tried to jump at me and try to block my path or attempt to scare me. Almost got into a full blown punch up once but it ended up being all talk (me + my friend vs a bunch of drugged up lads in the CBD). I'm actually quite a safe rider and always slow down to a crawl when passing randoms on the street/footpath. Honestly I don't feel like niceties are going to help you with these types of people. It's not like the societal perspective of EUCS depends on what a bunch of low-life scumbags think of us. Obviously gauge the risks. If you're within range of someone being able to reach you physically, don't do anything. But if you're on a high powered/fast wheel and already out of their approachable range, then sling whatever you like which makes you feel better

[RichieV]

The choice to carry something for protection is a very personal one.  You have to know yourself enough to determine if you could truly utilize it in a stressful situation.  You have to know if you could live with the consequences of taking such an action.  That being said, if you do carry something make sure it is to use for its intended purpose and not merely for display in the hopes of scaring off a threat.  Also make sure you are properly trained in the use of such an item; if you carry it you better know how to use it.

[Tilmann]

Are you talking about an EUC with a gun rack??? You got to be kidding .

I'd rather buy a faster wheel (ok, I did ), lean gently forward and zoom away like roadrunner - leaving coyote in the dust ... 

[Gimlet]

Carrying anything that could possibly deemed an offensive weapon in the UK will earn you a prison sentence, so not an option here. 

[MrBump]

Carrying anything that could possibly deemed an offensive weapon in the UK will earn you a prison sentence, so not an option here. 

Although seemingly innocuous objects can be used as deadly weapons if required.

You ever had any aggro here in the UK, Gimlet?

[MarkoMarjamaa]

Do you see this idiot again somewhere sometime?

No ?

Then what's the point "showing who's the king of ape's" ? Just ride on.

 

[Chuts]

How about "You should go suck **** because your breath stinks like you do already"

Love these kind of insults because its personal and most idiots like these are generally homophobic.  

[Kroy]

Surely the idea of being armed is completely the wrong starting point - that would be lowering yourself to the idiots you are complaining about!
The best course of action for both you & them, is either think quick & give a clever response or say nothing - they are obviously looking for a rise from you, otherwise they wouldn't have said anything in the first place!

As @Gimlet says, in the UK there is a law that covers the carrying of a weapon - there are still people who have the attitude that being protected is the safest way to go but it's amazing how many stories you hear of the 'weapon' being used on the 'defender' or by the 'defender' in 'the moment' & then everyone has great regret when the police/hospital get involved.

That's exactly what the problem with US gun laws is - let people have guns to defend with but time after time, they get used by the wrong person in the wrong situation for the wrong reason - and they seem to have a problem realising this!

[MrBump]

I don't think anyone on this thread was being serious about going armed.

[Kroy]

I don't think anyone on this thread was being serious about going armed.

@logos122  mentioned it twice while asking for others' opinions.
He's rightly concerned about the vulnerability of riding an electric unicycle & I presumed he wanted this discussion because in some countries, it appears quite normal to see protection only as defence rather than what it really is, which is attack.

[Gimlet]

Although seemingly innocuous objects can be used as deadly weapons if required.

You ever had any aggro here in the UK, Gimlet?

Only once,  that was 40 years ago in the early hours on a New Years eve.

I did walk into the middle of this little confrontation back in 1979 whist camping with my biker friends in the New Forest. I think I'd had too many beers at the time to be worried.

[MrBump]

Only once,  that was 40 years ago in the early hours on a New Years eve.

I did walk into the middle of this little confrontation back in 1979 whist camping with my biker friends in the New Forest. I think I'd had too many beers at the time to be worried.

i'd hazard a guess that you weren't riding you euc at the time

@logos122  mentioned it twice while asking for others' opinions.
He's rightly concerned about the vulnerability of riding an electric unicycle & I presumed he wanted this discussion because in some countries, it appears quite normal to see protection only as defence rather than what it really is, which is attack.

i meant no one was seriously recommending it in response to the OP.  that incident just involved someone saying something in any case, so protection isn't really a factor.

[Cloud]

I get plenty of aggro in the NYC. Just yesterday i had 2 incidents - i passed by 2 guys, they were probably drunk. One of them jumped at me screaming and making scary faces - he was trying ti scare me into falling off the wheel, then a few minutes later, i was passing another coupke of guys whi had just come out of a bar. I have this little bicycle bell that i put on my finger to alert people if i am behind them, i used it and passed them. One of the guys started mocking me and how dare i ring the bell, etc

another time i was in a bicycke lane and 2 bicyckes were oncoming. As they were next to me they mo ed closer for a second trying to scare me and throw me off the wheel. I e had other instances when bike riders were a bit aggressive or not nice towards me - obviously they either feel envious, protecting their two wheeled turf on the road, married with feeling intimidated by the coolness of the euc riding and know no other way to deal with it but to establish their animal superiority over you.

The root of people' agression or negative remarks falls under 4 different reasons or a combination thereof. If we understand which is the reason we will know how to act acccordingly

1) fear of being knocked down . 

If you ride too fast by someone on the sidewalk, and they didnt see you coming, they may fear that you can knock them down and they dont have sufficient control in this situation - they cant escape fast enough. This is most expexted of older people, women, kids, and people of certain mindset. To avoid them cursing at you, dont ride too fast around people on sidewalk and make sure they see you from a distance. 

2) violation of personal space

if you ride to close to people, even when you are riding slow, it can cause negativeness towards you. We all have personal space and dont want it entered. This type of situations could happen with any kind of person or gender but not so much with kids. So, if possible, dont ride too close. Especially if you jump out from behind their back and they couldnt see you coming. 

3) envy, resentment, feeling that someone is superior or cooler.

This will happen because some people cant handle the fact that you look cooler than them riding a euc. They deal with it by trying to establish their own superiority and dominance over you and the situation - hence the attemots to make you lose balance and fall. This will occur more with younger people but not kids who are much younger than you. In this case you shoukd either diffuse the situation by showing that you respect them and not above them, or if you so desire respond back but be ready to deal with the situation or just ride away

4) being a jerk. 

Some are just jerks by nature and are looking for opportunities for confrontation. Sensing your vulnerability riding a euc is enough to set them off. The fact that you stand out from them crowd by riding an euc doesnt help with these people. The best course of action is to avoid them and ride away without showing fear. No matter how protected you are, one day you will come across someone who is protected better

[BlackM]

So I was riding my EU tonight when this guy said to me "you should be knocked off that f****** thing right onto your f****** head." This was the second time someone has said something aggressive towards me while on my EU. My question is what's the best way to handle this? I know how to deescalate situations but should I start carrying around some type of protection just in case I can't.

Just drive on, that's what I would do. Unless they actively attacked me in which case I'd grab the closest rock and hit them in the head.

[Citi Wheel]

Are you talking about an EUC with a gun rack??? You got to be kidding .

I'd rather buy a faster wheel (ok, I did ), lean gently forward and zoom away like roadrunner - leaving coyote in the dust ... 

Surely the idea of being armed is completely the wrong starting point - that would be lowering yourself to the idiots you are complaining about!
The best course of action for both you & them, is either think quick & give a clever response or say nothing - they are obviously looking for a rise from you, otherwise they wouldn't have said anything in the first place!

As @Gimlet says, in the UK there is a law that covers the carrying of a weapon - there are still people who have the attitude that being protected is the safest way to go but it's amazing how many stories you hear of the 'weapon' being used on the 'defender' or by the 'defender' in 'the moment' & then everyone has great regret when the police/hospital get involved.

That's exactly what the problem with US gun laws is - let people have guns to defend with but time after time, they get used by the wrong person in the wrong situation for the wrong reason - and they seem to have a problem realising this!

I don't think anyone on this thread was being serious about going armed.

@logos122  mentioned it twice while asking for others' opinions.
He's rightly concerned about the vulnerability of riding an electric unicycle & I presumed he wanted this discussion because in some countries, it appears quite normal to see protection only as defence rather than what it really is, which is attack.

No I'm not talking about carrying a gun or anything lethal. I wouldn't want to ruin my life and someone else's over something so stupid. I was thinking maybe a taser or something to briefly incapacitate the aggressor.

[MrBump]

Perhaps you could lure them into a trap with a bacon sandwich.