What would you do if someone attacked you in the street?

Mary Eastland wrote: I recently had an experience in my office with 2 large, young guys were acting very strange. One of them got aggressive with me. I only have one door in my office. I stood up and walked past them and said, "follow me" and they did and then I said, "come on over here". They followed me over to the gate. I pointed and said, "stand over there" and they did. I went through the gate, slammed it shut and got in my car and drove off. I was very centered and still and knew exactly what to do. The guy that was aggressive has not been back in the office since and he calls to pay on time with his credit card.

:-) ;-)

I have enjoyed reading the thread and the answers (I was prepared to be irritated by the title, and nicely surprised).

I guess I still have newer students asking about what to do when someone attacks them in the dreaded phantom street, but how to communicate that violence between absolute strangers is relatively rare? not unheard of, and something to be prepared for, but date rape and spousal assault, work place violence, school yard fighting - people often know the people they are in a violent relationship with.

The last time I was asked this by a student, he was doing some hyperbolic babbling about some phantom menace on an empty street in our quiet small town while I was dealing with learning a friend was nearly killed by her husband of 8 years in her own home.

I just shrugged and changed the subject. I think we want our boogeymen to be strangers we wouldn't think twice about hurting.

John Hillson wrote: I just shrugged and changed the subject. I think we want our boogeymen to be strangers we wouldn't think twice about hurting.

Of course. Then it's like the movies: you kill the monster and live happily ever after.

Sadly, real life monsters are a lot more subtle and a lot harder to slay.

Katherine

Katherine Derbyshire wrote: Of course. Then it's like the movies: you kill the monster and live happily ever after. Sadly, real life monsters are a lot more subtle and a lot harder to slay.

And even if you win, it's at best a mixed blessing. Yes.

Pema Chodron talks a lot about the human tendency to create stories. It is a great gift in one way, this imagination of ours, and our drive to make things up -- I guess ultimately it's the source of creativity. It's also an enormous handicap if we don't recognize that what we've made up is a story. The more energy you invest in it, the more you need it to be real; the more real it is to you, the more energy you invest in it. What would you do if someone attacked you in the street? Why, star in your very own martial arts movie, that's what.

Katherine Derbyshire wrote: Of course. Then it's like the movies: you kill the monster and live happily ever after. Sadly, real life monsters are a lot more subtle and a lot harder to slay. Katherine

I dunno...some movie monsters are pretty tough to kill. I was just rewatching the 80s classic "Krull" a couple of weeks ago, the Prince really had to jump through a lot of hoops to kill that one. He even stuck his hand in lava to obtain the ancient throwing weapon and it turned out to be useless!

Or that movie "Cloverfield" from a couple of years ago. That monster took a direct hit from a two-ton bomb and it just got more angry.

I'll take realizing that I am not as rich and attractive as I wish I was over that any day!