August 30, 2005
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Multiracial Crime
Have you ever seen Hollywood depictions of multiracial criminal
gangs? I thought they were just being PC and unrealistic.
In my mind, real gangs are composed of just one race. Because if
you’re open-minded enough to have friends of different races, you’re
less likely to be a small-minded criminal, I guess. Or maybe I’ve been watching too much of The Godfather and Scarface.Apparently my bias isn’t universally true. Recently a friend was
mugged by a multiracial group of teenagers in Central Square. She
writes:Monday at about 7:10pm, I was attacked by a group of
five teenagers (15-17 yrs) while walking down Pleasant
Street towards Wholefoods to get groceries. An African
American girl, about 5’6”, slender, confronted me and
punched me in the cheek, while a Caucasian, lanky
blonde male, 5’9” tore my shoulder bag strap, pushed
me against a fence and ran away with all contents.
The other kids in the group were boys of similar age.
I had already reported the robbery to the local
police. Except for a few bruises and scratches, I am
physically well, I would just like to alert others
living in the neighborhood to be aware and report any
suspicious activity to the police.Strange, huh? Anyway, be careful in Central Square. Crime comes in many colors!
Comments (10)
That is terrible. Maybe we should get together some sort of self defense course for women and men, or have info available on existing self defense courses.
Maybe so. But I think if you’re set upon by a gang of 5-6 people, then a running course would help more.
Let’s continue to pray for her…
I think it’s that socioeconomic walls can be tougher/higher than racial ones. I could easily see this happening in Cambridge and Somerville. Glad she’s okay and wow I can’t believe it was on Pleasant St…
Running (if possible) is always much better.
that’s crazy! something similar happened to my tall white guy friend (he’s 6′ 6″) but it was a bunch of teenage boys jumped on him and kept punching him til he gave them his wallet. it’s sad to think teenagers are reduced to such things for money…
mmm, I can just as easily see them doing it for kicks or bragging rights.. but yeah, sad in all those cases.
scary.
Of course if you’re ganged up on by 5 or more people looking to steal your wallet or take your purse, you should look to run out of the situation. Let them have the money, it can be replaced. But, if say a woman is in a situation where she is being subdued and can possibly be raped, I think it is crucial that she know how to defend herself at least to the point where she can open up a window of opportunity to run. Also, it is possible to ward off multiple attackers to the point where you can open that same window of opportunity to run or call for help. I think that if one is in a situation like your friend (I hope she is doing okay), to just say…well…”RUN!”, and ignore the fact that there are some things that she can do to avoid other possible consoquences, is a little irresponsible. Of course one should never go out to look for, or further pursue, a confrontation. But, there are circumstances which may require some action for self defense, or more horrible consoquences may ensue. I’m not advocating that one beat the living hell out of an attacker. I am advocating, however, to learn to defend yourself against physical harm or rape at least to a point where you can run away or get help.
what a scary situation! i hope your friend is ok!
it totally got my adrenaline pumping thinking about what I would do in a similar situation and if I would be able to defend myself. it totally motivated me that there is a reason why I do train and need to remember the self-defense lessons in my martial arts class.
my friend took part in a self-defense course (for harvard women) and the officer was like, kick me as hard as you can! so she she kicked him, he toppled over, and cracked his back (but nothing broken)! but yes, these courses can help…