From: betsys@cs.umb.edu (Elizabeth Schwartz)
Newsgroups: ne.general
Subject: Re: Drinking and the MBTA was Re: Sunday Liquor Sales
Date: 19 Dec 92 18:06:32 GMT
	<BZS.92Dec16210528@world.std.com>
Organization: University of Massachusetts at Boston

Exactly. There's basically four kinds of trouble you can run into:
professional muggers who are in it for profit, agitated drunks and
junkies, racial/gang violence, and the genuinely crazy murderer or
stalker. 
   I suspect that most crimes are committed by "professionals,"
muggers, pickpockets, and purse-snatchers. In a crowded, well-policed
downtown stop, you are probably at the highest risk for getting your
pocket picked, but little-to-no risk of the others.
  In term of being mugged, I think the MOST dangerous places are
well-lit stations in "better" residential areas. For example, look at
Davis Squaer or Harvard Square. A professional mugger can pick a
corner and watch well-dressed people turn onto quiet side streets, and
follow the person of his or her choosing. I'd guess the most dangerous
time is the middle of the evening, when crowds have thinned but MBTA
traffic is still reasonable. 
  I think the danger of gang or teenage violence is mostly to people
of "target" age, young males travelling alone. Gangs are conspicuous
as hell, and stations with gang action, such as Ruggles, are highly
policed. Most of the problems with gangs seem to happen when three or
four people, waiting alone at a deserted station, decide to harass
another person at that station. I would not wait alone at an unpoliced
station with three or four strutting teenagers in it. 
    Drunks and junkies tend to be concentrated in certain parts of
town, mainly because the police will not hassle them as much there. A
drunk in Brookline probably gets put onto a train to Park St. I
wouldn't wait alone on a platform with anyone who appeared to be both
out of their senses AND energetic. A drunk can harass you endlessly
once he sees you, but can't usually plan to follow you from more than
a few feet away, and I've never seen one that could be subtle about
their intentions. So, avoiding drunks isn't usually a problem.
   That gets us to the rapists and the murderously insane. There are
some real crazies, people who will suddenly and randomly push another
person in front of a train or stab them. All you can do about this is
develop a paranoid attitude. This last category is where all the
self-defense advice applies. Don't stand too close to the tracks.
Don't get into a place you cannot run out of. Look for the exits.
Stay out of alleys, etc, etc...

  I ought to add another category: harrassment. This isn't dangerous
IF you handle it right but gets people into trouble. This can be
sexual (of either gender) or non-sexual. Actually, I bet this is the
kind of trouble that tourists run into the most. A man starts walking
up to a woman and "hey, baby'ing" her, a group of teens surrounds a
man and starts joking about how "pretty" he is, a man walks up to you
and tries to engage you in intense conversation, where are you from,
nice camera....with you wondering what kind of scam he is trying to
pull.   
  As far as I know the best way to deflect all this is to
*acknowledge* it but not inflame it. Pretending that the harasser is
invisible will ALWAYS inflame them. They know you can hear them.
Ignoring is a response and it is amusing to test your control. What
you want to do is to look at them and look bored. You're from the
city, you've seen this a million times, nice act. "Save it for the
tourists" with a bored smile is a good line. So is "Have a nice day"
meaning "good-bye" "No, not today" in an exasperated tone.  That's
what I usually do if I'm pissed, act like I've already had a harder
day than they are trying to give me.

  I'm rambling. Well, the places I've lived in my life are New York,
Chicago, and Boston, always in the city. One person's survival
knowledge.

--
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Newsgroups: ne.general