"Gunner" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 12 Mar 2004 23:41:45 +1100, "A.Gent"
wrote:
King's Cross? Oxford Street? Cabramatta? Redfern?
I've driven cabs for a living, and on the midnight-to-dawn shift the only jobs
going
are 'round there. Worst violence I suffered was a drunk puking in the back of the
cab. Should I have shot him?

Did you have reasonable cause to believe that your life was in danger?
If not..of course not.

Hehehe
Post in haste, repent at leisure. Of course not. Bad example on my part.
Maybe if I really was as "cranky" as my munged return addy suggests (I'm not), then I
might've shot him. Geez - I wasn't happy.


Where are these "wrong places"?

Redfern is a good start. The "Block" sounds like a dangerous place to be
after dark. Kings Cross has always been a exciting place....

As a student I walked through Redfern (railway stn to the uni) every day for 3 years.
A little later, 2 nights a week for two years. No problems.
I *could've* entered into some situations (usually with drunken antagonists), stirred
up trouble and been in deep manure - but I chose to walk to uni instead.

The block is as bad as you make it. Incidents of violence and intimidation occur,
but the vast majority are directed at family members. (Lemme rephrase - "within the
same family.")

Random acts of violence only seem so prevalent because they are replayed over and
over again until it seems that they happen all the time.

Cops are in danger in some area of the block at some times. They *are* packing.
Doesn't help against the drunken tactics employed against them.

======

King's Cross? Much cleaned up and gentrified since the days of my youth. A lot of
the sleaze has moved to the 'burbs, though prostitution and drugs still abound.
Certainly not dangerous to walk around. As I said earlier, I drove cabs
midnight-to-dawn around the Cross and never felt the need to pack heat (as they say).


Please, tell me you don't believe the nonsense they write in the tabloids? (Ref
the
recent "riots" in Redfern. pshaaww!)

Heroin addicts tend to make assault a habit as well...

Of course. I cannot deny their existence.
Discretion and sensible habits can (and do) minimise your own personal risk exposure
(without resorting to carrying arsenals).

Shrug.

You can't reduce all your risks to zero, and you shouldn't reduce a risk by
introducing a complicating factor which exacerbates it (packin' heat, that is.)



If you're dopey enough to walk through some places with $100 dollar bills stapled
to
your coat, then yes, indeed: "...the world can and is a very dangerous place."

So you are saying that one can indeed be in danger in Sydney? Lets
replace those $100 bills with expensive cameras and do the same shall
we?

Been there, done that. Used to be nuts about photography (still am, actually).
Never been mugged for them.

Am I going to sling five Nikons around my neck and go prancing through Cabramatta
after midnight?
No.
I'm not a bloody idiot! (despite protestations...)
Not going to play chicken with a Mack truck either.

Is Sydney a war zone where you need to pack heat in order to be safe?
Shrug.
Whadd'ya reckon?



Interesting set of strawmen you fabricate. Is there some reason you
felt the need to spin and divert?

Fair go, Gunner. That's pretty rich coming from Mr
"I've-read-it-on-the-net-therefore-its-true" Gunner.


Jeff.
(still surviving, gunless and swordless, and not paranoid, in Sydney.)

Good for you. What makes you think anyone with a gun, or a fire
extinguisher is paranoid?

Ummmm... (?)
Did I say that?

I've got a fire extinguisher and a jack and a spare tyre. Never felt the need to
threaten ayone with them (yet).

Shrug


from http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=paranoia :
"...In its mild form paranoia may consist in the well-marked crotchetiness exhibited
in persons commonly called "cranks." "

Your fan club (bless 'em) might not see the connection...

Some will, however.

Cheers for now, Gunner.
Sleep well...
....though how you can with one eye open, I don't know.

Jeff