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When a mugger points a gun at you and demands your wallet, and you comply, the way I see it there are two possibilities:
1. He gets your wallet and runs off, leaving you alive and that's the end of it.
2. He takes your wallet, shoots you dead anyway, and THEN runs off.
I personally do not buy the notion that your compliance is going to be the deciding factor in whether or not you live or die. I don't think that anyone who attempts to mug me is going to approach me thinking "I'm going to let this guy live if he gives up his wallet, but kill him if he refuses."
No, logic should tell us that he's either planning on killing me or he's not. No in-between.
If he does not plan on killing you if you refuse and instead was relying on your compliance in the face of his weapon, then what was the point of giving him your wallet?
If he plans to kill you anyway as soon as you hand it to him, well, your screwed anyway so might as well not make it easy for him.
I don't know about you, but to say I wouldn't give a mugger my wallet is a gross understatement.
If you stick a gun in my face, you BETTER be planning on killing me. Because I'll have every intention on killing you.
But if you're more the pacifist type, you could instead just place the barrel of his gun in your mouth and ask "Well, what are you waiting for?" Because he's either gonna do it or he aint. Nothing diplomatic is going to change that.
There used to be a retired homicide detective who would go around and teach about how to handle crime and situations like that. He always says to throw your wallet as far as you can, and to try to run away when the mugger goes after it. He says the same thing if confronted by a carjacker, toss the keys as far away as you can. This is what I hope I'd retain the presence of mind to do. He also says never go anywhere with them, if it comes down to it, take your chances getting shot in the parking lot rather than get in a car with a criminal.
I really don't believe that there are many people out there who are willing to kill for the little cash people carry nowadays and their credit cards....... I'm not looking for a fight (like some of the posters here) and I really doubt a thief is either.
Why would you do something risky like that for such a small amount of money - you can immediately call in your credit cards and who carries more than $50 in cash?
I was mugged once a block away from an Atlantic City casino a few years back. I play poker semi-professionally and had about $1900 in cash. This was before I worked out the logic of the whole thing that I have since posted here, so I blinked and gave up my wallet.
I am NOT going to blink again.
He obviously did not intend to kill me, so I gave him my money and then it turned out I didn't have to, and that sucked.
And of course if he does intend to kill me anyway, I am no worse for the wear.
In my "line of work" carrying large sums of cash is something you don't always have a choice for. I'm not giving anyone multiple thousands of dollars when they either don't have anything planned for me if I refuse or are going to kill me anyway.
One of us is going to die, and if I lose the struggle, welp, that was the way it was going to be anyway. Let it be written on my grave that at least I was no easy target.
I was mugged once a block away from an Atlantic City casino a few years back. I play poker semi-professionally and had about $1900 in cash. This was before I worked out the logic of the whole thing that I have since posted here, so I blinked and gave up my wallet.
I am NOT going to blink again.
He obviously did not intend to kill me, so I gave him my money and then it turned out I didn't have to, and that sucked.
And of course if he does intend to kill me anyway, I am no worse for the wear.
In my "line of work" carrying large sums of cash is something you don't always have a choice for. I'm not giving anyone multiple thousands of dollars when they either don't have anything planned for me if I refuse or are going to kill me anyway.
One of us is going to die, and if I lose the struggle, welp, that was the way it was going to be anyway. Let it be written on my grave that at least I was no easy target.
I am in the same situation from time to time, although never been mugged.
I thought I might pull part of my cash wad out and drop a grand or so on the ground and walk away with the rest...stating something like here is 500-1000 for free, or you can kill me for my credit cards/ID/pictures (and larger wad he wouldn't know about)...all the while walking.... He might be dazzled enough by the 100's lying on the ground, so I could walk off to safety.
Where were you when mugged? Were there any other people around?
Hopefully it would happen that way. It has been my experience that call center reps are notorious for telling you they are going to do something, and then not doing it. And it is usually the simplest, most mundane task they decide they are too lazy to do.
I'd rather not trust my foreseeable financial future to minimum wage La-Fawnduh who has to make the choice of whether or not to punch a few keys and cancel my credit card knowing it will mess up her nail polish.
Last edited by Robert Frost; 11-29-2015 at 01:09 PM..
I am in the same situation from time to time, although never been mugged.
I thought I might pull part of my cash wad out and drop a grand or so on the ground and walk away with the rest...stating something like here is 500-1000 for free, or you can kill me for my credit cards/ID/pictures (and larger wad he wouldn't know about)...all the while walking.... He might be dazzled enough by the 100's lying on the ground, so I could walk off to safety.
Where were you when mugged? Were there any other people around?
It was dusk but still bright enough outside. It occured about 200 feet off the boardwalk outside a bar and grill and there had to be about ten witnesses who stayed and gave their statement to the police. Typical inner city mugger snatched the wallet and ran off struggling to keep his pants up.
The thing about your idea is you're still stuck in the same catch 22. If he went in intending to kill you, then is he just going to let you walk off? If he does NOT intend to kill you, then isn't that true even if you did not toss that money on the ground.
When a mugger points a gun at you and demands your wallet, and you comply, the way I see it there are two possibilities:
1. He gets your wallet and runs off, leaving you alive and that's the end of it.
2. He takes your wallet, shoots you dead anyway, and THEN runs off.
I personally do not buy the notion that your compliance is going to be the deciding factor in whether or not you live or die. I don't think that anyone who attempts to mug me is going to approach me thinking "I'm going to let this guy live if he gives up his wallet, but kill him if he refuses."
No, logic should tell us that he's either planning on killing me or he's not. No in-between.
If he does not plan on killing you if you refuse and instead was relying on your compliance in the face of his weapon, then what was the point of giving him your wallet?
If he plans to kill you anyway as soon as you hand it to him, well, your screwed anyway so might as well not make it easy for him.
I don't know about you, but to say I wouldn't give a mugger my wallet is a gross understatement.
If you stick a gun in my face, you BETTER be planning on killing me. Because I'll have every intention on killing you.
But if you're more the pacifist type, you could instead just place the barrel of his gun in your mouth and ask "Well, what are you waiting for?" Because he's either gonna do it or he aint. Nothing diplomatic is going to change that.
That's not at all what logic tells me.
This hypothetical mugger wants:
*primarily, my wallet
*secondarily, not to get caught (secondarily because, if not getting caught was his primary concern, he wouldn't risk getting caught by committing the offense in the first place)
As to the obtaining of my wallet:
If I resist, he has reason to use coercive force against me. If I do not resist, he does not.
As to the not getting caught:
Killing me eliminates me as a witness. But it also draws attention (gunshots do that) and assures that the police will devote vastly more resources to his apprehension (believe it or not, first degree murder gets more attention than a mugging in which no one was injured - go figure). Further, the desire to not get caught is ultimately a desire not to spend time incarcerated, and killing someone vastly increases the potential sentence, so killing me not only makes it more likely that the mugger goes to jail, it makes the sentence he faces far longer. Thus, the mugger is not served well by using lethal force, particular when the primary objective of the mugger - obtaining the wallet - has been achieved.
That's what logic dictates, not the illogical scenario you're suggesting.
Now, the fly in this ointment is that muggers are not always rational actors.
However, you're presenting this hypothetical as one of mere theory. But we live in a real world, not in a theoretical world, and we're awash in evidence as to what happens in such situations. What happens is that resistance is generally ineffective and correlates with a higher incidence of being harmed, as studies such as the following demonstrate.
It seems that you've decided that resisting is better, regardless of the evidence. That's fine - if you prefer theory over what actually happens, act accordingly. But I prefer an evidence-based approach.
I think everyone should take a course on armed and unarmed self defense. find an instructor that knows what to teach from successfully surviving by surrendering your wallet to capturing the muggers gun and shooting him and his accomplices.
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