Some children tried to steal my hat yesterday

[ninman]

So I was going out for a walk on this nice path beside a canal near where I live. Some children were riding their bikes and took my hat off my head then demanded money to give it back to me. Apparently it was because they were offended because they said "hi" to me and I didn't really give a response.

Has anyone else had something like this happen to them? If so, what's the best way to deal with it?

 

[TheDane]

That's a hard one to deal with. One place to start is to address the issue with friends and neighbors to try to revive grown-ups' interest and care for raising children. Most of us are, who we were brought up to be.

 

[ninman]

I don't quite understand what it is about a hat that would offend them so much though.

 

[TheDane]

I don't believe, your hat had anything to do with the situation. Could have been your pipe, tie, shoes or nose.

Though very tempting, I'm not even sure, we can blame "the times" and their "moral decay". Our (grand)fathers' generation could be the inspiration: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Straw_Hat_Riot

From the earliest of days the parental generations have been whining about the generation, they themselves created. Whether it's due to a breach in our biological hardware or software, I don't know, but young people's bad behavior has always been among our favorite issues - but we never seem to point the finger at ourselves or our friends/family. Interesting

 

[ninman]

I think harassing a total stranger, and thinking that it's ok to take someone's hat off of their head without their permission shows a fairly serious problem with a person's character. They were lucky they did it to me, if it had been someone else they might have reacted violently, especially given that I was at least twice their age.

 

[TheDane]

I absolutely agree. I'm just pointing out the fact, that their proper raising was somebody's responsibility. I wouldn't blame a hat for it's crooked brim-binding, either

I'm not saying, there's no such a thing as "personal responsibility". I'm just wondering why parental responsibility has been ignored by dozens of generations, when talking about ill raised youngsters.

 

[DOGMAN]

How you get it back?

 

[AndyR]

I'm not at all surprised in this day and age. If not for your profile (UK), I'd have guessed you were from Chicago.

The young people are so bad here that I don't think they would have demanded money for your hat, they probably would have just killed you for it. I swear, I think the next step here is that the young people will become cannibals.

Sorry to sound so grim. I avoid young people like the plague.

 

[Lean'n'mean]

How you get it back?

He payed the ransom.

Judging by your posts ninman, you come across as a gentle soul & a touch naive, the kids probably detected that too & took advantage of it....................just try not to act like a victim.
Incidently, your English is very good but do I detect a foreign accent ?

 

[Blackthorn]

So I was going out for a walk on this nice path beside a canal near where I live. Some children were riding their bikes and took my hat off my head then demanded money to give it back to me. Apparently it was because they were offended because they said "hi" to me and I didn't really give a response.

Has anyone else had something like this happen to them? If so, what's the best way to deal with it?

Say "Hi" I guess.

 

[TheDane]

I'm not at all surprised in this day and age. If not for your profile (UK), I'd have guessed you were from Chicago.

The young people are so bad here that I don't think they would have demanded money for your hat, they probably would have just killed you for it. I swear, I think the next step here is that the young people will become cannibals.

Sorry to sound so grim. I avoid young people like the plague.

It sure sounds like elderly people of Chicago have a lot to be ashamed of!

 

[scottyrocks]

When you say deal with it, do you mean in the future, or are you still standing there with the kids in front of you demanding money?

I have a couple of suggestions, but in today's climate, one of them could get you into more trouble than it's worth, although a couple of generations ago, it would have been fine.

Today, going into my pocket as if going for money, and then pulling out a camera and taking their picture and saying you're headed to the police station might change their collective mind.

In the old days, when I could still run, and children couldn't ever do no wrong, I would have charged them, and caught the one with the hat, before he got up any speed on the bike.

I work in an inner-city, and am always aware of my surroundings. That would help you in the future. This practice was reinforced about a year ago when that new inner-city 'game' of punching unsuspecting people in the back of the head was popular.

 

[ninman]

I didnt pay them i just told them i was sorry if i offtended them. I just dont understand why they thought their behaviour was acceptable or reasonable. They kept telling me that i ignored them and asked me why i was being so ignorant.

When i was their age the adult would have phoned my parents and i would have been in so much trouble.

 

[ninman]

I was fully prepared to figjt them, or take their picture. Trouble is we were literally out in the middle of nowhere and theyd be long gone before i got anywhere near a police station.

I was tempted to ask the next person i saw on a bike to chase after them but i didnt think it was worth the effort.

 

[scottyrocks]

So did you get the hat back? If so, how?

 

[ninman]

So did you get the hat back? If so, how?

They gave it up willingly. It seems they were trying to teach me not to ignore people who talk to you.

 

[AndyR]

It sure sounds like elderly people of Chicago have a lot to be ashamed of!

Definitely. Just yesterday, some guy severely beat up an 80 year old woman on a bus, for no reason at all. It was all caught on video. Over the last few days, there were at least two major brawls on the city beaches. People have gone mad.

 

[HudsonHawk]

Here in Texas, you just pull out your concealed hand gun, fire a few warning shots, and the problem usually takes care of itself.

 

[ninman]

Here in Texas, you just pull out your concealed hand gun, fire a few warning shots, and the problem usually takes care of itself.

Lol, spoken like a true Texan. Unfortunately, here in the UK hand guns are illegal, as are tasers, pepper spray, etc. I have studied Karate for about 6 years, so I wasn't worried about taking them on, but you really don't want to have broken glasses, bruises, or other potential injuries when going out for a nice walk and enjoying the sunshine.

By the way, to answer Lean'n'Mean's question. I'm from the UK originally, but I lived in Canada for a year, China for 2 years and Taiwan for 6 months. I also speak Chinese fluently, so that may explain the "accent", lol.

 

[Lean'n'mean]

Don't try to find excuses for their behaviour......they were louts bullying someone they saw weaker than themselves...end of story.