Calzone
Gear Whore #1
[ SELF DEFENSE: Yesterday I went to B&H, and on my way home on the subway I was forced to defend myself from an assault.]
Hi Cal,
YOU could have seriously injured somebody that day. You realize you're sometimes seem to act like a loose cannon, don't you? Or at least you are telling it that way.
Ease up, relax, do some yoga or thai chi breathing exercise and just step aside instead of going in full frontal.
Being aware of your surroundings should give a split second to step out of harms way or to pull your woman to safety.
If I hadn't anticipated stupid drivers crossing lanes w/o turn signal, changing their mind half way and going the other direction again, I would have totaled I don't know how many cars already. Zero so far. Luckily I also haven't been in any fight nor being attacked or robbed. I guess, I count as a defensive driver.
And sorry to hear that the NYT review opportunity did not work out.
Klaus,
Pretty much if I did not react I would of gotten knocked down at least. There was a good possibility for injury.
As far as the conditioned responses, I'm just being honest about sharing experiences that leads to dangerous overreactions. Not many had police have had weapons drawn on them, not everybody had so many bad experiences of being targeted by racial hatred, and not everybody experienced NYC in the 70's. The fact is I have had more than my share of violence and perhaps too many times I could or should have been hurt, injured or even killed.
There was a third time in the 70's in the suburbs when I could of gotten shot. I walked into a bakery and the girl was crying and was upset because she had just been robbed. She said, "Run after the guy with the hat," which I did. I took down a license plate number. Later I found out that the perp had a gun. The guy that I saw with the hat evidently was not the guy.
The cops explained to me that this was likely some dad with young kids because it was close to Christmas in 1974. This was during the time of the oil crisis and unemployment and inflation were double digits.
How many times have you had guns pointed at you, or how many times could you have been shot? Have you ever been racially profiled? Have you almost gotten shot by cops in a case of mistaken identity? Three times I could have been shot, twice by NYPD, and all before I was 18 years old.
"Loose canon" is a bad term to use here. I'm trying to explain a pattern of behavior that came through conditioning, not justify violence. If anything I have displayed a lot of resilience and restraint.
How many life threatening experiences or encounters with violence I have had is not a justification but is a conditioned response that seems to be discounted here.
Also is hyper-aggression appropriate when opponents are either bigger, younger, stronger, or when you are outnumbered? What about when you are cornered and are forced to fight?
Cal
Phil_F_NM
Camera hacker
Conditioned response is a faulty logic when it comes to violence and wanting to prevent it. It is either participated in or not.
I have almost been shot by police twice here in Philly, both back in 2006 when I was really a lot more hotheaded, hadn't done any therapy post combat experience and loved to drink. I've been chased down the street by kids with a gun when I was both carrying a knife and close enough to use it. I've been confronted numerous times by potential violence. My conditioned response was to eliminate the threat but I have never once done so. I have simply taken myself out of the situation by going the other way.
Philly was one of the most dangerous places to live in the western hemisphere in 2006 but I survived it while at the same time my conditioning made me reach for a weapon that wasn't there quite a bit.
Conditioning can be conditioned out and when it comes to violence, it should be. Granted, we weren't in your situation recently but like Klaus said, could there have been an opportunity to simply move out of the way? Was the man a direct threat or simply trying to get to a train?
There is far too much John Wayne in this country and it is taking us further down a path of increasing national violence, polarization and could lead to the eventual militarization of the whole of society.
Phil Forrest
Calzone
Gear Whore #1
Phil,
Thanks for sharing. You are correct that it is a struggle, and not all the time do we make good decisions.
I am well aware that if one does want to get shot that Philly is a likely place to have it happen.
In this particular case though it really was unavoidable and it all happened in a blink of an eye. There was no opportunity to avoid a collision as we both rounded a blind curve at the same time.
Unlike your experience with the police, one involved racial profiling and mistaken identity, and the other two times armed robberies I somehow got swept into. I did nothing wrong and just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
The example I gave of a much bigger and younger man running directly into me pretty much was the same: wrong place wrong time. Pretty much was unavoidable.
When younger I too had mucho rage and anger issues, but that is not the case presently. One of the things I did to become the man I am today is to harness and channel all the rage and anger in positive ways, otherwise I surely would not be alive today.
Interesting to note that at work when we had an electrical fire that out of 4 men I was the only one that responded appropriately. I had gone out to the bank, upon my return to work my building had been evacuated, and I asked people I worked with where was my boss "How-Weird."
Since no-one knew where he was I broke proceedure and entered the building to search for him. My lab is a nuclear research lab that is really a bunker about 70-80 feet underground, and when I got there I saw Howard holding a CO2 fire extinguisher frozen in front of an electrical cabinet that had a raging fire.
A PhD scientist and a technician stood nearby, also frozen. I grabbed another CO2 extinguisher, pulled the pin, and told Howard that it was the right type of extinguisher for an electrical fire and it was safe to use.
I mentioned that there was a fresh extinguisher right behind him and that I already had pulled the pin. I directed the two frozen bystanders not to leave Howard alone, and told them I was going to get the key to a utility room and turn off the main breaker feeding that particular cabinet.
Interesting to note that in WWII a study suggested that 3/4's of solders in the U.S. Army on their first experience with combat could not or did not discharge their weapon. In Vietnam the first few weeks of the one year tour of duty is where casualties were concentrated.
I think I surely learned from my experience. BTW Howard and everyone at work had the proper training in dealing with a fire emergency. In fact we have Certificates Of Fitness credential issued by the NYFD because of all the chemicals and the elevated hazards of a chemical fire.
Cal
Thanks for sharing. You are correct that it is a struggle, and not all the time do we make good decisions.
I am well aware that if one does want to get shot that Philly is a likely place to have it happen.
In this particular case though it really was unavoidable and it all happened in a blink of an eye. There was no opportunity to avoid a collision as we both rounded a blind curve at the same time.
Unlike your experience with the police, one involved racial profiling and mistaken identity, and the other two times armed robberies I somehow got swept into. I did nothing wrong and just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
The example I gave of a much bigger and younger man running directly into me pretty much was the same: wrong place wrong time. Pretty much was unavoidable.
When younger I too had mucho rage and anger issues, but that is not the case presently. One of the things I did to become the man I am today is to harness and channel all the rage and anger in positive ways, otherwise I surely would not be alive today.
Interesting to note that at work when we had an electrical fire that out of 4 men I was the only one that responded appropriately. I had gone out to the bank, upon my return to work my building had been evacuated, and I asked people I worked with where was my boss "How-Weird."
Since no-one knew where he was I broke proceedure and entered the building to search for him. My lab is a nuclear research lab that is really a bunker about 70-80 feet underground, and when I got there I saw Howard holding a CO2 fire extinguisher frozen in front of an electrical cabinet that had a raging fire.
A PhD scientist and a technician stood nearby, also frozen. I grabbed another CO2 extinguisher, pulled the pin, and told Howard that it was the right type of extinguisher for an electrical fire and it was safe to use.
I mentioned that there was a fresh extinguisher right behind him and that I already had pulled the pin. I directed the two frozen bystanders not to leave Howard alone, and told them I was going to get the key to a utility room and turn off the main breaker feeding that particular cabinet.
Interesting to note that in WWII a study suggested that 3/4's of solders in the U.S. Army on their first experience with combat could not or did not discharge their weapon. In Vietnam the first few weeks of the one year tour of duty is where casualties were concentrated.
I think I surely learned from my experience. BTW Howard and everyone at work had the proper training in dealing with a fire emergency. In fact we have Certificates Of Fitness credential issued by the NYFD because of all the chemicals and the elevated hazards of a chemical fire.
Cal
Calzone
Gear Whore #1
BTW I'm no hero. I told my boss that if I had to do it all over again that I would have left him for dead, and that I should of let the place burn down. LOL.
Even though we don't get along he laughed. Really not worth risking your life for, but when you have an emergency you don't have time to think. Pretty much risking your life, especially someone you have reason not to like, is beyond dumb. Oh-well.
After this fire there was another emergency evacuation of my building because a Yankee pitcher crashed a plane into the "Belair" highrise on East 72d Street behind Sotherby's the auction house. My lab is just two buildings away.
When I saw the flames growing out a window accelerating I was reminded of September 11th. There was airplane litter all over the street, and I wished I had a camera. It was more dramatic than the news footage I saw on the news that night. I really thought the building was a goner.
I thought if I were a fireman I would say "F-U I'm not going in that building." LOL.
Cal
Even though we don't get along he laughed. Really not worth risking your life for, but when you have an emergency you don't have time to think. Pretty much risking your life, especially someone you have reason not to like, is beyond dumb. Oh-well.
After this fire there was another emergency evacuation of my building because a Yankee pitcher crashed a plane into the "Belair" highrise on East 72d Street behind Sotherby's the auction house. My lab is just two buildings away.
When I saw the flames growing out a window accelerating I was reminded of September 11th. There was airplane litter all over the street, and I wished I had a camera. It was more dramatic than the news footage I saw on the news that night. I really thought the building was a goner.
I thought if I were a fireman I would say "F-U I'm not going in that building." LOL.
Cal
Range-rover
Veteran
Gear Alert!!!
Finally loaded my 3.5F with believe it or not Black & White Film. I was shooting outside
yesterday and this camera is so quiet sometimes I don't hear the shutter going off.
Nice seeing everyone on Sunday!
Finally loaded my 3.5F with believe it or not Black & White Film. I was shooting outside
yesterday and this camera is so quiet sometimes I don't hear the shutter going off.
Nice seeing everyone on Sunday!
Calzone
Gear Whore #1
Bob,
On my Rollie 3.5F I had to advance the film to verify that I took a shot. That's how a properly tuned Rollie works.
I kind of admire how you repair gear.
Cal
Range-rover
Veteran
Thank you cal, it takes a lot of patience to get it right, I did have one little
problem when I took the first shot and then I advanced it, it just went a 1/4
turn and I took another shot. After that It advanced normally I might of ruined
one or two shots.
problem when I took the first shot and then I advanced it, it just went a 1/4
turn and I took another shot. After that It advanced normally I might of ruined
one or two shots.
Calzone
Gear Whore #1
Bob,
That sounds like a film transport problem. Rollie's, more than even a Leica, need to be exercised with film regularly. I keep a roll that I send through my camera a few times a month to exercise it if not used for shooting. Rollie's definitely like being used.
BOOK ALERT: "Maggie" just informed me that the book "American Romance" that features Maggie and me as the old couple was just delivered, so now we have an advanced copy.
May 10th is a book launch party. I kinda like that Mike Pence would not like this book because it is so inclusive. Cris the photographer wanted to mitigate all the hate being promoted last year during the elections.
This was not a paying gig, but it is not about money, its about doing the right thing. Love is love, and the pursuit of happiness should be the entitlement for all. Really proud that I was part of this.
Cal
Range-rover
Veteran
Congrat's on the cover and book, your right sometimes these just lay around and have to be used!
Calzone
Gear Whore #1
Bob,
Non of my shots are in this book. In "American Romance" Maggie and I are models.
This crew was great BTW.
Maggie sent me another e-mail. She says, "Wait till you see the pictures." She is really excited over this.
Cal