“You never appreciate your anonymity until you don’t have it anymore.” – Jason Priestley
A student was shopping this past week in a large chain store which also contained a Starbucks. She decided to order a coffee before finishing her rounds, and, as is Starbucks practice, they asked for her first name and wrote it on her cup.
After picking up her order she exited from the Starbucks and continued shopping.
Minutes later, while walking down an aisle, she was confronted by a male stranger who said “Hi [insert her name], remember me?”
Of course, she didn’t – she’d never seen him before!
Her response was, “sorry, sir, I can’t help you”, and immediately made her way out of the store – OC spray in hand!
Comment
The assailant obviously saw her name on the cup and seized it as opportunity for an “opening.” For most, that specific question combined with the use of first name would be cause to process and try to remember who the person is. That pause creates the time needed for the VCA to approach, or for their partner to. We can imagine what happens next!
In this case, or student was savvy enough to immediately disengage and create space, all while scanning for his partner.
The lesson, here, is that our real names should never be volunteered to strangers!
Whether ordering coffee or making restaurant reservations aliases should always be used. Pick one, and have it ready.
In the present surveillance state, it’s imperative we stay as anonymous as possible. Far too much of our movements and actions are being monitored and recorded – so-much-so, we’ve become accustomed to it.
We’ll volunteer our phone numbers out loud to cashiers for the “rewards discount” without considering who else might be listening. I’ve lost count of the number of women I’ve seen walking around in public after work still wearing a name tag from their job. And it never ceases to amaze me the number of ID (with photo) lanyards I’ve seen draped over rear view mirrors in parking lots.
Street criminals are like sharks – they bump before they bite. They use subterfuge (the bump) to gain information about our demeanor and vulnerability. It’s usually in the form of a question – and the answer to it is irrelevant to them. What matters is HOW we answer. Their potential prey’s response is how they gauge weakness.
When the victim stutters, dithers, stops flat footed in confusion, or says, “oh, sure, I have a dollar for you”, they have learned everything they need to know – the person is food, and they need to be eaten – robbery on. (Bite!)
When the mark curtly dismisses them, keeps moving, scans the area, and shifts their hands into a defensive posture, they know the jig is up. This is a non-victim! They’re on to the scam and they’ll be more trouble than it’s worth.
Unintentionally providing VCA’s our names ahead of time is like leaving our doors unlocked! It’s giving them unnecessary advantage, and why should we make it easy?
Personally, am not interested in a fair fight!
“If you find yourself in a fair fight – you didn’t plan your mission properly” – Col. David Hackworth
