I nearly died today

[Kerock]

Sad there are people in the world who take and make you feel afraid. Glad you're ok. Remember there is good in the world. Be at peace.

“Some believe it is only great power that can hold evil in check, but that is not what I have found. I found it is the small everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keep the darkness at bay… small acts of kindness and love.” .....Gandalf

 

[Butters]

Terrible thing to happen, glad you’re unharmed and can hopefully put this behind you.

 

[TrickyDickie]

How is your mom doing today?

 

[Twilight Phoenix]

My mom is wrecked. She feels like just after my father died.

 

[rhubarbodendron]

{{{{{{{Tau Cygna}}}}}}} What a terrible exerience! I'm so glad you didn't get hurt. It's of course only a small comfort but please keep remembering that papers and keys can be replaced. Lives can't.
Does your mother live alone? It might perhaps be better atm if she had a friendly neighbour or a friend staying with her and accompanying her when she goes shopping when you've gone back home.
And it might be best if she would see a psychologist/therapist. She needs someone whith whom she can talk about the shock and her fears, else she won't be able to overcome them. If she's religious, a priest might do.
And please do give her a thumbs up and a huge hug from all of us!

Is there anything I could do / anything you need? Germany and France are neighbours, after all. A parcel from me to you would take only 3 days.

 

[Twilight Phoenix]

You're adorable rhubarb <3
The friend who was with us during the assault is my mom's neighbor, they see each other daily. So ar least my mom won't be totally alone when I'm back home on Tuesday.

 

[Snaploud]

It would be nice if robbers would just settle for the cash (or even cash plus credit cards) and let you keep the drivers license, insurance cards, keys, etc. It's a pain to replace all that stuff. I'm sorry you have to go through it (especially being that you're away from home).

 

[Twilight Phoenix]

I tried to take my phone, but the one with a gun yelled and pulled the trigger slightly, so I was terrified she'd fire. I just let my phone fall back in the bag and handed it all. My mother cried and begged to keep her keys but the one with a gun aimed at her, so I took her bag from her hands and handed it to the thief. We didn't have many other choices.

 

[Snaploud]

I tried to take my phone, but the one with a gun yelled and pulled the trigger slightly, so I was terrified she'd fire. I just let my phone fall back in the bag and handed it all. My mother cried and begged to keep her keys but the one with a gun aimed at her, so I took her bag from her hands and handed it to the thief. We didn't have many other choices.

Yeah, it's risky to try to ask to keep certain items. It would be nice if they were considerate enough to only take the money, though.

 

[Twilight Phoenix]

Someone who aims a gun at you is rarely considerate, I'm afraid

 

[Riker'sMailbox]

I am so sorry that happened to you and your mom. I hope the people responsible are caught and brought to justice.

 

[rhubarbodendron]

At the risk of stirring up bad feelings: it only just occurred to me that they have your papers (= address) and keys. Both you and your mom should exchange the locks to your houses/garages/apartments etc as soon as possible.

Girl gangs are very rare in Europe. And since the male robbers might very likely see them as unwanted competition and possibly rat them out to the police, chances are good that they will catch these girls soon.

 

[Twilight Phoenix]

Yes, we thought about the address and keys. We got the locks changed as soon as we returned from the police office.

 

[Scout101]

Thank you all.

@feral.cherub : I didn't think I would ever say that, but I wish weapons were legal in France. The situation is so hypocrite. No one manages to control the illegal weapons coming and going, and criminals go around with a weapon; but normal pacific citizens don't have anything to defend themselves. Even pepper sprays are supposed to stay at home, they're not allowed in the street...Not sure a gun would have helped me yesterday (I don't think it would have, really) but in other previous occasions it would have helped me (that wasn't my 1st agression, unfortunately).

Think back on it, would having a gun have changed anything?

-Were you/are you willing to pull that gun out and kill those two girls over the contents of your purse? Because that's the deal when you pull out a gun. Especially if they already have one. Someone is likely getting shot, either you're shooting them or they're now scared and shoot you.

-Was there time/opportunity to USE the weapon? Sounds like you almost got shot for trying to grab your phone, replay what happens if they see a gun start to come out of the bag instead of a phone.

I think there are a lot of fantasies about being the Good Guy with a Gun (tm), but I don't see a lot of situations where it plays out that way; and plenty of situations where it escalates things at best. If you had the gun and didn't see an opportunity/need to pull it, it would now be in the hands of the criminals and able to be used on the next victim as well.

Scary situation, and sucks that it happened, but since no one got hurt and bags/id/phone were the worst of it, well, it could have been much worse. Hope they catch them and recover some of your things/take them off of the streets...

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

you can fly without ID. If you are going to fly in the US, call the airport ASAP-- do it NOW-- and speak with a TSA agent. They will have you fill out a set of forms in order to confirm your identity. Once they know you are indeed YOU, you will be able to fly.

And that works, does it?

 

[DonIago]

Well, there's this, specifically the bottom: https://www.tsa.gov/travel/security-screening/identification

TC: Terribly sorry that this happened to you. I live alone (my family is six hours away, though I have close local friends) and can only imagine how traumatized I might be after such an occurrence. Would you mind if I asked where this occurred?

 

[auntiehill]

MLB: Those are the instructions from the TSA, so yes. If she gives them some time, they can probably help her out.

And frankly, this thread isn't the place for your complaints.

 

[Twilight Phoenix]

@Scout101: thinking back of it, no, I don't think a weapon would have helped. It might have made them panicked and they would have been more likely to shoot us. But in other situations I already lived, I think a gun would have been dissuasive enough to make the assaulters go away.

@Donlago : it happened in a suburban residential street, in a medium sized French town, in the middle of the afternoon.

 

[Gary7]

@TauCygna Slowly but surely they're stripping guns off Americans. They do the bait and switch game. Democrats are anti gun or gun control but pro choice and lliberal leaning regarding social programs. Things seem to look up but Corporate cronies own them too. That's the bait year.
Then the Republicans come in and undo all the desireable outcomes of the Democratic party and become pro gun and pro life. They loosen or eradicate standards set for the EPA and FDA for example. They promise to lower taxes but it boils down to Corporate welfare and other tax breaks at the expense of middle class tax payers and the suffering from cuts to social programs for the disabled and poor. That's the switch game.

And if you have a Democratic Administration, you still often have a Republican House majority so it often blocks the passing of Democratic bills anyhow. In the end, they'll take our gun rights. At one point people were paid to bring their guns to the local authorities.
They're slowly but surely dismantling our right to bear arms.

Oh please, give it a f'ing rest. Democrats are about laws for responsible gun ownership, not "taking your guns away"--that's just 'fake news' disinformation bullshit. This free-for-all gun ownership idea where people can own assault weapons and the only thing preventing you is the price is reckless and it's what is driving the gun control narrative.

 

[Gary7]

@Scout101: thinking back of it, no, I don't think a weapon would have helped. It might have made them panicked and they would have been more likely to shoot us. But in other situations I already lived, I think a gun would have been dissuasive enough to make the assaulters go away.

@Donlago : it happened in a suburban residential street, in a medium sized French town, in the middle of the afternoon.

Unfortunately these days we can't walk about carefree in the streets without being on guard to some degree. Having a gun on your person probably would've gotten you injured or killed. For any defensive device to be effective, it needs to be on-hand within a second. When you get startled by an assailant completely unprepared, there's little time to react. You'd have to dive out of the way and take cover to withdraw something to help defend you, like a gun or mace. Random acts of violence really suck and it's a shame some places that seem civil and pleasant can experience them. The only thing we can really do effectively is to avoid being a target. Don't flaunt wealth. Don't draw attention. Keep within safe boundaries.

While the theft is a painful loss and a major inconvenience, it's a small price to pay for being alive and uninjured. Hopefully you got all of your credit/debit cards cancelled and re-issued, and can get a replacement ID without too much hassle. You might want to take a proactive measure on identity surveillance, in case the thieves try to open new credit cards with your identity.