stefano said:
I plan on heading down to BA in late October by myself and to stay for a few weeks. Aside from La Boca, what other barrios should I avoid in the daytime? Also, is pepper spray legal? I keep a small spray bottle in my car for trips to Los Angeles. Perhaps a squirt or two would keep robbers at bay.
I'm a local and have been robbed seven times in my life, the first time at age eleven and with a knife on my throat. The last at age 15 learning what it feels like to have a .38 barrel pressed against my forehead.
I won't say I developed a "sixth sense", but since that last time at age 15 I began
observing people and places and never got robbed again (knocking on wood), and I must have been lucky as it sure takes more than observing to stay safe.
That being said, here's my two cents: Always
stay alert when leaving train terminal stations. Those are Retiro, Constitución, Once and Chacarita. It's not a daytime or nighttime thing. Stay alert 24/7. Of course such strategic locations aren't all you should be concerned about, but I don't want to make you paranoid. A terminal offers the robber a massive transit of people together with other advantages the overall chaotic activity brings. They are good spotting places. They can watch while passing unnoticed. But they could notice
you, and it's when you walk away from the crowd when you'll be more vulnerable and should radar every movement around you.
My point is most people can't avoid certain places, and the aggressors know it. You can't avoid the places the robbers know you can't avoid. That's why they're there. Always remember that and stay alert. The terminals are an example I believe worth considering. You made avoid the terminals if you drive a car, but sooner or later you will park you car and step out of it. Vulnerability alert and radar on.
In a general pedestrian context, as long as you stay in crowded areas a violent engagement will be more unlikely. When you leave a crowded area like an avenue in the daytime, take a look back mid-block and keep an eye behind you from time to time. If after some time you have solid reasons to believe you are being followed, don't wait until it becomes obvious. Do whatever you can to avoid being engaged. You want to lose the guy. Try to keep a good distance. The farther the guy is from you, the more options you have. You could turn on a corner and run far enough and lose him for good. You could jump on a passing cab or bus. My advice is very limited. Many different situations could arise. If somewhere a guy spotted you as a target and cell phoned his partners to set an ambush, at least try to take comfort in the fact that there's nothing you could have done to prevent it. And from my part,
forget the silly pepper spray. As far as I'm concerned, pepper spray's legal here. But BE WARNED: You wanna carry one, fine, but you're totally wrong if you think the spray would keep the robbers (could you really tell they are nothing more than robbers?) "at bay". If you don't know your aggressor , you don't know what to expect from them either, and you may end up making someone who just wanted to rob you mad enough to want to do something worse. If the guy wanted to do something worse already, you might as well use a water pistol. Keep in mind the difference between you and you aggressor is they crossed a line you didn't or you wouldn't be asking for places to avoid as just like them you wouldn't give a s*it about the world and what could happen to you. If you are the reasonable, civilized guy you seem to be, violence is your last resource. So make sure it is so before using it against people who use violence because it's all they know. You'd be trying to hurt someone you wouldn't if given the choice, but they chose you as a
target. That's hunting my friend, and don't expect a hunter to show mercy. Again, be warned, and try not to make a bad situation a worse one.
My point is that from
my own experience, showing
no resistance was my best choice when all alternatives ran out, and I'm lucky to say the situation didn't call for more. Only something really terrible could justify going out in a blaze of glory. Things I don't want to think about. That's as far as I can go.
One more thing: don't think racial. Don't sort people out by their skin color. I did it and believe me I was proven wrong the hard way. The poor brown guy everyone fears may be as docile as Lassie. My third time three white guys beat the sh*t out of me. One was blonde and wore a Lacoste shirt. The last time, the guy with the .38 was a redhead. It was racial prejudice that made me feel safe when I should have stayed alert and I got what I deserved. Statistics aren't the key to identify a potential aggressor, what they are doing is.
Please take my words as subjective advice from my self-experience, probably wrong in more than one point and for sure incomplete. If we have a safety and/or self-defense expert in this board, I'd like to hear what they have to say.