even better solution is to growl "fuck off" as he approaches
Or even have that attitude as you walk, under your breath.
I used to live in a very rough area. The sort of place where a ‘friendly’ request for ‘a light’ was a way of getting up close to rob you.
I reckon there’s a certain way of walking through such areas (and every shitville is different). I watch how people walk with a “don’t fucking mess with me attitude” and go for something like that (I’m not much of a fist fighter but it’s more method acting — look hard).
I usually dress like locals. In some places, like black American hoods, I have the same attitude but try to look invisible (I’m not black so cannot pretend). In Copacabana, I believe in “360 degree vision”: without constantly looking round, I try to be aware of
everything happening around me. If someone looks dodgy, cross the street, go into a shop or in last recourse, run. If I’m in an even more insalubrious area, I get up to get off the bus last so I can see if anyone’s trying to follow me (and if I’m doubt get off at the
next stop).
Something else — for the more experienced: don’t hate the mugger. He/she is just doing what he thinks he has to do for a living. But hate, like any emotion, clouds the thinking process. You need clear, split-second reactions. A mugger will predict your emotion and use it against you. It makes you predictable, an easier target. Those who have some martial arts experience reserve any emotion for the strike itself, not the enemy.
London and Amsterdam are not the safest areas of their respective countries but they are child’s play by comparison. But even so I use clothing with zips, non-obvious pockets and only carry the money/cards I’m likely to need that day or evening.
In my younger says I’ve been robbed three times. Once in Edinburgh, twice in Rio (which subsequently became like a second home for me), and once invisibly in Europe (but by this time I was a bit smarter and scared the shit out of (the three) them — of at least unnerved them sufficiently to get my stuff back. Getting robbed can be a great learning opportunity. Before you go out, think, how would I rob me if I were a thief or mugger? When you see it coming you can stop it happening.
