Los Angeles is crazy...

WanMan99

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So, I just got back from working a few days in LA. Driving from LAX to Burbank I was noticing some pretty crazy looking characters along the way. Homeless people actually pushing people trying to get spare change and threatening them. One guy was demanding cigarettes from anyone smoking one in sight, then screaming profanities at them when they wouldn't give him one. Overall fairly interesting as I have traveled a lot and seen much worse places (Subic Bay). But this morning on the way back to LAX I was definitely thinking that having a gun is a pre-requisite for living there (at least for me).
At 4am I was driving on LaBrea blvd and was stopped at a red light. Across the street in front of a gas station was three young (16 - 19 yr olds) black kids smoking butts and hanging out. A white guy in his mid 20's was walking by them and wildly gesturing with his hands and generally acting crazy. They looked at him once or twice but didn't do anything, then he crossed the street and was yelling about pot selling kids.. Blah blah. Well they all stopped and looked at him (he must have said something to piss them off) and then started running at him. Then I noticed another guy 50' to my right take off after him and then three more from the left side of the intersection. So now he has 7+ people chasing him and runs into a Walgreens store and they pile in after him looking for blood... Then my light turned green and I continued the trip to the airport.
Some observations;
1. Some pretty bad situational awareness on my part when one guy from the right and three from the left jumped into attack mode and I didn't even realize they were within 50 - 75' of me.
2. What the hell are all these people doing out at 4am on a Thursday morning?
3. Man I wish I was carrying dual .45's for about 10 seconds this morning(especially if I was that crazy guy walking down the street).
4. Don't stop at red lights in bad parts of town at 4am (if possible) and if you do keep checking behind and around the car carefully.
 
It's not so much the location as the time. Stuff like that happens in some parts of every big city at 0400. At that time this morning, I was working up a Heroin OD on a street corner in Boston.
 
2. What the hell are all these people doing out at 4am on a Thursday morning?

What the hell were you doing out at 4am in that area??? [smile]

Glad you got back safely.
 
What the hell were you doing out at 4am in that area??? [smile]

My first concealed carry instructor (week long fighting class, not safety) talking about late night runs to the store asked "do you really need icecreeam at 2AM, or do you just like meeting drug dealers?"
 
So, I just got back from working a few days in LA. Driving from LAX to Burbank I was noticing some pretty crazy looking characters along the way. Homeless people actually pushing people trying to get spare change and threatening them. One guy was demanding cigarettes from anyone smoking one in sight, then screaming profanities at them when they wouldn't give him one. Overall fairly interesting as I have traveled a lot and seen much worse places (Subic Bay). But this morning on the way back to LAX I was definitely thinking that having a gun is a pre-requisite for living there (at least for me).
At 4am I was driving on LaBrea blvd and was stopped at a red light. Across the street in front of a gas station was three young (16 - 19 yr olds) black kids smoking butts and hanging out. A white guy in his mid 20's was walking by them and wildly gesturing with his hands and generally acting crazy. They looked at him once or twice but didn't do anything, then he crossed the street and was yelling about pot selling kids.. Blah blah. Well they all stopped and looked at him (he must have said something to piss them off) and then started running at him. Then I noticed another guy 50' to my right take off after him and then three more from the left side of the intersection. So now he has 7+ people chasing him and runs into a Walgreens store and they pile in after him looking for blood... Then my light turned green and I continued the trip to the airport.
Some observations;
1. Some pretty bad situational awareness on my part when one guy from the right and three from the left jumped into attack mode and I didn't even realize they were within 50 - 75' of me.
2. What the hell are all these people doing out at 4am on a Thursday morning?
3. Man I wish I was carrying dual .45's for about 10 seconds this morning(especially if I was that crazy guy walking down the street).
4. Don't stop at red lights in bad parts of town at 4am (if possible) and if you do keep checking behind and around the car carefully.

There's nothing better than a little work travel in a delightful area, is there? [smile]

Your story reminded me of a trip I took to not too long ago. I was forced off the highway when going to grab some dinner in the Philadelphia area. While exiting the highway my GPS decided a shortcut through Camden's ghetto was a good choice. When sitting at a stop light 5+ "young men" started surrounding my car! Needless to say I decided a small traffic fine was better than finding out what those young men wanted.
 
What the hell were you doing out at 4am in that area??? [smile]

Glad you got back safely.

I had an early morning flight out of LAX to Boston and my GPS likes to go slumming.....
I was staying at Universal City Hilton and my path meandered down the 101 for a ways and then down smaller streets for the majority of the drive. I was probably on LaBrea for 2 miles or so, not sure if it was north or south but Compton was on the route to LAX...(note to self..get new GPS unit for traveling..)
 
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