Manguis, burglars, dieven i demés fauna per l'estil...

Dalia, pongo esto en un post nuevo para que parezca que me curro más mi blog y que lo voy actualizando y tal... :P
De todos modos, pretende responder de algún modo a una parte de un comment tuyo de otro día.

Not many days ago I saw a robbery happen before my eyes. A guy ran with a stolen suitcase in his arms, the victim shouting at him: "¡La carteeeeeraaaaaa!". I made a try of chasing the guy with my bike.
Then a motorbike picked him up in no time, and in seconds, they were gone.

What would I have done, if I had catched up with the thief? In fact, that made sense only before the motorbike showed up. After that, I stood no chance, even though I continued my pursuit for a few seconds, just to see where they were heading for, but I lost them anyway...
Probably I would have not done a lot; maybe saying "hey you, give that suitcase back", or something... Maybe he wouldn't care at all, and would pass... Maybe not. Maybe in the meantime someone else would have come to help. Maybe then the man of the suicase would have gotten (<--is this correct?) it returned...

Anyway, a lot of times I think that one of the problems here in Barcelona is that people don't help each other when they see such thieves or pickpockets at work. People usually prefer to look to the other side, which partly I can understand. Nobody likes trouble. But maybe overall there would be less trouble if people acted more (not more: always) in front of such acts of theft. I believe that many times thieves get that feeling of impunity that encourages them to carry on with their "job"...
Come on, not every thief really needs to do that. At least those that are not forced to would -maybe- think twice before trying anything.
I don't talk about lynching anyone, but if you risk being chased by an angry mob, well, you probably would be somewhat less prone to stealing; at least with clear light and with people on the streets.

However, what would I have done if the thief turned on me and tried to attack me?
I don't think I would have dismounted my bike, since that would have left me in a very vulnerable position, I would rather have kept at a safe distance, in fact... But I wanted to help somehow. What I would be able to do was not clear when I started the chase. Circumstances would tell... Maybe a cop would have shown up, and I could warn him, who knows?
Then again, if he DID attack me and were I not able to flee, then I would have taken my U-lock, which I had at hand, and do my best to defend myself. That sounds like the most dangerous part, I know. But I wouldn't have got (gotten?) to that; before I would have fled, unless a crowd of people had come to help, which I doubt would still happen here in Barcelona (nor in any other big city)...

I will still try to help in the way I can, when I see someone in trouble... Keeping a safe distance.




When I was a little boy, I saw a crowd of people running after a thief. They catched him and forced him to return what he had taken...
Gosh, that was very long ago; I was maybe ten years old...

What has happened to the people in the meantime?