Unwelcome Greeting

[tripper]

During the RTR I was looking for a friends camp at night, which can be hard to find with all the people out there. Their camp was several washes north away from most of the people. I rolled up (on my well lit bike) on the first campfire on that wash that I thought was theirs.  As I approached I was greeted loudly by a woman with "I HAVE A GUN DON'T COME ANY CLOSER!". I replied that I was just looking for some friends (my initial thought was to say "Ya so does half the people here").
It turned out to be a camp with two women camping.

This is the rudest and most inappropriate way I have ever been spoken to in my entire life, I was appalled that someone on public land had the nerve to say that. Has this topic been discussed at the woman's seminars and is this considered an appropriate way for women in the desert to respond to a male approaching?

Just asking, I am hoping this was a one time random event.

 

[Motrukdriver]

Glad they didn't shoot first and ask questions later.

 

[RVTravel]

I am surprised and shocked...wow.

 

[tx2sturgis]

You skeert the little girls....bad boy....bad, bad, boy....

 

[RVTravel]

They musta thought you were gonna tell them their solar setup was crap.

 

[cyndi]

That's pretty sad. I'm going to guess they were newbies and feeling pretty insecure. Hopefully, after attending the RTR they're more comfortable with their decision to camp in the desert.

Yikes!

 

[Weight]

Not all folks that have guns are crazy, but many crazies have guns. The flu isn't the only reason to avoid gatherings.
Bet they were new gun owners with limited training.

 

[lenny flank]

Alas, there are many insecure people in the world.

Many dwellers remind me of newbie backpackers, who pee their pants at the fear of a bear eating them in the woods, despite the fact that they have better odds of becoming a millionaire by winning the lottery.

 

[lenny flank]

Not all folks that have guns are crazy, but many crazies have guns. 

I view it as similar to the people who keep venomous snakes as pets--most people who do, shouldn't. They are nothinmg but a danger to themselves and others.

 

[VanKitten]

It’s all too easy to judge when you do not know the back story.

Like the fellow in Ehrenberg that threatened to shoot out the tires of “those rubber tramp” people if the camped near him

Lord only know what experience happened to these people that put them on such an edge.

 

[Technomad]

Pro Tip: the “I have a gun” warning often works even if you don’t have one.

But generally finding out what someone is about before escalating is wise.

I would assume people at an RTR would be texting GPS coordinates back and forth. Most mapping apps will work with them and every modern phone has GPS.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[SillyLilly]

I rolled up (on my well lit bike) on the first campfire on that wash that I thought was theirs.  As I approached I was greeted loudly by a woman with "I HAVE A GUN DON'T COME ANY CLOSER!". I replied that I was just looking for some friends (my initial thought was to say "Ya so does half the people here").
It turned out to be a camp with two women camping.

I'd be leery of some random guy rolling into my camp unannounced in the dark too. You only had to deal with this one time. Women have to deal with men creeping on them constantly. There was at least one guy at the RTR intruding into camps with cameras and streaming it on YouTube. I'm sure there were others who did creepy stuff too.

Don't be creepy, or entitled, or trot out that "not all men" baloney either. Women have every reason to be afraid of male violence or just bad manners, and every reason to be ready to defend ourselves.

 

[user 423]

I rolled up (on my well lit bike) on the first campfire on that wash that I thought was theirs. 

'Rolled up on' can mean a lot of different things.  If you had stopped well away from the campfire, turned the bike off and then called out to your friends, things may have been different.

Then again...maybe not.

 

[jimindenver]

Don't be creepy, or entitled, or trot out that "not all men" baloney either. Women have every reason to be afraid of male violence or just bad manners, and every reason to be ready to defend ourselves.

Look around you, if you think men are the only crazies out there then you have lost the battle already.

 

[Almost There]

Has this topic been discussed at the woman's seminars and is this considered an appropriate way for women in the desert to respond to a male approaching?

Just asking, I am hoping this was a one time random event.

I sincerely hope that it was a one time random event.

And yes, safety IS discussed at the womens' seminars and again at the Womens' RTR. Everyone who spoke at the WRTR safety seminar emphasized that it is far safer out in the desert or the boonies than in the major urban areas.

Hopefully those 2 attended and are working on gaining the confidence that they need to tone down that kind of approach to someone coming in to or near their camp.

 

[jimindenver]

I would like to add that advertising that you have something of value that someone else may just decide they want more than you do is never a good idea.

 

[bonvanroulez]

[font=Verdana, Arial, sans-serif]"I HAVE A GUN DON'T COME ANY CLOSER"[/font]

Not knowing what the laws are in Arizona regarding threatening someone with a firearm, I think if I was out on public land and was threatened like that I would have called 911 and let law enforcement sort it out.

 

[DLTooley]

It is good camp etiquette to always announce yourself from a distance before entering someone's camp.

 

[Ticklebellly]

Lucky for them you were not a cop. Announcing the presence of a gun, from a voice in the darkness, might not get the best reaction.

I don't see anything unwelcoming in the exchange just some bad wording from someone trying to establish whether or not you have good or innocent intentions.

Anyone approaching a stranger's camp in the night needs to be aware of how the camp occupants might see the situation.

 

[Chuck1]

She broke the law, one guy got 3.5 years in AZ when him and another guy got into a road rage deal, he put his gun on his dash so the other guy could see it.

You could pull you gun on her at that point ( per AZ law), because it was a threat, if she moved wrong at that point a cop would have shot her.

Hope she reads this and stops this threatening behavior before someone gets shot.