The subject kind of says it all. There’s a thread in GD talking about having a gun for self defense, and it seems like quite a few people have been involved life threatening violent crime. I’m kind of wondering how commonplace this is for Americans (non-Americans can answer to of course).
So voting in my own poll. When I was a teenager, another kid drew a knife on me. Nothing happened, other than him threatening me. I’m going to count it so voted one.
American. Zero. (I assume the potential victim is just me, not, say, a close relative).
To keep it simple, it is probably best to stick with you personally. But hey, I’m not the boss of the boards so people can do what they like. 
Do I count the two times I heard someone breaking into my house and I told them I had a gun, and they left?
Depends on whether you consider damage to/invsasion of property to be “violence”, I guess. Myself, I’d say that unless you were attacked personally, or threated with a personal attack, no, that’s a crime of burglary, not a crime of violence.
But you may disagree, obviously.
Do I count the time a Hell’s Angel’s guy put a loaded gun to my head? Luckily his gf talked him out of blowing my head off.
Victim? None, but I’ve stopped two.
Having grown up in a violence-prone area and as an adult lived in some sketchy neighborhoods due to lack of funds for a nicer place I have, unfortunately, been subjected to violence in the “more than four times” category.
I didn’t want to move back last September, and didn’t enjoy the financial hit to my rainy day fund, but one very nice bonus is living in a safer neighborhood.
I somehow won the trifecta on this. I have no idea why, and cannot find any common elements (other than perhaps my own naivete and lack of awareness in certain situations).
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A group of “urban youths” decided I’d crossed some invisible geographical boundary by using a public restroom to which they owned the title. One second standing contentedly at a urinal, the next on the floor being pounded and kicked.
Result: Authorities contacted, little interest due to no names or identifying attributes. -
A recently paroled violent animal decided I should be its next accomplishment. The creature been in stir for a previous home invasion in which the apparent goal was harming the occupants. Ditto for me – no attempt at theft.
Result: Authorities contacted, lots of noise and wind, they said I would need to press charges myself in order to return the animal to its cage. The animal that they had already let out, and which earlier had reminded me it knew where I lived and would return for me and family upon its next release should it be re-arrested. -
A parking lot confrontation where another subhuman believed I had brushed against its car – and ran around and punched me (hard). I had to be evaluated for a concussion later.
Result: Authorities contacted, lots of interviews on scene with eyewitnesses and the license number of the creature’s car. Eventually a detective “investigated” it and over the next few months gave me lots of excuses about how difficult it was to find people. After several months I was informed the case had been “administratively removed” and would not be prosecuted.
As you might have gathered, I have zero confidence in the criminal justice industry, and the same for crime stats. The police officers themselves seem to be competent and trying the do their job, the rest of the bureaucracy is merely processing criminals as part of their business model. With a failure rate (recidivism) hovering around 75%, I view it as the least competent industry in existence. Depending on this level of incompetence to protect one’s self and family is simply idiotic. I take my own steps to ensure our safety, and don’t give a flying f*ck about statistics. And yes the wording above is intentional. I no longer apply human pronouns to violent criminals.
I have been punched in the face quite a few times - I have that kind of face, and a certain way with words. I don’t think guns would have improved the situation for anybody involved.
I got punched in the face once, by a lunatic who was following a young lady down a NYC street in the dead of night. The Mrs. and I were nearby and interceded, with the two ladies taking refuge in a doorman building and I getting a swat in the chops before the dude ran away.
Ummm… I would definitely say that counts.
As for other examples, again, I leave it to the voter to decide what counts or not. Personally, I would say being the victim of an attempted home invasion counts, even if you scare them off.
At this point zero has a pretty commanding lead being three times the sum of all other options. I wouldn’t expect that result to change much at this point.
I got jumped by a “girl” (I was 18) leaving a bar once because I dumped a beer on her boyfriend’s head after he grabbed my boob. A couple of bruises and a lost contact lens. You’d think she’d be pissed at her shitty boyfriend for grabbing my boob, but no. Attack me.
Got shot at once in the country. A group of us were walking around an old country road shooting fire works and a landowner came out and started shooting at us. He then got in his truck and tried to hit us. A girl with us ended up injured pretty badly. He told the cops he thought we had guns and we were trying to invade his house. No one died.
I had a gun pulled on me during a drug deal gone bad, although we settled it down and no one got hurt.
I had a guy break into my house while I was sleeping and he stole some stuff off of me.
Never. I have family members who were, but not me. My apartment has been robbed, but I wasn’t home. I have family members who worked at a restaurant that was robbed, and the bad guy fired a shotgun into the ceiling.
A domestic violence incident which I might not have survived had it not been for the man who was repairing our air conditioner at the time. He heard my screams and intervened.
I’ve had a couple of tense encounters but never actually victimized with violence. In my experience (American), your chances of being a victim depend a lot on where you live and work. There are some places where your chances of being victimized are highly unlikely, but if you live in an urban or industrial setting, the threat is ever-present, daily.
I would also suggest that the poll results will likely skew towards the ‘victim’ end as those who have been victims of violence are more likely to be drawn to the poll.
I went 4 or more but there needs to be some explanation. One was seriously violent in the sense that someone kicked their way into my house at about 1am and there were a couple attempted robberies/muggings. But the majority were more a case of the wrong place at the wrong time or the fact that I hang out in some pretty tough places with some seriously strange people. I wouldn’t count the dude who broke a pool cue across my back because of when and where it happened but I still have an odd lump across the one shoulder-blade from that one. I’m not sure I would count the guy who tried to kill me (seriously - he told the cops his aim was my death) with his car back in the carefree days of my youth; he was drunk, his daughter had run off with a biker, and here I was riding past on a chopper. But as the one x-ray tech once said — I’ve had an interesting life.