I guess it must say something about me that I think a perfectly valid purpose for being in that type of neighborhood is to annoy the people that think that others don’t “belong” in that neighborhood. I am starting to think that the applicable question is not what someone might be doing by sitting in the “wrong” neighborhood. I think the applicable question is if there is a valid reason (not based on class or race) that people should be so suspicious about someone merely parking on a public street.
There’s nothing wrong with noting what you think is unusual behaviour, and if you want be extra vigilant.
The line is crossed when you screw with the other person because you think they are ‘suspicious’. If they are in a public place and not visibly breaking laws or looking like they are about to, you have no right to call the cops on them, tell them to leave, threaten them, or in any other way interfere with what they are doing. It’s none of your business, just like your attempts to simply watch them are none of theirs.
True, although I would stipulate that acceptable forms of “simply watching them” do not include stuff like pressing your nose up against their car window to see what’s going on in there, glaring at them reproachfully through the windshield, or peering at them with binoculars.
We have some resident skunks in our neighborhood (I mean actual animals of the species Mephitis mephitis, not bad guys in an old western movie or something). If I see one nearby I will more or less keep an eye on it and be prepared to react fast if it shows signs of antisocial behavior. But I don’t go near it or try to mess with it, and I don’t insist that it has no right to be there even if I don’t particularly want it there. I think the same approach is appropriate for mysterious strangers in legally parked cars on the street.
I cannot conscientiously endorse the impulse to engage in such gratuitous shit-stirring but I have to confess that I feel some sympathy for it.
Totrally agree with that.
Wow, that’s a ridiculous statement, unless the individual in question is calling 911 because McDonald’s took too long to deliver their burger (yes, stuff like that has happened). But in the non-insane real world, here’s two first-hand counter-examples to your claim.
Many years ago I lived in a house that had a second-floor balcony off the master bedroom, and one day I saw a couple of teenagers climbing into the fenced yard, and then clambering up onto the balcony, one of them hoisting up the other. I may have overreacted, but I called the police. Two squad cars arrived within minutes – it was impressive! It turned out that it was some kids trying to retrieve a soccer ball. I was apologetic to the cops, but they thanked me for being alert, and spent some time talking to the boys about right ways and wrong ways to retrieve stuff from private property.
The other occasion was exactly the OP situation. We once owned a house in a new suburb that happened to be located just in front of a “T” intersection, where there was a street directly in front of the house. I noticed that night after night, there was a particular car always parked there, as if watching our house. After a few days of this, I called the police. They checked it out, and I got a call later saying that it was a security guard for the subdivision, who was supposed to be looking after the sites still under construction. Once again, they expressed their appreciation. I had no further information about the outcome, but the guy was never there again. Possibly he had just found it a convenient place to nap through the night instead of doing his job.
I have never, ever, had any experience with police being pissed off at being called to a potential incident that may warrant their attention.
Or, like what I did earlier today (before having seen this thread): I had about a half hour or so to kill before showing up at somebody’s house down the street for work, so I parked a block away and surfed the Dope and other sites to kill time. Not the first time I had done this, either.
That said, I live in the city (Chicago), and parking a car on say, my street, that is not known to the neighborhood and is sitting there and just running/occupied for an extended period of time will probably raise eyebrows. My neighborhood has its share of gangbangers, drug dealers, prostitutes, and ne’er-do-wells, so the suspicion is not unwarranted. Personally, it doesn’t bother me, but a few blocks over where johns take their dates and leave their rubbers all over the street, I could see being a wee bit irritated.
Well, that you are there to “annoy” people is reason enough to call the cops.
Public street or not. If it’s nothing but private residences for miles, and you have someone sitting in a parked car, not appearing to be from the neighborhood or engaging with any of the neighbors for an extended length of time, I certainly think “what are you doing here” is a valid question.
Reasons?
- Are they casing one of the properties to rob it?
- Are they there to engage in drug-related activity?
- Are they stalking someone?
- Are they a pedophile or sex offender looking for a victim?
Or maybe they are lost or need mechanical assistance and don’t have a working phone?
People don’t merely “park on the street”. They drove there for a reason. And generally speaking, the less reasons there are for an outsider to be in your neighborhood (ie no parks, stores, or other public spaces), the more suspicious it is for an outsider to be there.
I have lived in this house for ten years. I take walks twice a day. Sometimes with my wife, sometimes alone. I know a lot of my neighbors to varying degrees, and I recognize everyone within 20 houses by face and by face. It’s a pretty normal suburban neighborhood with 1/4 to 1/2 acre lots
Since COVID I have been taking my walks during the working day especially when the days are shorter (it gets dark at 4:30 now). Tons of people are doing this as many are working from home at least part time.
Last winter I was confronted by a neighbor who lives four doors down. I have probably waved to him 100+ times in the last ten years. He said “I saw you hanging around here this morning and you’re still hanging around. I’ve a mind to call the cops” I’m Asian, the neighborhood is 99% white (one Asian family, one Black out of over 200 homes).
I have ZERO doubt that him regarding me as “not belonging” in that neighborhood had everything to do with my race and nothing to do with my behavior.
Hell we’ve had people post a picture of an 8-year old Black boy on a bicycle on our neighborhood Facebook page asking if we know who this is, followed by comments about watching out for porch pirates. There is a written policy for that group that only parents can post pictures of kids. This kid has lived in the neighborhood all his life!
Even when a group of high schoolers was photographed drinking in a wooded area, their faces were blurred out. But a Black eight year old isn’t a child, he’s an apprentice burglar.
I think people’s abilities to recognize that someone doesn’t belong in the neighborhood is wildly exaggerated.
I completely forgot about the felony annoyance statutes. More commonly referred to as the “Get off my Lawn Laws.” At least in my state, it’s defined as doing anything differently than entitled, middle-class white people do. Aggravating factors include being less wealthy, younger or darker than the person reporting you.
And “sitting where I am legally allowed to sit, not breaking any laws” is a valid answer.
Just because you can think of nefarious things they may be doing, doesn’t increase the likelihood that they are doing something nefarious. Dozens of perfectly legitimate and legal reasons have been provided in this thread. Do you have any evidence that the reasons you cited are more likely?
And they can’t think of any better way to get help than hoping a nosy neighbor will call the police on them?
You can be suspicious about anything you want to be suspicious about. It doesn’t mean the suspicion is based on facts or evidence. Atatiana Jefferson, Ahmaud Arbery, and many others have all seen the consequences of people deeming their every day activities as suspicious.
I’m sure you are right, but I’m shocked that your neighbor doesn’t recognize the one Asian face they are regularly. We had one Asian guy down the street, and i was a little embarrassed that he was the only person that way whose name i knew, because he “looked different” so he’d made more of an impression on me.
I was walking a few blocks away, where i don’t know the neighbors, and passed a pair of black boys on skateboards. They looked like brothers (different ages, similar faces, and interacting with great familiarity) and they looked…cautious when they saw me. I wonder if they get hassled a lot by strangers. Another woman was walking a dog, and the dog freaked out at the boys. She apologized and said her dog is afraid of skateboards. I wondered about that. But at least she was polite about it.
He knows there is AN Asian guy in the neighborhood. Not sure he would recognize me today if he met me today, even though I stopped at his driveway to comment on his new car a couple weeks ago. But he also doesn’t recognize stop signs and speed limits, so he’s just not that sharp or nice.
But I’m sure he thinks he’s smart with impeccable judgement.
Our dog freaks out at the sight of white men. She’s been that way since we got her. She’d clearly been abused by some previous “owner” so who knows if that person was a white male.
My brother triumphantly concludes from this that racial stereotyping is 100% natural and we are fighting “human nature” in our anti-racism efforts, so “we” are doomed to fail. As if he is part of any anti-racism effort.
My sister used to have a racist dog. Her dog didn’t like black men. It was a rescue. The prior owner left the dog chained outdoors all day, and apparently local boys liked to throw stones at it when they walked by. I assume either the prior owner or the stone-wielding boys were black.
This thread reminds me of an incident when I was a teen.
I was taking private music lessons, and I met my teacher at her home in a suburban neighborhood. She had other students as well. So for over a year, I was parked in front of her house for around 45 minutes at a time, and she would have had other people parked there as well.
One day, my friend wanted to go to the pool hall with me. I had to do my lesson first, but we could go after. He really wanted to get out of the house, so I picked him up before my lesson.
This was in the days before cell phones and such, so he really only had the radio for company while I was inside.
So, I park in front of my teacher’s house, go inside, have my lesson, and come out to see two cop cars parked in front of and behind my car, with my friend out of the car. Apparently the neighbors had called them about a suspicious car with someone in the car singing with the radio.
My teacher actually ended up having to come out and talk to them to assure them that I was really her student, and was supposed to be there, and that we weren’t up to no good. They gave us a stern lecture about “not acting in a suspicious manner”, and let us go on our way.
I always wondered what the hell the neighbors were thinking to call the cops. This thread has explained to me the paranoia of suburbia behind that mindset.
On a related matter:
One of Mrs. J.'s pet peeves involves people who come to the house to make repairs or install something. Often, when they have finished, they go out to their car or van in the driveway, get in, and sit there. For a long time. Blocking the driveway.
It’s understandable if they’re writing up a bill or an e-mail detailing the work that was done. But in some instances it’s unclear what the hell they’re doing.
One time Mrs. J. went out to let the guy know he’d have to move soon so she could drive out. He (seeming a bit annoyed) said “Oh, I was just planning out my day.”
So maybe that’s a big reason why strangers park in front of people’s homes and squat there. They’re planning out their day.
Lots to do.
…and it’d attitudes like this that lead to people with autism or mental illnesses having confrontations with the police, sometimes fatal, after behaving in an “unusual” manner near the wrong person who reports it.
However a car parked legally on public street is not a “potential incident that may warrant their attention.” Likely if you call the non-emergency number you will be Ok, if not laughed at. But don’t call 911.
Would you be Okay if someone knocked on your front door and ask the same question?
Again PUBLIC street.
Exactly my point that I was called being “ridiculous”. A person better have a very good faith belief there’s criminal activity before calling the cops. Could very well be a potential harassment complaint there.
This reminds me of another reason why someone might be sitting in a car reading a phone for an hour - there’s a music teachwr in the area, and the person dropped their kid off for a lesson and then parked nearby to,wait.
I did this every week for about ten years. My kid’s violin and piano teachers both taught out of their homes, so I would drive him to his lesson and then have 45 mins to kill. No coffeeshops nearby, so I would just sit in the car and read.
I’m glad no one called the cops on me.