A few weeks ago i was walking my dog around 11pm, and a driver jokingly did a brake torque as we were crossing the street. He was maybe 3 feet away from us.
After yelling at each other, he threatened to kill me and my dog the next time he saw us. As I pulled my camera he peeled out and hurled a racial comment my way. Sadly, there was so much movement i couldnt get the plate, and i didnt get anything that happened before that on camera.
So I got a body cam to wear for all my walks. Unfortunately, this is not the only time people have been racist and threatened my life so I’m just tired of it and hoping it might encourage people to behave. Feels lame, but it does provide some comfort. Does anyone else do the same?
I have honestly been considering this but less for protection but more for preservation. I feel like the best way to capture what its like to live in the world of today is to just walk around and start recording mundane things. Sure this is much more prevalent than it used to be but oftentimes I find myself wishing I just had more photos of the places I used to frequent that are simply no longer in existance.
no but I could see having something if I had control of it (run on free software and hardware) that was like ar with that as part of it.
Most are, just small clip on cameras like dashcams, USB connect, minimal tracking on most models. Coworker used to have one when he was commuting on public transportation. This was 2015ish, been around a while.
What body cam do you use btw? I might want one since the political climate in my country is kinda horrifying. (USA btw)
I’ve never used one, but was always interested.
I mean, cops all have it, why shouldn’t civillians have it too? If everyone had one, it would prevent both crimes and police brutality/misconduct. We should really normalize it. And its all local storage, so there no privacy risk.
If you feel like you need it, continue using it. It not “lame”, its un-common, but just imagine yourself as a popular youtuber and you are vlogging or whatever.
I imagine a future where EVERYONE has one and every home, bussiness, apartment building, all have cameras, BUT they all use local storage and not connected to the cloud. If nothing happens, it gets overwritten, but if something happens, there’s evidence to prosecute evildoers.
If I see someone with a body camera, my first throught is possibly an undercover cop, or a youtuber.
I did not want a front doorbell camera due to them pretty much require cloud storage. I’m in a condo, can’t really run my own camera lines. Anyway, it made sense, if they steal the camera, footage is not gone. Did NOT go with ring, their employees snoop through private cameras and Amazon provides your footage to police upon request without a warrant.
It is nice to see timestamps and package deliveries. I originally got it because of issues with people in the halls, but just knowing the camera is there has quashed that behavior, or at least moved it.
There are some doorbell cameras that transmit it to a separate device inside your house for local storage and does not require internet, but then again, if they got inside, they could steal that device too, and you also lose the footage.
Honestly for the purposes described, I’d rather it be privately streamed somewhere. It’d be too easy to remove and “accidentally” destroyed in the detainment process. Ideally it only goes to a home server, and a few backup locations if home is inaccessible. Then there’s a button to click where the last 15mins and a live stream is uploaded to the court’s server to retain as evidence.
I like this idea, but the click sends it to multiple sites, including my own. Police have “lost” footage before.
Sort of. I wear a camera while cycling because there are a lot of angry people in cars that have some weird hatred towards people using a bicycle.
Actually, this is sorta what motivated me. Since I watch those angry driver youtube videos, I often see the need for cyclist/bikers.
Thanks for all the responses! It is a lame feeling as I do see it from others side (those that aren’t being potentially violent assholes), but the cost of any one person having serious intent is too high now, especially since i’ve never had anyone say anything against the asshole’s behavior.
With that said, having a camera has taken the edge off for me so I don’t feel as confrontational, and I can just post them on the neighborhood app after walking away. But on the flip side, I now live in middle america…
Keep using it. 99% of the time, people won’t even notice or know what it is. Those that do may actually behave better knowing it’s there. Nothing wrong with being prepared. Do you have a car dashcams? Same idea, better to have it ready the time comes.
Mine has saved me twice in the 6 years I’ve had it, first thing I did was buy the fiance at the time the same model, knowing it worked well for our needs.
In addition to the camera (of which I would recommend one of those camera glasses, so it’s always pointing where you’re looking), start carrying a visible brick, too. While crossing the street, make it SUPER visible that you have one. It’s not illegal to carry a brick, but it informs wanker motorists that you can, and will, use it. I have a mate in New York that does this, and taxis stopped cutting him off while he was crossing the street. He still gets slurs thrown his way, but sticks and stones and all that.
lmao, idk if I’m going to go that far. But given that in my encounters no one stops to either help or stick around for the cops to help confirm the circumstances…
It doesn’t help you since I wasn’t there (sorry about that, mate), but, I would stick around (or give you my number for them to ring me, if I was late for work). This wanker’s behavior is deplorable, and I won’t stand for it. But, yeah lol a brick might be overkill. I was angry when I made the suggestion.
This is crazy - where does this happen that it sounds so normalized? How terrible it must be to live in an environment that allows this
This latest incident happened in middle america. But it’s happened to me on the coasts as well.
Middle America as in Central America? Or like the “Middle” of the United States of America? I’m not familar with the terminology.
Midwest US was going to be my first guess. Not uncommon behavior around here.
My wife isn’t white. She gets slurs thrown at her all the time just out of the blue.
Crazy, sorry to hear about that.
I think humans do have a tendency to stereotype people but how does that evolve into a full blow hate is just beyond me. I imagine it’s an equivalent of losing your mind to a overly packed mushroom shake because you really have to be demented to fall into such behavior.
Wear*
Don’t downvote someone correcting spelling. They did it with no apparent snark.
On the other hand, there’s probably also almost no reason to upvote it. OP will see it, there’s no need for it to be the top comment.
It’s completely unnecessary. It’s clear what OP meant, the typo doesn’t change anything so pointing it out is simply petty pedantree.
Querying or correcting errors is only worth doing when the error causes uncertainty, such when there’s reason to believe they’ve missed a “not”.
Pedantry*
I appreciate when people correct me or point out a mistake. I then edit my post to reflect the update, noting that an edit has occurred. If you’re too fragile to accept well-intended feedback, that’s a you thing.
What’s a brake torque?
To answer your question, if this is a regular thing for you I’d say it was worth it. Although if you’re in the USA it’s probably just gonna lead to you getting shot.
A brake torque is something you can do while driving a car. You keep one foot on the brake, hit the gas with the other foot, and take your foot off the brake. Oftentimes, this results in propelling your car forward while squealing your tires.
A kind person would refrain from doing these at night or near neighborhoods.
Us olds call this a burnout.
If it’s not an obvious camera then a driver probably wouldn’t notice it
No, as that would be illegal in many situations in my country. I also don’t want cameras pointed at me constantly, so I don’t do that to other people either.
Can you not have dash cams?
Dashcams are legally controversial in Germany. Generally the common opinion is that they’re only allowed if they quickly delete all recorded data and only save it if there was an actual accident.
The problem with a bodycam is that while it’s allowed to film in public, it’s not allowed to film specific people without their permission. So it would be fine to film a busy street without focusing on any people in particular, but going into a store with your bodycam where it would film your interaction with the cashier would be illegal.
What about a 360deg camera, where the target person is yourself, and anyone else captured is merely incidental/background?
The same thing: if the focus of the video is on you and the other people are not important, it’s fine. If you film an interaction with another person or otherwise mainly film another persons actions: you get a fine.
The thing is, that your dashcam usually stays on public property / public spaces, while a bodycam could easily film someone on private property. Therefore OP would likely have limitations on where they are allowed to film, similarly to an IRL streamer.
If they live in a single party consent state, then it’s no problem.
In other places it probably isn’t illegal, but might not be admissible as evidence in a lawsuit.
Yeah, if you have a habit of confronting people in public when they’ve been assholes (and make no mistake, he was an asshole who deserves a beating), it probably would be a good idea. Or if you live in an area where these sorts of things regularly occur to you.
What possible outcome could you possibly expect from contronting someone who had done that? Just keep walking man. It sucks, but it’s not like you’re ever getting an apology.
I disagree. Not confronting them just encourages them to continue to keep it up.
And honestly, i do have a habit of confronting people (now) since others are often so likely to just not say anything against the bad behavior while others resort to victim shaming.
You’re right though. Something could happen, and now I think I will take the precautions to ensure I’m prepared for such moments.
Seems sort of insane for daily wear, but I think having a camera for walks or jogs isn’t the worst idea if you’ve got the money. I’d make sure the security and privacy of the camera and recorder are tip-top though
No, but then I haven’t had the kinds of experiences you’ve had.
That sucks that it’s got to the point you feel like you need it but to be honest even just as a deterrent (even if you or others think it looks goofy to wear one) would be WELL worth it to wear one. I don’t think it requires outside validation for that.
Yea, I’m not super young but definitely not old, but this makes probably the 15th or 16th time I’ve dealt with such incidences. If people were more likely to be vocal about it and reprimand their behavior publicly, I’d feel safer. But no one ever has. And many of those incidences have involved stated death threats. This doesn’t include aggressions when I’m in a group of peers either. Of course when I’m with them, they all have my back. But alone? Nah.
I wish i could say this was all just my time in the bible belt, but this has happened in large, blue cities where I’d hoped I’d have more community support. This last incident was one of those cities.
Maybe you could try those glasses that have a camera
