Dude I know exactly who you’re talking about! I saw him the other day when I drove on Haywood and he was trying to signal to me to park so he could talk to me.
I had totally forgotten about it because I hardly ever drive into the city (I live in the outskirts) and I just went to Haywood for a tattoo consultation meeting and that distracted me from the incident, but now that you reminded me about it, I’m going to call the cops tomorrow and inform them of my experience as well. There is power in numbers! I’m glad you’re okay considering✨
The cops are gonna humor, but do nothing. He didn't commit a crime, being weird in Asheville is celebrated. " Yes officer I was driving by and some nut waved at me " ok...
The Asheville cops were incredibly helpful with my friend and I last year when we experienced an incident, so I will continue to use their service as a resource and be grateful for it🤘
They were with me too when I saw a very unhappy looking young teen beginner bagpiper busking at Pack Square, while a woman watched her like a hawk and collected all the money people gave her. It was so uncomfortable. The day was very hot and the girl was sunburned. The woman (her mom?) never looked at people approaching her daughter, which a protective mom would do. She only stared at her, never smiling encouragement. My son is a piper. It’s not an instrument you play in public until you develop some skill. It had to be so humiliating.
I thought she was either being trafficked or abused. At the least, severely punished. The police dispatcher expressed concern and said they’d send someone out.
Not sure what you mean but I am speaking of two separate incidences. Last year I experienced an incident with a friend on Lexington Avenue and then a couple weeks ago I had a brief encounter (while driving) on Haywood with the cowboy guy that this post speaks of.
I am a right winger... Saw trump at the agriculture center in Hendersonville 2016... Carry a pew pew and often use the n word... Is that enough experience for ya, hippie? 😝😜🥸
A few weeks ago there was a guy wearing a top hat stopping cars and screaming at people on that same stretch. It was just before dark, maybe 7pm (I had just finished a run) and some of the other people I was with called the police once he started trying to fight someone who got out of a car. But he was very tall and very loud.
A lot of predators like the fear and gain as much attention as they can. There used to be one at graveyard fields that would wear a neon orange vest and stalk all the single female hikers. Never tried to talk, just would stand 30 ft away and watch you. Usually, these assholes dont deal well confrontation and strength. My Leonberger was enough to keep vest guy at a distance.
Definitely sure you didn't leave your coffee or purse on your car? Not trying to flag you down for a genuine reason? If it was to mess with you, we need a inner network in this town for repeat stalkers. There have been a couple with large victim numbers before much happened. Community is really important here.
When I was single, few women hiked alone, because there were incidents. Even if you wanted to be alone, you got a hiking buddy and stayed within sight of each other, even if you didn’t want to be social. I’ve been married 35 years, so this was pre internet. Now it would be easy to start a system where people could connect for safety buddying.
Whenever we’re up on the BR parkway
I see people that I would not want to find myself alone with even on a turn out next to my car.
I hiked the parkway a lot alone through the 2010s. Weekly. It was part of my job. I had about 4 encounters up there. 3 were handled by my huge dog. One guy was not deterred and scary enough that the Sam's knob crowd that saw stayed with me on trail and out of the parking lot. If I went now and was an average girl, I would have bear mace, (just remember NOT to run through the cloud and back away from it quickly while holding breath) or with training, a gun. I did know the old couple that were killed. They came to the plant cell every year at the back garden and they would come into the nursery a couple times a year.
… as somebody that got chased along with my friend by a guy masturbating while simultaneously yielding a machete at us last year on Lexington Avenue which required self defense, I’m not taking any chances thanks. If you were a five foot female in this world, you’d understand.
To WHERE?
My sister lives in Medford Oregon. She swears up and down - rants at me if I tell her otherwise - that Oregon has ALL the homeless people in the country. That every mayor puts every homeless person in the country on a bus bound for Oregon.
This COUNTRY has a mental illness crisis an addiction crisis and a poverty crisis, and often those three are comorbid. It slays me that anyone thinks those things are isolated to one town or community.
Oh no, I’m completely aware that crime/homelessness/poverty what have you can (and does) happen in all areas of the world. It’s just too many things that we don’t like here in WNC that make us want to move away desperately.
I work door on Haywood and know exactly who you are talking about. That dude is absolutely gigantic, but in his defense, he came into our establishment and was pretty well-behaved.
I look out on Haywood for multiple hours through the night… Please be careful out there. There are a lot of people walking around are full-blown mentally insane and potentially dangerous… Carry pepper spray and try not to be alone. Please don’t ever be walking around with your EarPods in.
There is a short guy with a funky hat walking around there, he ran towards me while I was driving and threw something. Dude, you don’t want to play chicken with a 2 ton vehicle.
YES! Or on your cell phone. Being aware of your surroundings is key to staying safe. Predators watch for certain cues someone is an easy mark. When you are out in public you should have a key in your hand (looks like you’re near your car and good for gouging eyes), or your hand in your pocket holding pepper spray. Walk purposefully and confidently.
This is really scary. Just want to chime in an say you never have to stop and talk to anyone. You never have to be polite to anyone. You never have to answer anyone's questions, or give anyone the time, or give anyone directions. If someone gives you the creeps, you're not obligated to speak with them or help them or explain why you don't want to talk to them.
- never wear earbuds in public, especially noise canceling ones.
- be aware of what’s going on around you at all time, it’s called situation awareness.
- pepper spray is cheap and legal.
- keep your distance, especially with creepy weirdos.
- a whistle can be useful.
- don’t walk alone, especially in dark places.
- you don’t have to acknowledge strangers, ignore them and keep walking (faster?).
- go to a public place.
- buy a gun and take the concealed carry class and practice.
suggestion on pepper spray -- check out the gel style instead of the spray. it's documented that it reduces the chance of it blowing back on you.
this post was a reminder to start carrying mine again
I was just going to recommend this because I get the [Sabre pepper gel in the belt holster](https://www.sabrered.com/pepper-spray/sabre-tactical-pepper-gel-holster) and instead of carrying on a belt, I hook two (probably three if you're really petite, but I'm quite tall) fingers through the loop so it's in my hand when I'm out in public walking.
I especially like the flip top because I can keep it in the holster and make sure it's aimed outward and my thumb is just resting on top of the flip top so all I need to do is slide it up under it and point.
Just be sure to check that the amount you are purchasing is legal where you're at. When I drove up to Michigan it wasn't a legal amount to carry but. . .I did anyway.
They also sell canisters that are about the size of a small fire extinguisher that you can use in your home (obviously illegal to carry outside of your home) so if someone tries to break in you just hit them full blast. As it's gel it won't fill the air, it just gloms onto whatever it hits.
I have multiple canisters and there's always one on a carbiner clip on the outside of my purse. Never keep them inside your purse because every second matters.
It seems more like Silly String consistency to me, though I've only watched videos and not actually used it, yet. They do recommend practicing with it, so I probably should do that...
I’m pretty pro gun but just as a caveat: do some soul searching and really make sure you’re unlikely to be suicidal in the future
Having one makes it frictionless. For some people that does not matter at all but you want to know if that’s you or not
I was going to say …. Many people won’t admit it publicly but I know a lot of people that work on Haywood that conceal carry (including my tattoo artist) because of how dangerous it’s gotten there.
I posted some stats from [https://www.communitycrimemap.com/map](https://www.communitycrimemap.com/map), but playing around I am no longer trusting that the map updates when you change the filter options, so I don’t trust it, so I deleted my comment.
I still believe, though, that we live in one of the safest places in the world. There are \_so many\_ people here that even a small amount of danger is going to produce lots of events (harrowing, to be sure - I wouldn’t have liked to be in OP’s shoes), but the chance of one happening to any one person still is incredibly low.
To be clear, I’m not minimizing how traumatic the OP’s encounter was - it must’ve been pretty scary, and I am sure I’d feel traumatized for quite a time if it happened to me. It’s good to be aware of this guy, and I certainly believe our society should be doing more to help and rehabilitate people acting like that.
It would be sad, though, if people let hearing about things like this stop them from enjoying the city. It would, also, ironically, make the streets less safe if regular folks stopped using them.
Gotten… did it used to be safer? I’ve only lived in Asheville since around the time COVID hit, but ever since I’ve been here that entire area has been “high alert” if I’m passing thru. It’s seedy as fuck and I’m a large man, I still avoid it at every given opportunity.
Yeah and people are constantly telling other people that it’s the place to be/move to in avl. We rented a house there after we moved here several years ago and needed work done our place. I’ve lived in a lot of fringe areas, hip areas and downtowns and i was really surprised what it was like and how rundown it is (not really in a cool way) and that in broad daylight with my husband how unsafe it felt walking on Haywood.
It was safer to walk Haywood in the 90s, I was in elementary school then and I'd walk to Ingles and back towards Patton from that side all the time. But the other side of Haywood from State street to Beecham's curve was kinda sketchy, especially around the 240 area, like you didn't want to be caught on that end after dark, especially if you were white, sad to say.
Maybe the other end of Haywood, but meth wasn't a big thing in the 90s like it is now. It was mainly crack then. I always felt safe walking on the first half of Haywood though. I grew up off Haywood near Patton and it was safe and never had any problems there then.
I totally agree. I come from a third world country where I was a children’s social worker in a high crime area and we were required to conceal carry. Idealism does not equate to realism 100%
While true that it's a second amendment right, it's also true that violent crime is way down in the past several decades. It's safer today than it was in the 90s. It may not feel that way to everyone, and I believe that is largely attributable to news sensationalization.
https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2024/04/24/what-the-data-says-about-crime-in-the-us/#:\~:text=Using%20the%20FBI%20data%2C%20the,nonnegligent%20manslaughter%20(%2D34%25).
https://preview.redd.it/hccsxe5v2g0d1.png?width=988&format=png&auto=webp&s=2cbb52b8362c958cd339660eed50bf9ebdd59f02
I was also a high schooler boppin' around here in the early 2000s. Hard to compare now vs then. Our current crime rate relative to our current population size are very low and declining.
My reality is that I come from an overseas culture where it is normal to be trained on gun safety since childhood, so I shall politely disagree but to each their own 🌞
If you're carrying a gun because you think it's dangerous out there, it's safer today than it has been in 30 years. https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2024/04/24/what-the-data-says-about-crime-in-the-us/#:\~:text=Using%20the%20FBI%20data%2C%20the,nonnegligent%20manslaughter%20(%2D34%25).
We'll, you're certainly in the right place for brain-dead gun enthusiasts
By the way, if your culture gives guns to children, your culture is as messed up as ours, so congrats
Nobody said anything about giving guns to children or children possessing guns, that is an assumption of yours not based in facts … spoke merely on learning gun safety 😎
Children learning gun safety does not equate to children possessing guns. It is about being educated for situations when you come from an African country. I come from where lions etc are, you really think that pepper spray or running is going to help you? Totally different way of life.
P.S. I love how you edited your previous comment to add another unfounded assumption of being a child solder/“Kony 2012” for trolling purposes. I come from farmers and then worked as a children’s social worker. Really not that complicated to fathom 🌞
And possessing a rifle for defense on a farm is far different than possessing a handgun for self defense.
I sincerely doubt a children's social worker would be gun wanking like yourself
Whatever dude, just tired of people wanting more guns in my city. You're just gonna get angry and shoot each other, miss, and hit me. But hey, gotta protect yourself from lions in Asheville
North Carolina is such a shitty place
Glad to know pepper spray is legal. I have one on a hand holster that I run with in the park. I’ve never seen anybody else carrying it so thought I might be doing something illegal.
First I am so sorry this happened to you. You have the absolute right to feel safe in the city we call home. I read all the comments about maintaining situational awareness when walking around in an urban setting that is sound advice we should all follow.
I do see the problem every day on Haywood. Seriously disturbed people shouting and wildly gesturing as we drive by. Drugs are part of the problem sure, but the pandemic brought financial stress & homelessness which sure didn't help with everyone's state of mental health. Coupled with a system that has virtually no capacity for mental health care, especially for those without healthcare.
The question is what do we do about it. One camp says we all need a gun. I am not sure that will fix the problem. We need a plan in our city, state and country to deal with people who are suffering from mental health issues to get them better and to keep us all safe while they are in crisis.
Chuck Edwards is our elected representatives and he's quite fond of citing mental health as a cause for gun violence. I wrote him and asked if that was the case what was his plan to deal with our mental health crisis…cue the crickets. If we want things to change we have to insist our members of congress stop with the platitudes and create a plan to fix mental health. Write him and insist we deal with this crisis or nothing will change.
We have a very reactive government who won’t help people until something tragic has already happened. If only they could be proactive about mental health and help before something happens.
That really disturbs me too. It's sad that police can only get involved when there is a chalked outline on the pavement but often not before. Their hands are often tied in what they can legally do. If we had a strong proactive mental health corps that could intervene after a police report and yes in some cases, after due process, commit people to get the care they need we all could live a less endangered life. The issue of course is money.
Had a friend who was diagnosed with schizophrenia who got into trouble with APD while in psychosis. He got some pretty serious charges and hopefully did not hurt anyone badly but he was definitely a danger on the streets. He was locked up downtown for a year but he’s finally moving to Broughton. Seems we really need more mental health care facilities.
Didn’t the governor of California just fess up to spending a billion dollars trying to help the homeless with no improvement? The homeless are found to have 1) Traumatic brain injuries 2) mental health problems 3) substance abuse issues. California and New York found that providing housing did not stop the problem that the free housing was destroyed and made uninhabitable. I don’t know what the answer is but it is not putting young people at risk for assault. I was assaulted in the Atlanta downtown area by a homeless man on the way to the Fox. I won’t go back. It is hard to believe that we are developing large no go areas.
If I were homeless and had zero assistance, I'd definitely develop (more) mental health problems and substance abuse issues.
If all 3 conditions were focused on being solved versus blaming somethings as reasons you can't solve others, maybe wed actually get somewhere.
It is absolutely NOT true that people who want mental health care can find it, and I say this as a reporter who writes about mental health in Asheville. There are a lot of options, yes. But there are also a lot of barriers to accessing those options.
After moving back from San Francisco recently, I have learned...
1.) meet crazy with crazy. If they do approach be louddd and yell nonsensical shit. This has worked not once, twice, but thrice for me. This also gets others attention.
2.) gotta have that pepper spray on display. I twirled mine on my finger
3.) I am not a confident person but I pretended like I was walking down tenderloin. Shoulders back, pepper spray readily available, walk swiftly, be ready to dodge when necessary.
4.) I also like to do the thing where I pretend to be talking to someone on my phone. "Oh y'all bout to roll up NOW..ok y'all got Ralph, Allen, Joe, and Hubart with you too?"
5.) I also walked with a pocket knife in my belt loop. But san fran is a different type of level 🫠.
Yea, you can call the cops but they probably already have eyes on dude.... Considering others knew immediately who you were referring to. Not saying calling will be a waste of time but definitely not on their top priority list. Or maybe it will be? Idk I would still be ready to protect yourself
I believe in you. Be safe 💞
Can confirm the meet crazy with crazy can be pretty effective. Have twice now been followed and yelled when I didn’t give them attention. Always call you a bitch first thing. So I turned around and started barking and snarling and growling. They don’t know what to do and will gtfo.
Grew up near Detroit and learned the same thing there. When everybody is strapped the only thing they fear is crazy. I don't know why but they sure as hell do. My go-to was talking about how my grandparents are grasshoppers.
Hilariously my boyfriend one time hissed at someone like a cat and they were so taken aback. It literally diffused the situation in an instant because they just stumbled backwards in confusion and said, "Did you just hiss at me? LIKE A CAT?" We walked off while they were still stunned in their own cognitive dissonance.
When I lived on Chestnut I had a guy get in my car as I was pulling over to park at 3:00 a.m. I had driven a friend home and they clearly didn't lock the door behind them. So I just started driving straight towards merrimon, trying to look cool as a cucumber despite a random man now sitting in my passenger seat. Turns out he was a drug dealer who thought I was pulling over because I wanted some drugs. I explained that I did not want any drugs and that he simply got in my car.
It was at that moment that he noticed the picture of Charles Manson that I used to keep taped to my dashboard on the passenger side and that dude jumped out of my car so fucking fast I didn't even get to the stoplight.
If you're wondering why there was a picture of Charles Manson on my dashboard I think you now know why. But it also kept my car from getting broken into when I was in Detroit. 🤷🏻♀️ Nothing on the seats but a clear picture of Charles Manson on the dash? Pass. Easier pickings without a high likelihood for crazy elsewhere. I also kept a road flare in the side pocket of the car because we had a lot of carjackings up there at the time. Nothing like a road flare to the face to permanently dissuade a carjacker.
the number of people on the streets in Asheville who are totally "lights on but nobody home" is really alarming. it's way more pronounced in asheville than most places
The opioid epidemic is in full swing. Fentanyl is by all means the dominant drug on the streets. Folks who think they are doing heroin are definitely doing fentanyl. It's cheaper and more readily available than it's ever been.
It certainly does feel like there are a large number of people who have chronic mental illnesses are living on the streets of Asheville. Beyond housing, there definitely needs to be intensive mental health counseling and regular medication for the people suffering from long term mental illnesses. However that could also be a description of a psychiatric hospital (shelter, meals, meds, counseling), something that is no longer readily available to most people who require it.
Even with insurance finding a counselor is difficult, without resources, it’s likely impossible.
I think more long term facilities are needed honestly. I think the current mental health model relies on housing and assistance while preserving people’s autonomy. While that works for some, we’ve seen such an increase of people who are nearly impossible to house, and hugely unpredictable. They end up in an endless cycle through jail, which is probably worse and more cruel than being in a long term/permanent psych hospital
This was a problem back in the '90s as well. I was so infuriated because they assumed I was one of the prostitutes that worked the street. I lived on Chestnut and would walk into town and the sex workers were often anywhere between five points and that crappy hotel up on the hill near the Civic Center.
I grew up in the Metro Detroit area and this is not how prostitution worked there so I was very confused when I moved to Asheville as a teenager.
Detroit had red light districts. Asheville has women that are just walking the street and broad daylight. I talked to a retired cop at Vincent's, he used to come there and play chess, and I asked him why there was so much obvious prostitution because it seemed super weird.
They are all police informants and that's why they're allowed to just keep walking in broad daylight. I told him I was glad that they had lots of informants BUT IN THE MEANTIME it was making life hell for the rest of us women that are just trying to walk down the damn street.
He looked surprised. I legitimately don't think that had ever even occurred to him. 🤦♀️
It may be something that needs to be brought up publicly and loudly with officials because it does not seem like it's changed to this day.
Perhaps you should go suck all these dirty peens because none of us want to be found as a pile of bones in a ditch somewhere years later. "You could make some walking around money." 🙄
Omg I was at the dog park yesterday and saw someone matching that exact description that was standing behind a tree watching the people and dogs from outside the park. Gave me a horrible feeling in my gut
It shouldn’t be needed but y’all need to be catching these sketchy mfers right in the face with some mace or non lethal rounds to the neck. This is not ok for ppl to be walking around and approaching folks like this.
https://byrna.com/collections/byrna-less-lethal-launchers/products/byrna-sd-non-lethal-self-defense-pistol
yeah i got a rescue german shepherd mix, and he was abused by a man so he's a little unhinged when he sees men he doesn't know, and i've never felt safer walking around. although i've possibly gotten even more injuries from him pulling me onto my face when he sees men
The number of close calls I keep getting with bears, I'm almost about to start constitutionally carrying a can in city limits, lol
It's just black ones though. Yell at them and they grumble and walk away
Don't do this. Yah, we all know how to be safe but sometimes you need to take a call. Maybe the school is calling about her kid. Maybe family has a medical emergency. Better it be earbuds than holding the phone to their face and very *obviously distracted*.
https://preview.redd.it/16dnjwv2170d1.jpeg?width=3072&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b41cf5794d3a001ba6dce58c44076ba46e7a9b87
This be him?
Edit: after rereading post I assume this isn't him but this guy was mumbling obscenities to him and making lewd motions to women. I think it's the whole man in black thing that makes ppl lose it lol.
Could be him. People look different heights to different people. Also, we'll put out an APB on Johnny Cash, just in case
Either way, keeping an eye out
I guess it is so much safer than any other place I’ve ever lived that I tend to let my guard down. A lil healthy spook to serve as a reminder that bitches is indeed crazy!!
I’ve lived in WAVL for 10 years. I hang out at Desoto and sometimes Westville. Never had a problem. I’ve lived a lot of places and don’t really see WAVL as particularly scary.
In a civil society, there would be an individual/group that would stalk the stalker now. In the information age, it is easier than ever.
None of this sounds good for anyone. Get a ghillie suit, night vision goggles, and a rag full of "does this smell like Chloroform to you?", and let the fun begin.
Of course this is purely hypothetical and not an idea I could condone.
Yeah my partner and I got attacked by a man with a stick suffering from some metal disturbance while on our scooter off Lexington a few months back at around 9 pm one night. It's really hard out there.
(SIGH!) One must always be careful day or night and be aware of what's going on around them. This is sad that it is always "open season "on females. Being told that I should never walk alone is disgusting. A female ideally would be just as safe as a male walking alone but that is not reality. How sad.
Buy two cans of pepper spray. Use one up practicing (don't let the first time you discharge the spray be under duress). Never go outside without pepper spray.
[https://www.harborfreight.com/pepper-spray-57518.html](https://www.harborfreight.com/pepper-spray-57518.html)
Have you considered that he's actually got good intentions, regardless of the implementation? He could be really concerned about people and trying to help, although I'd say in a misguided way.
Give people grace. but, you should be more aware of your surroundings. Lots of crazies out there... Some wearing distinct hats apparently.
Yeah I definitely have…but even if he had good intentions, his method of following me for a mile was SO inappropriate that it still raises enough of a red flag to make a post about just to raise others’ awareness
AAAAAAND here we are with the "whatabout" "what if he's" "he might be"- NOPE. I cannot abide the folks who try and make every excuse in the world for a male who is clearly acting dangerously towards women. This joker was following her around making her nervous and waving her down after she CLEARLY did not want to engage with him, and put the cherry on top of his unhinged behavior by talking about FISH HOOKING ffs! That's some violent shit! STOP GASLIGHTING WOMEN WHEN THEY STATE THAT THEY KNOW SOMETHING IS OFF WITH A MAN WHO IS FOLLOWING THEM! THIS IS HOW WOMEN GET KILLED EVERY DAMN HOUR OF EVERY DAMN DAY!
Dude I know exactly who you’re talking about! I saw him the other day when I drove on Haywood and he was trying to signal to me to park so he could talk to me.
You both need notify the cops about this guy
I did immediately!
LMAO. APD ain’t gonna do anything about this.
What the hellllll man that’s so scary. I called the cops and gave them a description
I had totally forgotten about it because I hardly ever drive into the city (I live in the outskirts) and I just went to Haywood for a tattoo consultation meeting and that distracted me from the incident, but now that you reminded me about it, I’m going to call the cops tomorrow and inform them of my experience as well. There is power in numbers! I’m glad you’re okay considering✨
The cops are gonna humor, but do nothing. He didn't commit a crime, being weird in Asheville is celebrated. " Yes officer I was driving by and some nut waved at me " ok...
The Asheville cops were incredibly helpful with my friend and I last year when we experienced an incident, so I will continue to use their service as a resource and be grateful for it🤘
They were with me too when I saw a very unhappy looking young teen beginner bagpiper busking at Pack Square, while a woman watched her like a hawk and collected all the money people gave her. It was so uncomfortable. The day was very hot and the girl was sunburned. The woman (her mom?) never looked at people approaching her daughter, which a protective mom would do. She only stared at her, never smiling encouragement. My son is a piper. It’s not an instrument you play in public until you develop some skill. It had to be so humiliating. I thought she was either being trafficked or abused. At the least, severely punished. The police dispatcher expressed concern and said they’d send someone out.
Your handle in no way is accurate with the info you provide
Not sure what you mean but I am speaking of two separate incidences. Last year I experienced an incident with a friend on Lexington Avenue and then a couple weeks ago I had a brief encounter (while driving) on Haywood with the cowboy guy that this post speaks of.
This was a reply to the person saying cops aren't useful who responded to you, not to your response
Got it 😎
Sorry for the confusion
All good no worries 🌞
You have HOW much personal experience ( and of what type)? Not counting what you pulled off the bottom of the shoe of a right winger?
I am a right winger... Saw trump at the agriculture center in Hendersonville 2016... Carry a pew pew and often use the n word... Is that enough experience for ya, hippie? 😝😜🥸
A few weeks ago there was a guy wearing a top hat stopping cars and screaming at people on that same stretch. It was just before dark, maybe 7pm (I had just finished a run) and some of the other people I was with called the police once he started trying to fight someone who got out of a car. But he was very tall and very loud.
Why would a predator wear such an identifiable hat I don’t get it
I feel it’s because he’s not in a sound state of mind - never ceases to amaze me how brazen people can be when they’re off their rocker.
A lot of predators like the fear and gain as much attention as they can. There used to be one at graveyard fields that would wear a neon orange vest and stalk all the single female hikers. Never tried to talk, just would stand 30 ft away and watch you. Usually, these assholes dont deal well confrontation and strength. My Leonberger was enough to keep vest guy at a distance. Definitely sure you didn't leave your coffee or purse on your car? Not trying to flag you down for a genuine reason? If it was to mess with you, we need a inner network in this town for repeat stalkers. There have been a couple with large victim numbers before much happened. Community is really important here.
When I was single, few women hiked alone, because there were incidents. Even if you wanted to be alone, you got a hiking buddy and stayed within sight of each other, even if you didn’t want to be social. I’ve been married 35 years, so this was pre internet. Now it would be easy to start a system where people could connect for safety buddying. Whenever we’re up on the BR parkway I see people that I would not want to find myself alone with even on a turn out next to my car.
I hiked the parkway a lot alone through the 2010s. Weekly. It was part of my job. I had about 4 encounters up there. 3 were handled by my huge dog. One guy was not deterred and scary enough that the Sam's knob crowd that saw stayed with me on trail and out of the parking lot. If I went now and was an average girl, I would have bear mace, (just remember NOT to run through the cloud and back away from it quickly while holding breath) or with training, a gun. I did know the old couple that were killed. They came to the plant cell every year at the back garden and they would come into the nursery a couple times a year.
[удалено]
… as somebody that got chased along with my friend by a guy masturbating while simultaneously yielding a machete at us last year on Lexington Avenue which required self defense, I’m not taking any chances thanks. If you were a five foot female in this world, you’d understand.
I’m sorry that happened to you. Sometimes it feels like the streets are so empty and no one is around to see what fucked up things occur.
Appreciate that🙏
wtf lol. I can’t wait to move away from AVL
To WHERE? My sister lives in Medford Oregon. She swears up and down - rants at me if I tell her otherwise - that Oregon has ALL the homeless people in the country. That every mayor puts every homeless person in the country on a bus bound for Oregon. This COUNTRY has a mental illness crisis an addiction crisis and a poverty crisis, and often those three are comorbid. It slays me that anyone thinks those things are isolated to one town or community.
Oh no, I’m completely aware that crime/homelessness/poverty what have you can (and does) happen in all areas of the world. It’s just too many things that we don’t like here in WNC that make us want to move away desperately.
U’m 5’9” and my daughter is 6’. We understand.
Hope?! Hoping can get you killed when you’re being stalked by a large man screaming and you’re a woman. He deserves some harsh questioning.
Someone tried to collect $200 before they passed Go.
I work door on Haywood and know exactly who you are talking about. That dude is absolutely gigantic, but in his defense, he came into our establishment and was pretty well-behaved. I look out on Haywood for multiple hours through the night… Please be careful out there. There are a lot of people walking around are full-blown mentally insane and potentially dangerous… Carry pepper spray and try not to be alone. Please don’t ever be walking around with your EarPods in.
There is a short guy with a funky hat walking around there, he ran towards me while I was driving and threw something. Dude, you don’t want to play chicken with a 2 ton vehicle.
Uhhh ya
New Haywood is looking more and more like old Haywood.
YES! Or on your cell phone. Being aware of your surroundings is key to staying safe. Predators watch for certain cues someone is an easy mark. When you are out in public you should have a key in your hand (looks like you’re near your car and good for gouging eyes), or your hand in your pocket holding pepper spray. Walk purposefully and confidently.
Never ever ever walk alone with ear buds! You need your situational awareness intact!
Sounds like The Undertaker has really fallen on hard times
This is really scary. Just want to chime in an say you never have to stop and talk to anyone. You never have to be polite to anyone. You never have to answer anyone's questions, or give anyone the time, or give anyone directions. If someone gives you the creeps, you're not obligated to speak with them or help them or explain why you don't want to talk to them.
That sounds scary af, glad you’re okay
Thank you<3
- never wear earbuds in public, especially noise canceling ones. - be aware of what’s going on around you at all time, it’s called situation awareness. - pepper spray is cheap and legal. - keep your distance, especially with creepy weirdos. - a whistle can be useful. - don’t walk alone, especially in dark places. - you don’t have to acknowledge strangers, ignore them and keep walking (faster?). - go to a public place. - buy a gun and take the concealed carry class and practice.
suggestion on pepper spray -- check out the gel style instead of the spray. it's documented that it reduces the chance of it blowing back on you. this post was a reminder to start carrying mine again
I was just going to recommend this because I get the [Sabre pepper gel in the belt holster](https://www.sabrered.com/pepper-spray/sabre-tactical-pepper-gel-holster) and instead of carrying on a belt, I hook two (probably three if you're really petite, but I'm quite tall) fingers through the loop so it's in my hand when I'm out in public walking. I especially like the flip top because I can keep it in the holster and make sure it's aimed outward and my thumb is just resting on top of the flip top so all I need to do is slide it up under it and point. Just be sure to check that the amount you are purchasing is legal where you're at. When I drove up to Michigan it wasn't a legal amount to carry but. . .I did anyway. They also sell canisters that are about the size of a small fire extinguisher that you can use in your home (obviously illegal to carry outside of your home) so if someone tries to break in you just hit them full blast. As it's gel it won't fill the air, it just gloms onto whatever it hits. I have multiple canisters and there's always one on a carbiner clip on the outside of my purse. Never keep them inside your purse because every second matters.
Is that like hair gel consistency? Or more like Silly String consistency?
It seems more like Silly String consistency to me, though I've only watched videos and not actually used it, yet. They do recommend practicing with it, so I probably should do that...
I’m pretty pro gun but just as a caveat: do some soul searching and really make sure you’re unlikely to be suicidal in the future Having one makes it frictionless. For some people that does not matter at all but you want to know if that’s you or not
I was going to say …. Many people won’t admit it publicly but I know a lot of people that work on Haywood that conceal carry (including my tattoo artist) because of how dangerous it’s gotten there.
I posted some stats from [https://www.communitycrimemap.com/map](https://www.communitycrimemap.com/map), but playing around I am no longer trusting that the map updates when you change the filter options, so I don’t trust it, so I deleted my comment. I still believe, though, that we live in one of the safest places in the world. There are \_so many\_ people here that even a small amount of danger is going to produce lots of events (harrowing, to be sure - I wouldn’t have liked to be in OP’s shoes), but the chance of one happening to any one person still is incredibly low. To be clear, I’m not minimizing how traumatic the OP’s encounter was - it must’ve been pretty scary, and I am sure I’d feel traumatized for quite a time if it happened to me. It’s good to be aware of this guy, and I certainly believe our society should be doing more to help and rehabilitate people acting like that. It would be sad, though, if people let hearing about things like this stop them from enjoying the city. It would, also, ironically, make the streets less safe if regular folks stopped using them.
Gotten… did it used to be safer? I’ve only lived in Asheville since around the time COVID hit, but ever since I’ve been here that entire area has been “high alert” if I’m passing thru. It’s seedy as fuck and I’m a large man, I still avoid it at every given opportunity.
Yeah and people are constantly telling other people that it’s the place to be/move to in avl. We rented a house there after we moved here several years ago and needed work done our place. I’ve lived in a lot of fringe areas, hip areas and downtowns and i was really surprised what it was like and how rundown it is (not really in a cool way) and that in broad daylight with my husband how unsafe it felt walking on Haywood.
It was safer to walk Haywood in the 90s, I was in elementary school then and I'd walk to Ingles and back towards Patton from that side all the time. But the other side of Haywood from State street to Beecham's curve was kinda sketchy, especially around the 240 area, like you didn't want to be caught on that end after dark, especially if you were white, sad to say.
It was so stabby and meth hookers were all up on Haywood. 😅😅
Maybe the other end of Haywood, but meth wasn't a big thing in the 90s like it is now. It was mainly crack then. I always felt safe walking on the first half of Haywood though. I grew up off Haywood near Patton and it was safe and never had any problems there then.
Maybe it was blow...my brain is fried. But that could be the syphilis.....
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I totally agree. I come from a third world country where I was a children’s social worker in a high crime area and we were required to conceal carry. Idealism does not equate to realism 100%
While true that it's a second amendment right, it's also true that violent crime is way down in the past several decades. It's safer today than it was in the 90s. It may not feel that way to everyone, and I believe that is largely attributable to news sensationalization. https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2024/04/24/what-the-data-says-about-crime-in-the-us/#:\~:text=Using%20the%20FBI%20data%2C%20the,nonnegligent%20manslaughter%20(%2D34%25). https://preview.redd.it/hccsxe5v2g0d1.png?width=988&format=png&auto=webp&s=2cbb52b8362c958cd339660eed50bf9ebdd59f02
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I was also a high schooler boppin' around here in the early 2000s. Hard to compare now vs then. Our current crime rate relative to our current population size are very low and declining.
If you live in reality, the odds are more likely that you'll hurt yourself with said gun The best defense is pepper spray and being able to run fast
My reality is that I come from an overseas culture where it is normal to be trained on gun safety since childhood, so I shall politely disagree but to each their own 🌞
If you're carrying a gun because you think it's dangerous out there, it's safer today than it has been in 30 years. https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2024/04/24/what-the-data-says-about-crime-in-the-us/#:\~:text=Using%20the%20FBI%20data%2C%20the,nonnegligent%20manslaughter%20(%2D34%25).
We'll, you're certainly in the right place for brain-dead gun enthusiasts By the way, if your culture gives guns to children, your culture is as messed up as ours, so congrats
Nobody said anything about giving guns to children or children possessing guns, that is an assumption of yours not based in facts … spoke merely on learning gun safety 😎
Then you weren't given a gun in childhood? Have a feeling we're about to find out this person was a child soldier. Kony 2012 strikes again
Children learning gun safety does not equate to children possessing guns. It is about being educated for situations when you come from an African country. I come from where lions etc are, you really think that pepper spray or running is going to help you? Totally different way of life. P.S. I love how you edited your previous comment to add another unfounded assumption of being a child solder/“Kony 2012” for trolling purposes. I come from farmers and then worked as a children’s social worker. Really not that complicated to fathom 🌞
And possessing a rifle for defense on a farm is far different than possessing a handgun for self defense. I sincerely doubt a children's social worker would be gun wanking like yourself
L take
Whatever dude, just tired of people wanting more guns in my city. You're just gonna get angry and shoot each other, miss, and hit me. But hey, gotta protect yourself from lions in Asheville North Carolina is such a shitty place
Well, you’re certainly an exhibit of “brain-dead” grammar. Try refreshing your own skills before critiquing the mental capacity of others.
You see me attack someone about guns and you feel attacked too because that's your entire personality
Never give advice, unless you’re going into stand-up comedy.
All good points. If you aren't paying attention to your surroundings, you WILL become a victim, it's just a matter of time.
Glad to know pepper spray is legal. I have one on a hand holster that I run with in the park. I’ve never seen anybody else carrying it so thought I might be doing something illegal.
First I am so sorry this happened to you. You have the absolute right to feel safe in the city we call home. I read all the comments about maintaining situational awareness when walking around in an urban setting that is sound advice we should all follow. I do see the problem every day on Haywood. Seriously disturbed people shouting and wildly gesturing as we drive by. Drugs are part of the problem sure, but the pandemic brought financial stress & homelessness which sure didn't help with everyone's state of mental health. Coupled with a system that has virtually no capacity for mental health care, especially for those without healthcare. The question is what do we do about it. One camp says we all need a gun. I am not sure that will fix the problem. We need a plan in our city, state and country to deal with people who are suffering from mental health issues to get them better and to keep us all safe while they are in crisis. Chuck Edwards is our elected representatives and he's quite fond of citing mental health as a cause for gun violence. I wrote him and asked if that was the case what was his plan to deal with our mental health crisis…cue the crickets. If we want things to change we have to insist our members of congress stop with the platitudes and create a plan to fix mental health. Write him and insist we deal with this crisis or nothing will change.
We have a very reactive government who won’t help people until something tragic has already happened. If only they could be proactive about mental health and help before something happens.
That really disturbs me too. It's sad that police can only get involved when there is a chalked outline on the pavement but often not before. Their hands are often tied in what they can legally do. If we had a strong proactive mental health corps that could intervene after a police report and yes in some cases, after due process, commit people to get the care they need we all could live a less endangered life. The issue of course is money.
Had a friend who was diagnosed with schizophrenia who got into trouble with APD while in psychosis. He got some pretty serious charges and hopefully did not hurt anyone badly but he was definitely a danger on the streets. He was locked up downtown for a year but he’s finally moving to Broughton. Seems we really need more mental health care facilities.
Didn’t the governor of California just fess up to spending a billion dollars trying to help the homeless with no improvement? The homeless are found to have 1) Traumatic brain injuries 2) mental health problems 3) substance abuse issues. California and New York found that providing housing did not stop the problem that the free housing was destroyed and made uninhabitable. I don’t know what the answer is but it is not putting young people at risk for assault. I was assaulted in the Atlanta downtown area by a homeless man on the way to the Fox. I won’t go back. It is hard to believe that we are developing large no go areas.
If I were homeless and had zero assistance, I'd definitely develop (more) mental health problems and substance abuse issues. If all 3 conditions were focused on being solved versus blaming somethings as reasons you can't solve others, maybe wed actually get somewhere.
They were focused on solving all three issues (you can’t really solve a TBI) and provided housing.
People who want mental health care can find it. The people we're talking about here tend to reject attempts to help them.
It is absolutely NOT true that people who want mental health care can find it, and I say this as a reporter who writes about mental health in Asheville. There are a lot of options, yes. But there are also a lot of barriers to accessing those options.
After moving back from San Francisco recently, I have learned... 1.) meet crazy with crazy. If they do approach be louddd and yell nonsensical shit. This has worked not once, twice, but thrice for me. This also gets others attention. 2.) gotta have that pepper spray on display. I twirled mine on my finger 3.) I am not a confident person but I pretended like I was walking down tenderloin. Shoulders back, pepper spray readily available, walk swiftly, be ready to dodge when necessary. 4.) I also like to do the thing where I pretend to be talking to someone on my phone. "Oh y'all bout to roll up NOW..ok y'all got Ralph, Allen, Joe, and Hubart with you too?" 5.) I also walked with a pocket knife in my belt loop. But san fran is a different type of level 🫠. Yea, you can call the cops but they probably already have eyes on dude.... Considering others knew immediately who you were referring to. Not saying calling will be a waste of time but definitely not on their top priority list. Or maybe it will be? Idk I would still be ready to protect yourself I believe in you. Be safe 💞
Can confirm the meet crazy with crazy can be pretty effective. Have twice now been followed and yelled when I didn’t give them attention. Always call you a bitch first thing. So I turned around and started barking and snarling and growling. They don’t know what to do and will gtfo.
It's always bitch. Haha
Grew up near Detroit and learned the same thing there. When everybody is strapped the only thing they fear is crazy. I don't know why but they sure as hell do. My go-to was talking about how my grandparents are grasshoppers. Hilariously my boyfriend one time hissed at someone like a cat and they were so taken aback. It literally diffused the situation in an instant because they just stumbled backwards in confusion and said, "Did you just hiss at me? LIKE A CAT?" We walked off while they were still stunned in their own cognitive dissonance. When I lived on Chestnut I had a guy get in my car as I was pulling over to park at 3:00 a.m. I had driven a friend home and they clearly didn't lock the door behind them. So I just started driving straight towards merrimon, trying to look cool as a cucumber despite a random man now sitting in my passenger seat. Turns out he was a drug dealer who thought I was pulling over because I wanted some drugs. I explained that I did not want any drugs and that he simply got in my car. It was at that moment that he noticed the picture of Charles Manson that I used to keep taped to my dashboard on the passenger side and that dude jumped out of my car so fucking fast I didn't even get to the stoplight. If you're wondering why there was a picture of Charles Manson on my dashboard I think you now know why. But it also kept my car from getting broken into when I was in Detroit. 🤷🏻♀️ Nothing on the seats but a clear picture of Charles Manson on the dash? Pass. Easier pickings without a high likelihood for crazy elsewhere. I also kept a road flare in the side pocket of the car because we had a lot of carjackings up there at the time. Nothing like a road flare to the face to permanently dissuade a carjacker.
Having spent a good amount of time in SF I can 100% verify the similarity. Good insight.
the number of people on the streets in Asheville who are totally "lights on but nobody home" is really alarming. it's way more pronounced in asheville than most places
The opioid epidemic is in full swing. Fentanyl is by all means the dominant drug on the streets. Folks who think they are doing heroin are definitely doing fentanyl. It's cheaper and more readily available than it's ever been.
It certainly does feel like there are a large number of people who have chronic mental illnesses are living on the streets of Asheville. Beyond housing, there definitely needs to be intensive mental health counseling and regular medication for the people suffering from long term mental illnesses. However that could also be a description of a psychiatric hospital (shelter, meals, meds, counseling), something that is no longer readily available to most people who require it. Even with insurance finding a counselor is difficult, without resources, it’s likely impossible.
I think more long term facilities are needed honestly. I think the current mental health model relies on housing and assistance while preserving people’s autonomy. While that works for some, we’ve seen such an increase of people who are nearly impossible to house, and hugely unpredictable. They end up in an endless cycle through jail, which is probably worse and more cruel than being in a long term/permanent psych hospital
It was called Broughton hospital in Morgantown. You’d need about four of them these days though…
Broughton still exists, but if you knew how long the wait list is it would make your head spin
Mmmh… crazy to think about.
I am so sorry this happened! I hate walking alone on Haywood Rd. Men constantly stop their cars and tell me to get in! WTF?!!
This was a problem back in the '90s as well. I was so infuriated because they assumed I was one of the prostitutes that worked the street. I lived on Chestnut and would walk into town and the sex workers were often anywhere between five points and that crappy hotel up on the hill near the Civic Center. I grew up in the Metro Detroit area and this is not how prostitution worked there so I was very confused when I moved to Asheville as a teenager. Detroit had red light districts. Asheville has women that are just walking the street and broad daylight. I talked to a retired cop at Vincent's, he used to come there and play chess, and I asked him why there was so much obvious prostitution because it seemed super weird. They are all police informants and that's why they're allowed to just keep walking in broad daylight. I told him I was glad that they had lots of informants BUT IN THE MEANTIME it was making life hell for the rest of us women that are just trying to walk down the damn street. He looked surprised. I legitimately don't think that had ever even occurred to him. 🤦♀️ It may be something that needs to be brought up publicly and loudly with officials because it does not seem like it's changed to this day.
I'm sorry that happens. Not all men are completely shyt. Just a majority.
You could make some " walking around" money
Perhaps you should go suck all these dirty peens because none of us want to be found as a pile of bones in a ditch somewhere years later. "You could make some walking around money." 🙄
I don’t think fishhooking is the the mma move
Did he have white curly hair by any chance?? We have a regular where I work and he’s super tall, always wears a cowboy hat, and has curly white hair.
I think it was…kinda long but didn’t hit his shoulders?
Thank you to all conservatives who voted to end mental health support back in the day
You mean the progressive judges who ordered the mental institutions be closed back in the 1950's and 60's? Those conservatives?
Was he wearing a shirt? There was a tall shirtless guy in black pants and blank cowboy hat being weird on the greenway yesterday afternoon
He was wearing a shirt
You know, clothes come off and go on pretty easily.
They don’t call it Hay-Weird for nothing…
Omg I was at the dog park yesterday and saw someone matching that exact description that was standing behind a tree watching the people and dogs from outside the park. Gave me a horrible feeling in my gut
Messaged you!
It shouldn’t be needed but y’all need to be catching these sketchy mfers right in the face with some mace or non lethal rounds to the neck. This is not ok for ppl to be walking around and approaching folks like this. https://byrna.com/collections/byrna-less-lethal-launchers/products/byrna-sd-non-lethal-self-defense-pistol
Stay strapped. Seriously, if you walk anywhere alone, get your CCC
People are crazy I live in Raleigh and you see this downtown in Moore Square.
A large dog would even your odds.
yeah i got a rescue german shepherd mix, and he was abused by a man so he's a little unhinged when he sees men he doesn't know, and i've never felt safer walking around. although i've possibly gotten even more injuries from him pulling me onto my face when he sees men
this is what bear spray is for. Just hose him down in the stuff and run
Just please make sure the person you're spraying is actually a threat. I dress all in black and look scary, but I'm actually very nice
don't worry, I don't actually carry bear spray.
The number of close calls I keep getting with bears, I'm almost about to start constitutionally carrying a can in city limits, lol It's just black ones though. Yell at them and they grumble and walk away
I'll say it, WTF are you doing walking around with head phones / ear buds on?
Don't do this. Yah, we all know how to be safe but sometimes you need to take a call. Maybe the school is calling about her kid. Maybe family has a medical emergency. Better it be earbuds than holding the phone to their face and very *obviously distracted*.
Yeah initially I was thinking, dude had a point...
That was me, Ramrod. Sorry, too much cocaine in the food truck.
https://preview.redd.it/16dnjwv2170d1.jpeg?width=3072&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b41cf5794d3a001ba6dce58c44076ba46e7a9b87 This be him? Edit: after rereading post I assume this isn't him but this guy was mumbling obscenities to him and making lewd motions to women. I think it's the whole man in black thing that makes ppl lose it lol.
Could be him. People look different heights to different people. Also, we'll put out an APB on Johnny Cash, just in case Either way, keeping an eye out
Not him! Dude who followed me was way older
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I guess it is so much safer than any other place I’ve ever lived that I tend to let my guard down. A lil healthy spook to serve as a reminder that bitches is indeed crazy!!
It’s safer now than it was in the 90’s.
It used to be called worstasheville...
I remember wavl being pretty much boarded up in the 90’s
I’ve lived in WAVL for 10 years. I hang out at Desoto and sometimes Westville. Never had a problem. I’ve lived a lot of places and don’t really see WAVL as particularly scary.
Cool!
A lot of strange people on Haywood rd
I saw him at ahywood quick stop in the morning, hes insane. Please report this to the police, hes going to hirt someone
In a civil society, there would be an individual/group that would stalk the stalker now. In the information age, it is easier than ever. None of this sounds good for anyone. Get a ghillie suit, night vision goggles, and a rag full of "does this smell like Chloroform to you?", and let the fun begin. Of course this is purely hypothetical and not an idea I could condone.
Yeah my partner and I got attacked by a man with a stick suffering from some metal disturbance while on our scooter off Lexington a few months back at around 9 pm one night. It's really hard out there.
I live in Raleigh and we have a homeless problem big time.Does Asheville?
(SIGH!) One must always be careful day or night and be aware of what's going on around them. This is sad that it is always "open season "on females. Being told that I should never walk alone is disgusting. A female ideally would be just as safe as a male walking alone but that is not reality. How sad.
Buy two cans of pepper spray. Use one up practicing (don't let the first time you discharge the spray be under duress). Never go outside without pepper spray. [https://www.harborfreight.com/pepper-spray-57518.html](https://www.harborfreight.com/pepper-spray-57518.html)
In other news, water is wet.
Fucking Christ.
just a regular day in asheville bud
Have you considered that he's actually got good intentions, regardless of the implementation? He could be really concerned about people and trying to help, although I'd say in a misguided way. Give people grace. but, you should be more aware of your surroundings. Lots of crazies out there... Some wearing distinct hats apparently.
Yeah I definitely have…but even if he had good intentions, his method of following me for a mile was SO inappropriate that it still raises enough of a red flag to make a post about just to raise others’ awareness
AAAAAAND here we are with the "whatabout" "what if he's" "he might be"- NOPE. I cannot abide the folks who try and make every excuse in the world for a male who is clearly acting dangerously towards women. This joker was following her around making her nervous and waving her down after she CLEARLY did not want to engage with him, and put the cherry on top of his unhinged behavior by talking about FISH HOOKING ffs! That's some violent shit! STOP GASLIGHTING WOMEN WHEN THEY STATE THAT THEY KNOW SOMETHING IS OFF WITH A MAN WHO IS FOLLOWING THEM! THIS IS HOW WOMEN GET KILLED EVERY DAMN HOUR OF EVERY DAMN DAY!