USC, LA living, and a stun gun

[vietho26]

I have been looking for housing around USC/Los Angeles and keep hearing that the area is very shady. I lived in shady areas in Richmond, VA for med school but how much worse can it be then some bum asking you for money on the street?? I remember coming home in my freaking scrubs with nothing but a stethoscope and a clipboard and pen and this guy figured I was a full doc who carried cash on him.

So I am considering to purchase a stun gun. I saw this ad for one on the self defense site links. It shoots out two tagged bullets that send 80,000 volts into the victim and paralyzes the person for 30 minutes.

Let me know if you folks think this is too extreme for LA.
Thanks

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[ecdoesit]

Stun gun, are you serious?
It is not as shady as that.
It is like everywhere. There are certain areas that is just bad.
I am sure you could find living places that are decent there.
I heard they have a big group of security officers there.

Btw, I just got into an accident this morning. Some guy rearended my truck. Amazingly, only my bumper got messed up. It seems other parts are fine.
And at that time, my head is kinda dizzy at first. And now it calms a little bit.
Is that normal?
Do you think I should take a neck Xray? What else should I do?
I am going to see a physician tomorrow. What kinda questions should I ask?
Thanks, man.

 

[Quick Slvr]

Listen very carefully, you dont need a stun gun, you need a AK-47! Seriously, it s not that bad of a neighborhood! you will be fine.

 

[vietho26]

next to whiplash and spraining a longitudinal ligement in the vertebra ,one thing you need to make sure about is that you don't have any bleeding from hitting your head on the steering wheel or what not. epidural hematoma is pretty nasty esp when u suffer a lapse in consciousness and wake up again.
there is a specific glasgow coma scale for head trauma that needs to be discussed with the physician. Don't move too much either for now.
If you feel just dizziness and no extreme lapses in consciousness then you might just have a slight concussion or need to restabilize your ear's vestibular canals for now.

All right dude good luck. sorry about your truck though

 

[UBTom]

I think stun guns are ineffective... You have to actually press it against somebody which means you get within lethal range of whatever weapon your assailant is holding (a knife, a club, etc.).

What vietho26 mentioned is actually a Taser gun, which shoots out two darts with wires trailing out behind it, and shocks your target from a relatively safe distance of 16 feet or so. The biggest problem with the Taser gun is that its projectiles are air-driven (like a beebee gun), which means it is not very accurate. If you don't hit on your first and only shot, you are dead meat. I don't know if they are legally available to anyone but law enforcement officers though.

The best defense? Be street-smart. Don't go out at very late hours alone, always walk in well-lit areas, give suspicious-looking people a wide berth, always be alert and aware of your surroundings, and stay on the balls of your feet, never carry too much cash. A self-defense class helps too.

I always carry my credit cards and IDs in one of those neck lanyards tucked under my coat so if somebody mugs me for my wallet, all he gets is my cash and nothing else. I also plant a few of those faux-credit cards you get in the junk mail from Discover or Bank One as decoys in my wallet.

And if you are really paranoid, you can change your routines every day-- Walk a slightly different path, vary the time. Sometimes muggers see the same person walk the same route at the same time of day every day, they might be tempted to jump you for quick cash.

Unless you have had extensive firearms training, it's probably not a good idea to carry a gun and chance having it turned against you by your assailant. I'd sure love to learn to shoot like our fellow dentist Doc Holliday though.

Just my experience having lived in some of the rougher neighborhoods in NYC for years.. And survived.

For the record: This would be my preferred concealable weapon for self-defense:

That's the German-made Heckler & Koch MP5K submachine gun, which can be fired from inside its specially-designed briefcase (!).

 

[StarGirl]

why don't you get an apartment in westwood and commute?

 

[highlanderdds]

westwood is EXPENSIVE

 

[grettlin2]

vietho26. If you don't mind to buy the expensive parking permit, I would suggest you to consider the housing in Korean town. It is 15 minutes from the school, and it is safer and valuable comparing to the quality near USC in the same price.
Or
In another forum, a future classmate is looking for a roomate. I think if you have a roommate, the average price would become reasonable.

 

[callmehere]

Going down the street towards USC from the 10 Freeway (Vermont Ave.) looks like a neighborhood out of Tijuana. USC students live there though, so I'm sure it is habitable. I met a girl while at an interview at Boston, she said that she's a current USC student and someone just got mugged near her street the night b4 she came to Boston. K-town is actually a good idea, it's actually just on the other side of the 10 freeway (turn right to go towards USC, turn left to go towards K-town). K-town is really inexpensive, and it does look like an upgrade, albeit minor, compared to the area directly around USC. Good luck with your apt search

 

[Thaxil]

Some guy asked you for money; So what! It does not give you a right to taser them, that is screwed up. Just say sorry dude, or here a few bucks I hope this helps. At least once a week I have some bum asking me for money, and I have never been mugged. I do not think you have any thing to worry about. If you do get into a confrontation, do exactly what they want which may include some time on your knees. But really, if they ask for your wallet give it to them no questions asked, and do not try to identify them. They get nervous if you are looking at their face and may do something more violent. Just be smart, do not go into areas you are unfamiliar or with very few people around. Do not were flashy clothing; wear what the people around you wear. I usually go out with some old jeans, and plain shirt and flannel sweater. Just blend in and don't be mad-dogging and asking people were they are from.

 

[vietho26]

Some guy asked you for money; So what! It does not give you a right to taser them, that is screwed up. Just say sorry dude, or here a few bucks I hope this helps. At least once a week I have some bum asking me for money, and I have never been mugged. I do not think you have any thing to worry about. If you do get into a confrontation, do exactly what they want which may include some time on your knees. But really, if they ask for your wallet give it to them no questions asked, and do not try to identify them. They get nervous if you are looking at their face and may do something more violent. Just be smart, do not go into areas you are unfamiliar or with very few people around. Do not were flashy clothing; wear what the people around you wear. I usually go out with some old jeans, and plain shirt and flannel sweater. Just blend in and don't be mad-dogging and asking people were they are from.

Thaxil,
I think you misunderstood my point. I lived in Richmond, VA which was ranked a murder capital in the US years back. I remember seeing a patient wheeled into the ER and later the mortuary because he was practically decapitated so no point in doing further medical resuscitation/rescue. A month later two patients came in dead cause the Richmond SWAT team shot them up for holding up a family inside a Seven Eleven. These two guys were DOA. Medical report was that the were involved in a war with Jamaican drug lords. The worst encounter I had while in Richmond was being accosted for money and I did tell him I had no cash...so the dude let me go. I had a classmate who was mugged even though she said she had no money on her. So please don't patronize me about how to handle street thugs/bums.

I thought that LA was much worse than Richmond so that is why I proffered the thought of getting a taser/stun gun for extra security.

 

[Thaxil]

Yeah, I have a lot of bad stories as well about the Former #1 murder capital of the US: San Bernardino. It is my beautiful home town. The former resident of my apartment was murder; he was shot down right in front of this apartment. I too worry about loonies out there. I did not mean to offend you; I just like to make a joke once in a while. I had an attempted car jacking, numerous guns pulled on me, mugged by a group of people, house burglarized, armed robbery, drive by shooting and other screwed up $hit. No wonder, I hate this freaking area.

 

[vietho26]

Yeah, I have a lot of bad stories as well about the Former #1 murder capital of the US: San Bernardino. It is my beautiful home town. The former resident of my apartment was murder; he was shot down right in front of this apartment. I too worry about loonies out there. I did not mean to offend you; I just like to make a joke once in a while. I had an attempted car jacking, numerous guns pulled on me, mugged by a group of people, house burglarized, armed robbery, drive by shooting and other screwed up $hit. No wonder, I hate this freaking area.

Hey Thaxil,
I think I was being a prick in my reply. Sorry.

If you had experienced all that stuff don't you think it would be wise to have some form of self-defense?? I could use a pepper spray can (mace cans in Va are outlawed) but my ex girlfriend sprayed me with it and it was definitely ineffective for sure. Not to mention I also dumped her for being the ultimate drama queen.
There is a resident at UCLA or future resident who is also considering a stun gun. I haven't been car jacked in Virginia but I have lived in Miami, Florida as a kid and I heard about car jackings in high school parking lots.

 

[StarGirl]

westwood is EXPENSIVE

but you'll have an endless supply of movie premieres and the beach and rodeo drive is just down the street!

 

[Dentalist]

LA is like Philly. One day, I went through Mcdonald drive-in and they had bullet proof window. Not only will you need AK-47 and body armour but also you will need to buy bullet-proof Hummer H2 with some snipers.

 

[briansle]

Serious crimes at USC seem to happen in rapid spurts followed by long periods of silence.Within a span of 2 weeks we had reports of one female student being raped by two black guys, another had his throat slashed, and another one was murdered. Other than that its just your normal daily muggings.
I wouldn't worry too much Vietho, since your Vietnamese. Every single Hmong i know seems to be pretty tough. Only white people seem to get jacked in LA.

 

[critterbug]

Or, you can just move down to Texas and get a concealed handgun license. We don't F'around down heer