I have never experienced violence or an act of aggression in the streets of Warsaw, but I often wonder what I would do if someone attacked me physically.
I hope that I will just run away. But, I was afraid that the adrenaline would take over, and I would begin to defend myself actively. While wandering connected with street photography, we can meet many people. Usually, those humans are friendly, polite, and curious. Sometimes they want to ask you questions. Which questions? For example: “Why do you take photos in such a mundane area?” or “Are you a tourist?” Or, those people can be a simple, not dangerous drunkard who wants to chat with you about the weather or their life story.
People often try to avoid me while I take photographs on the streets.
They try not to see me and do not look at me. In general, it is the photographer who observes others and decides whether he will take a photograph of something or not.
Nevertheless, the fact is that while making our passion, we can also meet dangerous and aggressive people. They can want, for example, to try to steal your camera or attack you physically because you entered “their” territory. As I mentioned, I have never met such people, but I know many bad things happen on big cities’ streets. Thus, I sometimes wonder how I would react during an emergency.
First, I constantly repeat that running away is the best solution in dangerous situations.
I hope I will never experience such a situation, but I am convinced that running away is the best solution. Is that mean that I am a coward? I do not think so. I believe it is merely a pure calculation. What would happen if I had to fight? I think it is a worst-case scenario. I would have to do it only if I was forced to defend myself. I do not like aggression and physical fights (even though in 2005, I practiced Muay Thai for four months). Thus, I hope that I will never experience assault while taking photographs on the streets of Warsaw.
The fact is that I always try to avoid strange-looking people. For example, if I see a group of young people drinking alcohol near a shop or in the park, I try not to pass near them. Speaking shortly: I think that there are three steps to evade aggression:
- predicting;
- avoiding;
- running away.
