Why REAL Men Remove Their Hats

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SifuPhil

R.I.P. With Us In Spirit Only
Location
Pennsylvania, USA
A few miles away from my little town in PA lies a city called Hazleton, an old and now racially-diverse town. A long string of robberies at the local convenience stores has caused shopkeepers to put up bilingual "PLEASE REMOVE HOODS" signs on their front doors, because of the difficulty in identifying hoodie-wearing suspects in robberies.

It was mentioned that the custom of men removing their hats indoors has died out with the backward baseball cap.

I can't find the original local article to link to right now, but my response to the article was "Are the shopkeepers willing to lose the business if they enforce this rule?"

1. Do you think this is prejudiced or profiling?
2. If you were a victimized shopkeeper would you put up a sign like this?
3. How would you enforce it, short of having a law passed?
 

Those signs are up in some stores in my area too, lots of hoodies caught on security cameras. Amusing was the tape measure along the side of the door when I walked in to a dollar-type store, that way they can also guess a more accurate height on the robbers. :p If I was a store owner, I would put up a sign like that, especially if I was recently victimized by a hooded bandit.
 
Gotta agree with Seabreeze.

I suppose the good folks of Hazleton are going to let this fall into the same category as when schools try to get uniforms into the schools and some parents get their underwear in a twist because uniforms are "taking away their child's individuality". I see it as money saver, keeps all the kids on the same page during school, nobodys skirts are hiked up, tops un-buttoned or pants falling down around the kid's knees;)

Take the hoods off when entering a store kids - I wouldn't have a bit of problem putting the sign up. Aren't store owners still allowed to post "no shoes, no shirt, no service"? Just add "no hoodies covering your head" to it:triumphant:
 

TWHRider said:
... Take the hoods off when entering a store kids - I wouldn't have a bit of problem putting the sign up. Aren't store owners still allowed to post "no shoes, no shirt, no service"? Just add "no hoodies covering your head" to it:triumphant:
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I just have the feeling that there's going to be a visit from the local anti-discrimination groups - it's happened before, for lesser "transgressions". Hazleton in particular has to step lightly, because they've had a lot of lawsuits over discrimination of all sorts. I'm not saying they were always in the right, but when it comes to security I don't see any reason why it couldn't be included in the shirts/shoes clause ... one perp, just before he robbed the store, when asked to remove his hood said "I can't - I'm cold".

Poor little kid. My heart goes out to him. I hope he took a hot chocolate in his haul, too.
 
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SifuPhil said:
I just have the feeling that there's going to be a visit from the local anti-discrimination groups - it's happened before, for lesser "transgressions". Hazleton in particular has to step lightly, because they've had a lot of lawsuits over discrimination of all sorts.There's a big part of the problem - somebody is always whining they've been slighted so they get a lawyer, whether they're in the right or not. Generally they just need smacked alongside the head.

I'm not saying they were always in the right, but when it comes to security I don't see any reason why it couldn't be included in the shirts/shoes clause ... one perp, just before he robbed the store, when asked to remove his hood said "I can't - I'm cold".

Poor little kid. My heart goes out to him. I hope he took a hot chocolate in his haul, too.Poor whittle kid - me too- lollollol
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I've heard of Hazleton, but originally being from Mercer County on the OH/PA border I'm not that familiar with the inner workings of Luzerne County.

I can say that, to-date, the Good Ole Boy County I now live in is not that bad yet. I could tell you current day "1950's-style" stories that might not drop your jaw but would raise your eyebrows - lol lol lol
 
If they are not discriminating based on who is under the hood then they have every right. Too much of modern "political correctness" just aids criminal activity anyway. Have you noticed that most newspapers and local TV do not describe perpetrators of crimes musch anymore? They do not want to appear to be saying that one group is more likely to commit crimes and get sued by said anti-discrimination group(s).

It is sad when most folks bring up their kids to be honest and law abiding citizens but the minority who raise hoodlums complain the most about their kid being accused.
 
Banks,servos' and some smaller family shops have that rule and I agree with it, most service stations round here now employ a security guard at night too
as incidences of robbing and thuggery are rising lately and believe it or not some of the 'criminals' are 13/15 yrs old, where're the parents?
 
My library has a sign that says 'please remove hoods and hats' which I take it to be a safety issue. Not having grown up in the USA, I don't associate the clothing - 'hooded fleece jackets' with any particular type of people. I have a hooded fleece jacket and wear it quite frequently. I don't wear the hood very often, and don't pull it over my face so far that people can't see my face.

So, one way to be able to identify people, for the sake of safety, is to make sure that no one enters a public building who covers or hides their face.

If my local library can put up such a sign, I suppose small businesses can as well.
 
I used to work in a warehouse that was broken into, and the thief broke into the vending machines and stole the money there. They had security cameras, but all they could see was someone with a hooded sweatshirt, the face could not be seen...don't think they were ever caught.
 
A local bank, Bank of the West, an international bank owned a French corp I believe, has been robbed many times here. (We're between Stockton and Modesto, CA, a crime capital of some sort, often making worst crime and/or worst place to live lists.)

They have a sign on the front door asking all who enter to remove hoodie, sunglasses, and baseball caps. And there are cameras at every teller window and more.

And who can blame 'em?!
 
I am pretty sure that I have read that some places require people to remove any kind of a hat, because some robbers have hidden a weapon under the hat, and then used it to rob the store. I think that having to remove a hat or a hoodie makes really good sense, and when you think about the fact that , often, innocent bystanders are injured, kidnapped, or even killed, in these robberies, if I were shopping in a store, I would want them to have hats/hoodies removed, for my own safety. If I am wearing a hoodie, I have no problem taking it off when I enter the store, because, I certainly do not want to even resemble a robber, so I am all for this.
I do not see how it can be called discrimination, as long as it applies to everyone, and if it prevents crimes, then it is a great idea. Even if it does not deter a crime, then it will at least make it easier to identify the thief.
 
I think a lot of it depends upon WHERE the store is located; right now the most concern is in the inner-city areas, the 'hoods, so to speak, where most of the population dresses that way.

I think it would be less of a problem if you were somewhere where most people dressed in, say, blue jeans and flannel shirts or business attire.

Had a guy come into the convenience store I use just the other day with his hood up and dark glasses on - of course the temps are in the 60's and 70's now, so no reason for that hood to be up. I slipped behind him as he got to the counter, wearing my OWN dark glasses, and just PRAYED he'd do something.

He finally looked over his shoulder, saw me perched there, and just threw his stuff on the counter and left.

Did I avert a robbery in the making? I don't know, but the store owners thanked me profusely for being there.
 
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We just had a bank robbery by two women with their entire faces covered save their eyes. Just the covering of a face should be enough to stop entry into at least a bank.
 
SifuPhil said:
Had a guy come into the convenience store I use just the other day with his hood up and dark glasses on - of course the temps are in the 60's and 70's now, so no reason for that hood to be up. I slipped behind him as he got to the counter, wearing my OWN dark glasses, and just PRAYED he'd do something.

He finally looked over his shoulder, saw me perched there, and just threw his stuff on the counter and left.

Did I avert a robbery in the making? I don't know, but the store owners thanked me profusely for being there.
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You da Man Sifu!! :coolthumb:
 
Thanks, folks, but it was simply a case of intimidation. But hey - if I can help just by doing THE GLARE (learned from a hundred girlfriends) instead of getting physical, all the better.

And yeah, That Guy, go ahead - call me out for my pacifism. :playful: See, Taoists prefer peaceful solutions, but they also know that war is inevitable and never shy away from it.

... or something like that ... I'm tired ... :eek:
 
Lyn said:
We just had a bank robbery by two women with their entire faces covered save their eyes. Just the covering of a face should be enough to stop entry into at least a bank.
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We had two young women rob a local bank not too long ago just wearing sunglasses and smiling and laughing as if it were just a big joke. Obviously, the were caught shortly thereafter.
 
Lyn said:
We just had a bank robbery by two women with their entire faces covered save their eyes. Just the covering of a face should be enough to stop entry into at least a bank.
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I read something about that happening somewhere, Lyn, but they can't make Muslim women uncover their faces; that would be discrimination. How could they get around that, I wonder.
 
Just read that mail carriers are refusing to deliver mail in parts of Brooklyn, as some of the buildings are so crime infested they are afraid for their lives. Yet, although the residents are the ones creating the situation, they're complaining because they have to hook it on down to the P.O. to get their mail.

Don'tcha just feel for those thugs and dealers that are being inconvenienced:(

"..neither rain nor snow nor heat of day nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their annointed tasks".......but fear hoodlums, dealers and gangstas..now that's another story
 
Ozarkgal said:
Just read that mail carriers are refusing to deliver mail in parts of Brooklyn, as some of the buildings are so crime infested they are afraid for their lives. Yet, although the residents are the ones creating the situation, they're complaining because they have to hook it on down to the P.O. to get their mail.

Don'tcha just feel for those thugs and dealers that are being inconvenienced:(

"..neither rain nor snow nor heat of day nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their annointed tasks".......but fear hoodlums, dealers and gangstas..now that's another story
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For a while - I think it might have been in the '70's - even the fire department was refusing to respond to calls in certain areas of the South Bronx, because the locals were throwing garbage cans and cinder blocks down on them from the rooftops.

The cops had to end up riding shotgun on every call.

Me? I would have let the whole place burn down and just put up a big FIRE SALE!!! sign ...
 

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