

A Postmodern Crime at TED2009 - mojombo
http://duncandavidson.com/2009/02/a-postmodern-crime-at-ted2009.html

======
froo
Perhaps this was the same crazy guy who spat on Michael Arrington recently.

I think we have a rogue entrepreneur running around, driven mad by trying to
get his product off the ground.

~~~
pxlpshr
The desperation of some entrepreneurs is actually quite scary (especially
now), and when it's mixed with transparent access to the gatekeepers and power
players — it seems only a matter of time before an wantra/entrepreneur takes
rejection and/or failure out on someone else.

~~~
jonas_b
Wow, sounds like a scary horror movie.

"Is your family protected? Maybe someone close to you is an entrepreneur ready
to burst. Concerned parents should avoid letting kids play in the vicinity of
start-ups and other gang related entrepreneurial areas, such as Santa Clara"

~~~
pxlpshr
How many delusional entrepreneurs have you met? How many have you met that
have poured their life savings and dreams into an idea? I've met a quite a few
in the few years I've been doing this, and sometimes the stress will make a
person break. Entrepreneurs with big exists have been glamorized in the media
like rock stars, and therefore startups (and the dream) have become
popularized. Maybe John Lennon can write the soundtrack to the entrepreneurs
worse nightmare.

While I wish I could agree with your mockery about this, I think you're
undermining very real threats that sadly exists in this day and age. It's even
scarier when you consider location-aware, real-time social services... It
won't surprise me if you see more of this behavior as the economic squeeze
unfolds.

Not trying to sound like a CNN report, just saying there are valid reasons for
concern and caution.

~~~
jonas_b
Sorry man, it wasn't my intention to ridicule a valid concern about people who
get stressed out beyond imagination.

I think there is reason for entrepreneurial people to be more open about the
negative effects of the emotional roller coaster that starting a business is.

------
pj
Crime is an inevitable result of division and exclusivity through monetary
means.

In this case, TED is keeping knowledge exclusive. It's a shame really. Why
don't they just live broadcast the presentations to the world?

With all their presenations and lectures on benevolence and making the world a
better place, why don't they share the content with the world immediately? How
much better would the world be if they had access to the information at TED?
There's a lot of good stuff there, why hoard it all for the intellectual and
wealthy elites who are invited and can afford it?

~~~
jonknee
No one would go if it was all freely broadcast. If no one went it wouldn't be
an event. If it wasn't an event there would be nothing to freely broadcast.

Their putting hundreds of lectures up for free online is already a great deal,
I don't see a need to complain.

------
acangiano
Duncan had to make a quick decision and I'm glad to learn that is doing fine
now. However, I can't help but think that giving up the badge may have led to
the attacker's arrest, if he ever attempted to enter TED with it. I think I
would have given up my badge for that reason alone.

~~~
zspade
But you see that is the very thing Duncan thought of in retrospect. It's easy
for any of us to say we would have done this or that, but until you are
actually placed in a like situation you have no idea what you would actually
do.

As always, hindsight is 20/20.

~~~
acangiano
Absolutely. He did the right thing at the moment.

~~~
mechanical_fish
Well, he did _a_ right thing at the moment. His instinctive decision was
completely understandable, and fortunately he read the situation correctly:
The guy was obviously nuts, but not murderously nuts.

It could, however, have been different. The guy could have killed him. Crazy
people should not be underestimated. Or the guy could have kneecapped him or
dislocated his shoulder, sent him into PT or even surgery. Even losing a tooth
wouldn't be worthwhile over a TED badge, for all the reasons which Davidson
now understands in retrospect.

And there _is_ something you can do about these things: instincts can be
_trained_. You can _rehearse_ situations, mentally or (better yet) physically,
with actors standing in for muggers. And you can helpfully tell others so that
they can rehearse and prepare, as Davidson has done. Thanks to him, I have a
whole new retinue of tips I might follow:

Don't wear my conference badge outside the conference.

Don't store stuff that I can't afford to lose with my conference badge if that
badge cost me thousands of dollars.

Travel in groups when possible, stay in the light, move quickly when
approached, yadda yadda yadda. Pack as light as possible. Don't wear shoes
that prevent me from running at a decent speed.

Get around to this project: Pack up a decoy wallet to carry around in the
city, containing $20, some kind of old expired ID, and a bunch of expired
credit cards. When mugged, drop that wallet and run. If that doesn't work,
hand over the real wallet and run.

Don't carry _anything_ that you're not willing to hand over in a mugging.
Which is to say: Program yourself to understand that it's not worth fighting
over your _things_. You may have to struggle (or not -- you kind of have to
play it by ear) to avoid being raped or kidnapped or shot or stabbed, but when
someone demands a _thing_ the proper default response is to drop it and run.
Credit cards can be replaced. Cash can be replaced, even $1000 worth of cash.
Expensive cameras can be replaced. Even passports can be replaced. Your body
cannot be replaced. And street fighting is not as easy as it looks in the
movies.

~~~
Hexstream
A life of fear is not worth being lived. I don't think all this overhead of
"preparing" for those unlikely scenarios is worth it, especially since being
in the situation it's likely you'll forget all your "preparation" and you'll
screw up anyway.

~~~
mechanical_fish
Also a very good point. I don't live a life of fear. I just gaily lose
possessions from time to time.

On my second trip to Europe I had my $400 digicam pickpocketed in a touristy
Paris metro station [1]. That made me sad, so I decided to stop carrying
around $400 digicams in touristy places. On my third trip to Europe I carried
a $10 disposable film camera in a day bag that I had gotten for free as a
donation gift. The bag was stolen (from _behind the desk at a museum_ , where
I had checked it) on the _second day_ of my trip. And I laughed a lot (the
most difficult part of the whole thing was convincing the despondent museum
staff that I wasn't badly hurt by the loss and didn't want to accept a cash
settlement from an obscure but interesting museum) and I had a lot of fun
shopping for a new disposable camera and a nice new cheap bag which I use to
this day.

\---

[1] Montmartre. Home of some fine pickpocket talent -- back then, at any rate.

------
diN0bot
a friend of mine goes to conferences for free using all sorts of trickery. he
finds out the name of guests at hotels by lying to the front desk, he get
conference badges and alters them with his name and picture. he sleeps in
bathroom stalls and lobby sofas and the like. i don't think he'd every hurt
someone---more of the civil disobedience type. it's amazing what he can do in
a "wow i'm free" kind of way.

~~~
bprater
Karma is a bitch, I hope he realizes this.

~~~
diN0bot
wait, are you implying that what he did was wrong? karma-ically i thought he
was doing good. spreading knowledge. equal opportunity.

the thief in the submission who threatened violence: now that's a bit much.

------
CalmQuiet
James Duncan Davis' description of assault at TED2009 is harrowing, because it
could have ended _much_ worse and because it wasn't associated with a
particularly risky behavior on his part. One single person rabid enough about
getting into TED that he would manhandle and persist in trying to get Davis'
TED badge despite vigorous struggle and loud screaming... also makes you aware
Davis was at much greater risk if it had been _two_ assailants or a knife/gun
weilding one.

Really a shame that common strategies such as walking in groups after dark
(always urged at LA conferences I've been to) are important in Long Beach and
at "A place where great thinkers and optimists gather." Sure glad his person,
wallet & photog gear as well as his TED badge ended up safe. _Not_ pleased
that the crazed attacker was not apprehended and may _not_ have learned a
lesson from his unsuccessful attack.

~~~
silencio
>Really a shame that common strategies... are important in Long Beach

Long Beach is only a short half-hour drive from downtown LA, and I can't
imagine that advice is any different anywhere else. Of course, I'm overly
sensitive to this because I'm female and young and everyone around me has
hammered in that whole rape scenario before...but that is good advice no
matter what.

> ...and at "A place where great thinkers and optimists gather."

Well, you'd never encounter these assaults at most conferences...too many
people in too tight of a space. But I can see someone mugging for a TED badge
for the access it could provide. Or any other conference, outside of wherever
the conference is located.

Let me just finish off with the idea that people should be taking off badges
as they exit a conference as well, even if it's only for a short lunch or
something. Sometimes I get lazy or convinced I'm going to lose it, but I've
come across the realization that lots of people around me treat me
differently, or could find out more information about me than I care to let
know if I leave the badge on, even partially hidden under a jacket.

------
wallflower
Somewhat related. Remember reading about a semi-famous blogger being
approached at a soccer game or such and being asked 'how their kids' illnesses
were'. She didn't know him. She stopped blogging and/or put up a walled
garden.

------
jyothi
Seems like a new nature of crime which is rising. Last was the attack on
Michael Arlington.

In this case as speculated it could be for access from a very _normal_ guy,
not terrorists not criminals. Is it a indication of losing patience, values
and rise of intense rage and i-dont-care attitude among general public?

~~~
acangiano
Success is earned, no one is entitled to it. The difference between a "normal"
person and a criminal is all in his actions. Maybe the attacker wasn't a
habitual criminal but now he is a criminal nevertheless. Those who are willing
to work hard and wait for success may have a chance at it. The few who opt for
illegal shortcuts are criminals, even when they don't look like ones.

------
tlrobinson
_"There were questions in my head as well. Questions like why didn’t he want
my wallet? Or the camera gear on my back? Who the hell tries to mug somebody
for a badge to a conference?"_

Not just any conference, a $6,000 conference...

------
radu_floricica
The worrying thing is that most people at the conference are at an email away.
Or is it worrying? Somehow I feel better knowing it.

------
drinian
_All I know is that he didn’t want money. He wanted access. Cash isn’t always
the most important currency._

------
edw519
I sure hate to "blame the victim", but unfortunately, what happened to him can
happen to anyone, anytime, anywhere. Each of us must take personal
responsibility to keep our wits about us and take the proper steps to protect
ourselves _before_ anything happens. By the time OP was accosted, it was too
late; he had already made his mistakes.

A TED badge might as well be a bullseye. Just like an expensive bag,
electronics, flashy jewelry, or a bulge in a back pocket. Walking alone in a
secluded area is never a good idea.

People in urban areas have always known this. Looks like the rest of us have
to now. Glad to hear OP is OK. It could have been a lot worse.

~~~
gravitycop
_what happened to him can happen to anyone, anytime, anywhere._

Violent confrontation is more likely to occur in a fringe area:
<http://www.nononsenseselfdefense.com/fringe.html>

_Fringe areas are places "in between." And it is here that criminals usually
operate. This is where you are most likely to be attacked, mugged or raped.

It isn't until you begin to consciously look for them that you begin to see
how many you pass through each day. A fringe area is not inherently dangerous,
which is why we don't normally notice them. There is no reason to fear them;
it is what lurks there that you need to fear.

Fringe areas are usually places that you pass through on you way to and from
the crowd. In the middle of the crowd, there are too many people for the
criminal to operate safely. Too far from it, there is nobody for him to
attack. At the fringes, there are enough people going through that the
criminal can find victims, but not enough to effectively hinder him.

The main thing to remember is any fringe area is transitional. It is a place
that we pass through on our way to something else_

Davidson had positioned himself for violent victimization by walking alone in
such a fringe area.

 _I was walking back to my hotel, the Hilton, down Ocean Boulevard. It's a 3/4
mile walk. Not a big deal, even with a backpack full of camera gear on my
back. It wasn’t pleasant on feet that were sore from the day, but not bad.
Mostly, I thought of if as a good way to unwind after a very full day.

As I walked under the trees by the civic center, I was grabbed from behind._

Events, such as conferences, provide easy access to victims:
<http://www.nononsenseselfdefense.com/fringe.html#muggers>

_Leaving an event/location

Any place that attracts large numbers of people is usually safe. Leaving such
a place, however, is often dangerous . It is not uncommon for criminals to
position themselves along the walkways to and from such areas. It doesn't take
a rocket scientist to figure out that people leaving an establishment will
usually head towards the closest parking lot.

It is a simple feat to position oneself along that route in a way where you
can successfully mug someone._

------
time_management
_All I know is that he didn’t want money. He wanted access._

Which is why I would tend to sympathize with this crime if it weren't for the
dangerous and unpredictable nature of such stunts. The physical nature of the
attack makes it repulsive, but I would've cheered it on if it were a "let me
into TED or I out <X about you> to your family" type "crime", or infinitely
better yet, some sort of subversive and victimless hacking. Access to an event
like TED or Davos is worth playing an occasional red card, and a person with
such an opportunity is right to take it.

This is definitely a sign of a new era. Although the crude physical nature of
the attack is repulsive and damnable, I'm glad to see that a new and flatter
shape of society shall soon emerge, because the will is there.

~~~
Jebdm
So what you're saying is that you'd be okay with using blackmail to get into
TED?

~~~
time_management
Threat-of: sure. No harm done. The real criminals who make up 95% of society's
leadership ("power elite" if you choose to use incendiary language) do worse
on a daily basis. Gate-crashing is small potatoes.

The degree of corruption in modern society is so high that such a "crime"
would be a blip on the radar. Of course, if you got caught, you'd still be
strung up quite badly, since the upper crust want to keep "the likes of you"
out.

The reason it's a good thing to do something like this is that such a "crime"
changes the shape of society by force, but by nonviolent force.

Subversive methods such as hacking the guest list or bribing a gatekeeper are
a lot better, though. I don't think I could bring myself to blackmail someone,
even if I knew I wasn't going to follow through.

Actually following through and ruining the guy's life: No. Not acceptable.
Doesn't do any good for anyone.

