Meeting an Insane Person in the Street: How do you React?
By cuddleme01
@cuddleme01 (2725)
Philippines
January 31, 2007 6:30am CST
Honestly, the sight of insane persons in the street scares me. i try to really stay away from them. i even had an experience when i ran because the insane person was throwing stones. another experience was when another fool tried to grab me. am scared seing insane persons. i dont know what they will do to me. all am sure of is that whatever they do i cant file charges against them because they are insane, and their insanity absolves them from any criminal liability.
have you met insane people? how did you react?
12 people like this
65 responses
@destinycole (827)
•
31 Jan 07
According the mental health act, if they are a danger to themselves or the public you can have them sectioned and held by that act for up to 72 hours.
Insantiy is no excuse for inappropriate behaviour, they should have carers and responsible adults around them to prevent this behaviour.
If you do report them for throwing stones, or trying to grab you, that is reason enough to report them for assault.
I was going to tell you that they where harmless and it is fear of unpredictable behaviour but I see that you have a real problem here.
You may not be able to have them done for the crime, but you can have them sectioned for your saftey for their safety and the safety of others.
I once tried to help a blind man and the b******* kissed my on the lips and would have probably tried to assault me, I managed to get away and get onto the bus. I did not bother to report him but just because he was blind, did not give him the right to kiss me or assualt me by kissing me.
Act now, before you or someone else gets badly hurt.
@cuddleme01 (2725)
• Philippines
31 Jan 07
im sorry it happened to you. you are right insane people shouldnt be left in the streets. they can be really dangerous. but some family members dont bother about their insane family member walking in the streets. they dont care at all.
1 person likes this
@Katlady2 (9904)
• United States
31 Jan 07
I agree, you can call the police and they can take the person to a facility where they can hold them for evaluation for 48 hours or more. It is better to do that than to let them continue their unpredictable actions. I'm so sorry that happened to you.
@lvap0628 (731)
• Philippines
1 Feb 07
it's good that you have such an edict in your country. however, i come from the same country as cuddleme and this is quite a problem here. I think there is a certain apathy for people like them because we usually just steer clear of them. We think that as long as they're not hurting anyone, it's okay for them to just wander around the streets.
i don't see the gov't doing something for them either. they get taken out of the streets and into homes sometimes but after a while you see them out again.
@onabreak2 (1161)
• United States
2 Feb 07
Stay away from them and don't make eye contact.
1 person likes this
@cuddleme01 (2725)
• Philippines
2 Feb 07
thank onabreak. yes we shouldnt make eye contact with mentally ill people.
1 person likes this
@sbeauty (5865)
• United States
2 Feb 07
That would be frightening, but I'm guessing that most of these people are only wanting to make friends. Are they mentally or physically challenged, or are they actually insane? Does your country actually allow the insane to walk the streets. In the US if a person is a danger to himself or to others, they are put into a home where trained people care for them. I have never met an insane person and really don't want to. However, I have known and worked with a lot of challenged kids, and they are basically sweet, loving people who don't always know how to show their affection. It might be these people are just wanting friends. Even the person throwing stones may have been doing so because of abuse he has suffered and because he doesn't know appropriate ways to react.
1 person likes this
@Gwapako_28 (2140)
• Philippines
1 Feb 07
Wow!It scares me of course.I always try to run or walk fast when i see insane person in the street!
@cuddleme01 (2725)
• Philippines
2 Feb 07
hahaha. i do that too.. so you are bisaya gwapako..same here- bisdak too. heheeh
1 person likes this
@michelledarcy (5220)
•
31 Jan 07
I think the best way to respond is to just carry on as normal. Don't stare or run away as it may alert them to your presence. Obviously if they start to do anything threatening then it is best to shout for help.
1 person likes this
@raj_74 (48)
• India
1 Feb 07
well,i pair with u. i myself keep wondering wht to do . as we come across diffrent people who react in total different ways than we expect. i myself allways thought to keep ignoring them in the first instance, but it so happens that sometimes they bump into you. sometimes i have even take a back turn and choose the other way. it was probably to either avoid embarassment or probably to avoid any occurance at all. but on one instance i was totally caught unawares as the person came out of no where and started dancing around me, i just stood there in a bit of shock firstly, and later just stood my ground for a few minutes and he left.
@jencat70 (82)
• United States
2 Feb 07
there is a lady who lives on the street behind my house who must have tourettes syndrome or something because she sits out on her front porch and yells and screams constantly!! at first i thought she was yelling at someone in particular, but i can never see anyone else around but her. so, one night my boyfriend and i were sitting in the yard, enjoying a nice evening and she started on her rant, and i just started yelling crazy stuff back at her!! i have to say it was pretty hilarious!!
1 person likes this
@freesoul (3021)
• Egypt
1 Feb 07
I have met a few insane or weird people on the streets.. It doesn't scare me I just feel alarmed and if they are acting strange I would never turn my back on a close distance .. keeping a distance and being alarmed and ready to retaliate is the best thing to do .. I have a friend who was hit on the back with a brick by an insane person for no reason at all .. lucky nothing was broken..
@cuddleme01 (2725)
• Philippines
1 Feb 07
your friend was lucky! yes you are right. we should always be careful and keep an eye on insane or strange acting persons. retaliate, i dont think i can do. i might just run away and call the cops.
@manong05 (5027)
• Philippines
1 Feb 07
Most of the insane persons roaming the streets I see are not that violent. But if ever I meet someone like the one you mentioned in your post, I will just stay away and report it to the authorities or to any able bodied men around. I'm sure you will find someone who is willing to help in the event the person gets really violent.
1 person likes this
@crystal2005 (148)
• Singapore
1 Feb 07
I have ever met this kin of person who made me freak. I prefer run away, i didn't want to make the problem even worse. So, where do you live?? Is there many insane person in place where you live in??
@cuddleme01 (2725)
• Philippines
1 Feb 07
am from the Philippines. yes there are many insane or mentally ill persons in where i live. i usually see one almost everyweek walking in the streets with no slippers and in rugged clothes, eating just about anything they find or just laughing for no cause. the government is addresing this problem but it hard to keep track of every insane person especially in remote areas.
@crystal2005 (148)
• Singapore
1 Feb 07
Wow, even Government has gotten difficulty. I hope you would be more careful if you meet these kind of persons. I think they have some mentally problem like bothering people without any reason.
@belle0818 (81)
• Philippines
1 Feb 07
Honestly im really scared whenever i got the chance meeting insane person in the street. But i just act normally as if thinking they were just normal people.But i make sure i stay away from them as fast as i could.
@maryannemax (12156)
• Sweden
1 Feb 07
yep. i do that, too. i act as if i haven't seen them. and still, i stay away from them. sometimes, when you get to stare at them and they see you looking at them, some of them get mad at you and say something or do something bad. so better pretend that you haven't seen them at all.
@ShadowWalker (969)
• United States
31 Jan 07
Insane is a pretty harsh word to use. Just because a person is mentally ill does not mean they're insane. I have come upon street people who had mental illness issues but I wasn't afraid of them. I let them do what they doing and went about my business.
@maryannemax (12156)
• Sweden
1 Feb 07
just like you, i try to stay away from them. it's not because i feel them yucky. it's because i don't really know what's on their mind. i haven't been attacked by any of them yet. but still, i stay away from them. better to be safe, right?
@Lydia1901 (16351)
• United States
22 Feb 07
Well, that is just something. I never had a chance to meet one before. But if I ever do, I will just stay calm and see what happens.
@cuddleme01 (2725)
• Philippines
31 Jan 07
hehehe. now there is the two of us.. LOL
1 person likes this
@Marie2473 (8512)
• Sweden
1 Feb 07
I think that I have met my share of insane people and in my experinace if u run they will just take notice of you. It is better to just pass them, pretending that all is normal!
