Clubbing safety

Have never felt insecure or fearful in any club and my clubbing experiences include clubs in Thailand, Germany, Italy, Spain and Turkey. Part of it may be an imposing figure but I prefer to believe its more about self confidence and personal awareness.

Golly, all that extra effort. You'd think you were an advocate of gun control, what with all the certificates you're willing to acquire! :)

Progressive foreward thinking Illinois is the ONLY state in the union that does not have some provision for concealed carry.

Being a little more pragmatic than some of my fellow Land of Lincolners, I am in the process of applying for Utah's CCW permit. Utah will issue to non-residents and it is accepte by 28 other states currently. After that I will apply to Florida and then I should be covered for all the states that I generally travel to. Too bad here at home I will still be forced to go without.

parodyman and Bones7599 both mention Concealed Carry. I, too, also have a CWP (Concealed Weapons Permit), but I leaver it in the truck. As to Bones7599 statement about bring it into an alcohol serving establishment, in Florida the law reads, "any portion of an establishment licensed to dispense alcoholic beverages for consumption on the premises, which portion of the establishment is primarily devoted to such purpose". I was told this means if you go into, say a bar/resturant, sit at a table and not the bar, and you are legal. Do I test this, usually. Most all bars, I visit, well I also eat there, so who knows. Never taken it out, but in the end, I'd rather be arrested for having it there, then end up dead when I didn't.

Was he Stevie-Wondered or Christopher-Reeved? Inquiring minds want to know ... :)

Safety becomes very easy when you break it down o two parts.

1. Awareness

2. Concealed Carry

I usually try to pay attention to my surroundings and won't go to a club I don't feel safe at or parking my car at. Perhaps my danger level doesn't feel as high as some other people. I remember one night in a strip club one of the guys from the 82nd airborne stopped me on the way to the restroom and said "you're crazy man." I'm not sure why he said that and I looked puzzled apparently. But then he kind of reassured me by saying "that's ok, I am too." I don't recall being afraid of anyone at that time. Strip clubs had security and lots of soldiers were constantly going in and out of those strip clubs. I'm more concerned about my car safety now though. I try parking in well lit areas. I also installed a secret anti-theft explosive device in my car. Should leave a good size smoking crater. Lol, just kidding.

I don't go to slubs where I don't feel safe, I usually only go clubbing during daylight hours, and I don't usually have much cash with me (especially on my way out) so safety isn't much of a concern for me. I'm probably safer leaving my clubs than I am in the mall parking garage. The last club that I frequented regularly it's parking lot with a ribs place and there were always police cars and cops there.

I've carried larger wads of cash, too, and generally I don't give it a second thought either. But then there comes the time that a bunch of college kids think it's "cool" to snitch your only-half-empty bottle of liquor from your table while you're leaning the other way and you instantly wonder, "hey, I can get the bottle back but can I get away from them in the parking lot?"

In fact, my worst experience has been in a parking lot. Well, my CAR's worst experience. Had the windows busted out for no reason. Funny thing is, this stuff happens MORE often at the supposed "upscale" clubs because that's where you have to tip for safety. At a genuine redneck bar, there's nearly always some bloke hanging out in the lot just smoking some weed or something ...

It seems like jealousies, liquor and hot women all add up to a lot of potential problems in clubs, but so far, I've never witnessed any, and because of that, even though sometimes I feel a little uncomfortable, especially when I've taken one of the top girls out of circulation.

Another aspect is, though I can't speak for most guys, I usually am carrying a big wad (err.. poor choice of words) of cash, which could be making myself a mark for someone that might notice. Recently, I've taken to splitting up my money and leaving half - or more - of it in my vehicle. Actually, the last few times, I've only taken in money for liquor. Since I'm at a good comfort level with my girl, and since I've been closing the place, when it's time to check out, I just tell her to go change and I'll retrieve her money. This has worked well. Better still, I've walked her to her vehicle and settled the tab there.

Just wanted to put in a plug here for Brad's Brass Flamingo where I've spent a couple of hours this week. Even though it's located in a "borderline" questionable neighborhood, I feel completely safe in and out of the club.

The parking area is well lit. I've seen a security guy patroling the lot with a flashlight, which I thought was a nice touch. There's also a uniformed guard inside a lot of the time, as well.

I alway have mace(Pepper Spray) with me just in case, when I leave a club. Some guy could be piss off you were with his girl.

What's a big wad of cash if you only need it to pay for liquor? I have carried as much as $550 into the club and never given it a second thought. Things in Vegas seem largely different than the rest of the country.

Once, in Mexico, I wouldn't say I was scared, but somewhat uncofortable. Nothing happened, but I was sure glad to get back to the good ol' US of A!

I sometimes wonder if the dancers are a bit fearful of clubs where they let people bring in camera phones. Of course the video on those are somewhat lousy.