Safety at strip clubs

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motorhead
Fat, drunk and stupid is no way to go through life
Is anyone beginning to feel less safe at strip clubs? I went to a new club Saturday night and within minutes a fight broke out (too close to my table for comfort.) Supposedly there was a big brawl a few weeks ago at the Flight Club in Detroit and there has been a few well-publicized shootings at strip clubs in recent weeks. I have been going to strip clubs for a lot of years without incident...so is it getting worse?

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avatar for casualguy
casualguy
18 years ago
If a club looks ghetto, red neck, or real rough and tumble, I'll avoid it as well. I don't want to visit a club where the highlight of the visit is the bar fight that always happens or the shootout. I'm most attracted to white blonde girls and the farther a girl is from that look, the less attractive she looks to me. There are certain physical features that look good on any female but I can't change my gene programming of what I'm attracted to. If I think a club doesn't have what I like, I won't visit.
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DougS
18 years ago
Varmint: Three shot in the club? Geesh, I would really hate to be shot in MY "club". Sorry to make light of the story, just couldn't resist what first popped into my mind when reading that account.

IGU: I would definitely drive past one of those clubs, too.. With MY "whaling" tendancies, I would most definitely be likely to stir up some unwanted trouble. Heck, even in other clubs, I DO worry that I'm going to piss off some guy that's waiting for the dancer that I've been with for HOURS. Currently, the only club that I'm going to go to - IF I even go to a club anymore, is very safe, though. There's security in the well lit parking lots, so I don't worry. But, come to think of it, there's nothing to stop some doofus from following me to an area that's not so safe in order to take out their frustrations on me. Hmmm...
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shadowcat
18 years ago
Yes, it is me,shadowcat, Saying what others don't have the guts for. What is the worste that can happen. I get bannned?

Clubs labeled as black On TUSCL. Talk about racism! I drive by a labeled black club. It looks Ghetto. I ain't going in. Not because I don't like black chicks (I do) but because I fear their male counter parts. White dude with money stealing thier babes. Potential trouble...
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Varmit 363
18 years ago
more trouble , sinbads in columbus ,ohio last night
3 shot in the club and 1 stabbed , even if this is off a main drag
the area can some times be good or bad several other bars around it , just a block from the club last night , 1 lkilled and the shotter then turned the gun on theirself , with 3 little kids in the house watching the whole thing , so maybe it is not in the best neighborhood anymore, rachels is couple hundred yards form this palce and they have had trouble with local las over the last year even , so the city may be getting reay to hit them hard , over the last several months in columbus there has been a lot of gun fire at them here in town , with murders and injurys from the same...with the town really pushing the new rules ,,it could get even tougher in columbus for strip clubs ,
avatar for casualguy
casualguy
18 years ago
I first started visiting strip clubs in an area with a lot of military personnel. Considering some other guy may be trained in hand to hand and know 100's of ways to kill someone with their bare hands, that was just another reason to avoid any bad situations and pay attention to your surroundings.
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casualguy
18 years ago
I always have safety in mind. Probably why I just don't visit areas that look real shady or suspicious looking to me. Of course if I happen to look like everyone else, I might not care too much. If someone were to pull a gun on me, I would just give them my money and hope the police give them what they deserve. If someone doesn't have a weapon and starts threatening me, I can do the same or worse. I'll try to avoid situations and avoid all fights. I still remember many years ago as a little kid, about 8 other kids same age as me ganged up on me and I accidently caused 3 or 4 to go to the hospital with broken teeth or bones without even realizing I hit them that hard. The rest managed to escape ok. I used to hit pretty hard. We weren't using any weapons back then except our fists and they tried to use their legs as well. That's probably how they got hurt because I knocked a few kids down out of mid air kicks. I've avoided any fights since then. It was many years ago. They got me angry after one of them kicked me. I turned into some kind of tasmanian devil after that and I don't want to ever go there again. I'm normally just a quiet guy so no one would ever expect that I guess.
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parodyman-->
18 years ago
I am a little disturbed to see that no one has posted about safety being your own personal responsibility. When you are in an unfamiliar area you need to be a little more alert and make your self less of an easy target. This is not too much of a big deal for me because most people before they get to know me think I look like I might just enjoy fucking some asshole up. Even though I never fight unless I have to I have become skilled at backing others down.

Be responsible for yourselves. Do whatever is necessary to be safe.
avatar for shadowcat
shadowcat
18 years ago
Another reason to like my favorite club. They have 2 parking lots. Both well lited at night. They have a night guy to watch over things. He escorts dancers to/from their cars. He is not there to garner tips. I appreciate hearing "Have a nice night, Sir", when leaving the club.
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casualguy
18 years ago
hmmm, too many crazies out there, I wonder if that's why everyone stays away from me. Just joking. I don't live in a large city and haven't noticed any difference between day and night except more people are out at night visiting clubs and bars. I did have a guy in the 82nd airborne call me crazy one night which I thought was strange but then he added that he was too as if that made everything ok. I didn't feel threatened. The level of photons reflecting off of surfaces doesn't change the time I feel like visiting a club. You still have uncaught murderers, thieves and other cutthroats still roaming the streets any time they feel like it. They just don't tell you who they are. I usually avoid strangers as well.
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Yoda
18 years ago
I've only seen one out-out brawl in all my years of clubbing. I spent years working in regular bars and saw fights all the time. I was in a Boston area club a few years ago the night before a guy got blown away. That was as close as I ever want to come...

I'm with you FONDL. I rarely venture out at night in a strange city. Last year in Philly I took a walk looking for a club. I found the club but when I left to walk back to my hotel it was after dark and I was quite nervous all the way back. I would have hailed a cab but there didn't seem to be any where I was....
avatar for FONDL
FONDL
18 years ago
Casualguy, when I'm in an unfamiliar city, I never go out after dark alone and haven't in years. I had too many close calls when younger, it's not worth it. Unless I'm in familiar surroundings, if I can't go clubbing during the day I don't go at all. There are too many crazies out there.
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casualguy
18 years ago
FONDL, if you wait long enough, it will be light outside. Just joking. I don't want to get in a habit of going to sleep when the sun comes up.
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FONDL
18 years ago
I agree with AN - when you go has a lot to do with it too. I always have tried to avoid crowded times and late at night when the drunk kids arrive, and I don't think I've ever been in a club on a Saturday night. Safety is one of the reasons I prefer days - I want it to still be light out when I leave.
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AbbieNormal
18 years ago
I've seen too many fights at my regular clubs at night and weekends to enjoy those times. I've only been confronted a few times, usually by a poor soul so drunk he wasn't really a threat. Luckily, despite my gut and generally nonviolent nature I'm rather broad shouldered and imposing looking, so I usually don't get hassled. It's the skinny weak looking guys that get picked on. Percieved weakness is provocative in a Hobbsian world. Just the same I avoid crowded clubs nights and weekends.
avatar for casualguy
casualguy
18 years ago
I remember a dancer once asked me an odd question if I ever was concerned about a bunch of girls trying to rape me or gang up on me to get their sexual way, then she quickly answered her own question by saying I would probably enjoy it. A bunch of girls trying to have sex with me has not been a major problem. I do remember some girls from a Korean club that spotted me (trying to visit a strip club) and they ran across the street and forced me into their club so they could play with me. Yep, crime is bad when your biggest worry is a bunch of girls want to play with Mr Happy. Obviously if the public heard about such incidences (this was many years ago), they would send police out to investigate these hideous crimes. I believe the crime rate is a lot lower now. I don't remember gangs of girls grabbing me in the last few years.
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chitownlawyer
18 years ago
I have felt in more danger in "straight" clubs than in strip clubs. In fact, there was probably more danger at the house parties we used to go to in college than there are in strip clubs.
avatar for FONDL
FONDL
18 years ago
I haven't noticed any change over the years. The nicer clubs have always been pretty safe. The seedier clubs have always been, well, pretty seedy. Your safety depends on where you go and how you behave. Another good reason not to drink a lot in strip clubs.
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lopaw
18 years ago
Yup...Bones got it right. I'll take my chances with a punk street thug anyday, rather than with an irate SO wielding a rolling pin (or worse) as I stagger in the door late one night, reeking of perfume & cheap liquor!!
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Clubber
18 years ago
I will agree with Bones. Not getting "caught" by either the SO or LE is my idea of safety .
avatar for shadowcat
shadowcat
18 years ago
The most serious threat I have expierenced is not bringing condoms. I'm still worried about that incident 3 months ago.
avatar for casualguy
casualguy
18 years ago
I haven't noticed any increase in crime but I have noticed a stronger presence from the police on occasion. There seem to be extra cameras on the highways and I heard extra cameras in some clubs. I'm not at all worried about my personal safety since I feel safe where I visit. However I would like it if parking lots were watched more closely to keep out any unwanted people. I think the lots are watched as well. I feel like I'm in a police state but there is still a chance you can feel more threatened by the police than by any criminal. Last night I read they had the standard road block check points. The other night I saw lots of blue lights at almost every intersection. I even saw some police in the strip club just for a minute apparently checking up on things. I didn't even drink anything last weekend for fear of police harassment. I somehow missed all the checkpoints though the other night.
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robofan
18 years ago
I like most people on this board treat going to a strip club as an experience rather then an event. However recently I think that the general population has tended to look upon a strip club visit as an event. As we all know the trend at events has been a loss of civility to the point where it almost no longer exists. Have any of you been to a football game lately where most of the fans have spent the last five hours in the parking lot tailgating? Not a place to take the family anymore.

So now I look at strip clubs in terms of event times and experience times. Event times would be feature acts, the Christmas party, the Halloween party, the day before Thanksgiving, Friday and Saturday nights (due mostly to bachelor parties), Super bowl Sunday, any other advertised special occasion, or the last hour before closing. The day shifts and Sunday thru Thursday nights minus the last hour before closing I categorize as the experience times. I find the make up of the event crowd to be completely different from the experience crowd.

That being said I think that strip clubs during the experience times are as safe and fun as ever. During the event times they have become as uncivilized as all events have become lately.

You stated that the fight you witnessed was on a Saturday night. The fight at the Flight Club was a Friday night, the day of their Christmas party and the hour before closing. This is why I no longer attend strip clubs during events.
avatar for Clubber
Clubber
18 years ago
In my 35+ years, I've really never had a problem. other then "losing" a bunch of cash.
avatar for Book Guy
Book Guy
18 years ago
Strip clubs are more mainstream, in many cities, than ever before; therefore, more "typical" activities will happen there, than ever before, including the BS that comes with low-class clientele, with college-aged kids who haven't yet learned how to behave in public, with the "average" type of drug dealing. The old style "gentleman's club" is mostly now a bygone thing.

But in some cities, strip clubs have always been low-class, the dive type of alternative to an otherwise overly clean and white-bread experience. There, the crime rates at strip clubs may actually be declining, at least relative to the general populace and experience.

So, I think it depends on what the change is changing FROM.
avatar for chandler
chandler
18 years ago
Regular bars have always been worse than strip clubs. Strip club patrons have tended to be more docile and well behaved . Now, with customers treating strip clubs more like regular bars, with younger patrons and more women just there to hang out and get rowdy, fights and shootings shouldn't be a surprise.

When I hear about shit like this, my top concern isn't my own safety. I'm concerned that LE is going to use it as an excuse crack down on all kinds of activity, or that bouncers will increase their patrols throughout the clubs. I saw it happen last year after a shooting at another club across town, and I've been anxious about the Flight Club since that fight.
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