I had lived in country for several years, grew up in South America, spoke Spanish like a native, and felt as comfortable as one can in a big city in a third-world nation. Like most people, I had my daily routines and tended to slip in into “condition white” if I wasn’t paying attention. On this particular day, I felt and did not disregard, the alert signals that come from something that isn’t quite right.

I was walking into a park on a Saturday morning with the plan of enjoying a cigar and reading a book in the sun. I’m sure I looked like a typical American, with my wrap-around shades, jeans, and “fanny pack” when another pedestrian asked me for directions to a nearby mall. I told him how to get there and moved along the path to a bench. The conversation struck me as strange, however, since nobody would normally engage a stranger in conversation in this town, much less ask a foreigner for directions. Without even being aware of it, I moved my awareness to the next level.

As I entered the park, two men walked towards me. One wore a suit and another stood at a distance, but I could tell he was with with him even though he was dressed casually and tried to seem uninterested. The man in the suit commented on my cigar, asked where it was from (the Domican Republic), and tried to find out if I was from the Dom Rep. My immediate reaction was one of danger and I believed these two people were planning to mug me (Was this paranoia? More on this later). I moved my hand to my waist pack and told the man in no uncertain terms that I was American but that I lived in the country, taking an agressive stance. His only comment was that I was obviously at home. He then turned and walked away.

I kept my eye on him (and his partner) as they walked out of the park and passed by the man who had asked for directions. They all continued along the road away from the park and towards a nearby tourist area.

Nothing had happened and many would say that I was unjustified in sending a physical signal that I was perhaps about to draw a gun.

A few weeks later a friend of mine was approached by the same people (based on descriptions) who told him that they were with the local police and tried to convince him to come with them. He ened up striking the man in the suit and running away but grabbed the fake police badge they had shown in him during the incident. The difference in this case was that my friend did not speak good Spanish and appeared to be an easy target since he was older and overweight. What they did not know is that he was a former Marine and also a long-time resident.

After reading “The Gift of Fear” I could see many of the pre-incident threat indicators were present in my situation and that my reaction was justified both by my sense that something was wrong and by the later incident with my friend. Would they have mugged me or just tried to con me out of money? Who knows? But the whole thing makes clear to me the difference between paranoia and unjustified fear versus an awareness of people who are in your personal space and things that aren’t quite right.