Man, 84, fends off attackers
Two men attempted to carjack Ted Mazetier, 84, of Tacoma, Washington. So he beat the crap out of them. Very Gran Torino. From KOMO NEWS:
Mazetier was driving down South Proctor Street Wednesday night when he spotted a car on the curb and two guys standing nearby. He thought they needed help, so he stopped..."Don't you mess with grandpa, sonny" (Thanks, Carlo Longino!)
"When I opened the door, he started toward me and I kicked him in the balls," he said.
When the other man charged, Mazetier put his feet up and kicked him in the belly.
"He kind of bent a little and went down. And I went around the guy and I'm in the street, and I'm waving for cars to stop and, you know, help."
The two men fled, not having gotten whatever they were looking for.
the latest
latest episodes
I love that this guy took a shot to the kisser and went after the asshats. At 84. In the dark. booyah!
Yeah the BB blurb leaves out the part about the Mazetier taking one in the eye. As it reads now, it seems like Mazetier saw some people who needed help, stopped, and kicked them in the junk.
"That's what you get for not being self-reliant, you New Deal pansies."
Tacoma. 'Nuff said.
Sigh...but if you want to get depressed, expand the comments thread on the TV station's website:
First comment:
Reply to first comment:
Ah, yes....shame on the librul media for failing to fan race-baiting...but then again, the commentariat seems to have that covered.
That'll teach those two mormons dudes.
I agree with #2, I skimmed it and read this:
"Mazetier was driving down South Proctor Street Wednesday night when he spotted a car on the curb and two guys standing nearby. He thought they needed help, so he stopped and kicked them in the balls."
Figures this is just a few blocks from my house
Tsk tsk tsk, you're making assumptions. . . for all we know they were looking for a swift kick in the crotch: mission accomplished.
"When I opened the door, he started toward me and I kicked him in the balls," he said.
He started toward me? what exactly does that mean?I mean I'm sure the guys deserved it but it sounds like he assaulted them!
But as soon as he pulled over, the two men pounced.
"The guy comes over to my car, and unfortunately my window was open, because he cold-cocked me. I mean, just sucker-punched me. Just bam!" Mazetier said.
The punch left quite a shiner on Mazetier.
"It hurts. It hurts right now," he said.
But he wasn't about to take a beating sitting down.
You see, Mazetier is a World War II veteran who also happened to spend his entire career watching over criminals imprisoned in the U.S. penal system. In short, he can handle trouble.
Obviously the two punks had not seen 'Gran Turino'.
And to #3.. Pbbt. Tacoma isn't that bad. If it was "Oakland,CA" bad he wouldn't have pulled over in the first place.
Sounds like this guy deserves the Buzz Aldrin award for self defense against asshattery.
Still, the headline should have read "Tacoman fends off attackers". Because it's always great reading about Taco-man.
This article needs to be clarified.
On the other hand, in my neighborhood, we had a car-jacking at gunpoint. Bleh.
Rule One
From Discworld & Pratchett Wiki
"Do not act incautiously when confronting little bald wrinkly smiling men!" A favorite saying of the History Monk Lu-Tze.
This reminds me of a story I read about a super old ex military guy who was on vacation with a tour group when they got robbed and he killed the attacker with his bare hands. I think he had to go to court for it too.
If you don't actually read the article, the quotes provided really do make it look like the old guy pulled over and beat up a couple people at random, simply for having walked up to his car.
Obviously there needs to be rational arm and leg control laws. And don't give me that "when arms and legs are banned only criminals will have them" crap! Think of the children!
I wouldn't recommend his grand kids to upset their nice grandfather. :)
Takuan @16: that rule often applies. I remember a couple of cases in the UK where someone tried to mug an old man and got beaten up. The most recent was 3 men who tried to rob a 67-year-old who turned out to have been the British Army middleweight boxing champion 3 years running!
"...Then I walked over to shake his hand and thank him for stopping. An older guy like him stopping in a neighborhood like this. He just kicked me in the nads.
"The cop told us, 'Yeah, that's Grampa Mazetier for ya. You must have "started toward" him.'"
(Sorry, that's what it sounded like from the ellipsized version.)
The only thing that could improve this story is if he shot them after being attacked and left them paralyzed.
I was in the Marines. Not too long after I got out of boot camp, I was visiting home and some guy tried to mug me...Right after I had gone to the pawn shop to collect knives which was an old hobby of mine. He had knuckles, I had three bayonet/bowie knives around my waist and a proper fighting stance. He took off. Talk about bad timing.
Anonymous @13: I laughed so hard at "tacoman". I'd say that you're awesome, but I think grandpa Mazetier already exhausted the entire supply of awesome.
Good on you grandpa Mazetier! My great uncle fought of a carjacker with a knife a few years ago at age 95:
http://www.bakersfield.com/news/columnist/benham/x486709004/95-year-old-with-guts-heart-overcomes-carjacking
Don't mess with old dudes. Just don't do it.
"Thanks for stopping, kind sir. We ran out of gas."
"Huh? What? I can't hear you."
"Oh, sorry, kind sir. I'll get a bit closer. We ran out of...ugh...ooch...oww...."
"Take that, punk. Don't try any funny business with me, you young whippersnapper!"
"Ugh...gurgle....ugh..."
"Speak up!"
A true story about an old lady: http://miriamsideas.blogspot.com/2007/06/guns-dont-kill-people.html
Reminds of this true story from "A FLAME OF PURE FIRE: Jack Dempsey and the Roaring 20's" by Roger Kahn
"Late one night during the 1960s, Jack Dempsey stepped out of a taxicab in front of his apartment on East Fifty-third Street, after a long evening of presiding at his Broadway restaurant.? He had passed his seventieth birthday. ?His deep black hair had gone gray.
"Two muggers, seeing an elderly party who looked well dressed and well walleted, sprang out of the darkness. ?Dempsey spun and flattened both. ?He stood over them and waited while the taxi driver called police. ?Having felt Dempsey's fists, the assailants refused to get up until the police arrived to protect them."
Lot of folks don't know that Jack Dempsey joined the Coast Guard, developed a standardized course in Self Defense, and participated in the WWII landings at Okinawa.
His 'Shovel Punch' at age 70 must have still be respectable.
@22 I laughed so hard.
I must remember to stop harassing old people, though.
@17 You're probably thinking of:
Retired U.S. Tourist in Costa Rica Kills Mugger With Bare Hands
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,253959,00.html
My Uncle Ray was a mechanic and quite a character his entire life. He was short and stocky and walked with a limp, and was almost blind. One day when he was in his 70's he was walking with my aunt in Central Park when two young men approached and asked for his wallet. "Bobby, He made a mistake when he touched the front of my pants where my wallet was." "Why was that a mistake, Uncle?" "Because then I knew where one of his hands was." He then pulled the guy's hand toward him and punched him in the face. "His nose busted open just like a tomato, and he fell right down. His friend ran away screaming." I looked at my aunt and she nodded. They went for a cop, and when they got back with him, the guy was still there on the floor. And my uncle walked slowly.
Reminds me of a friend of my mother (both are 4' 11" - they're both over 70 and probably shorter now! :))
Both come from 'tough' parts near Manchester, England and now live in Australia.
About three years ago, my mother's friend was outside a shopping mall carrying some plastic bags. A man in his late teens approached her and demanded her purse. She refused and he tried to grab her bag, so she punched him twice in the face, knocking him down.
Nearby where two police officers (one male, one female). They saw the granny hit the young guy. The female officer grabbed the young man and the male officer grabbed granny.
The young guy was yelling how the granny had hit him for no reason and should be arrested and handcuffed. He was also giving the female officer a hard time about how they should be doing their job properly and keeping the granny away from him.
When the male officer heard from witnesses what had happened, he yelled at the offender, "Shut up or I'll let go of her!"