cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/36954801

So I just woke up from what might be one of the weirder nightmares I’ve ever had. It didn’t happen, but it did introduce a scenario for which I am not sure what the right thing to do in that moment is. I thought I’d toss it to y’all for ideas on how to best deescalate the scenario in my dream as I have often found myself in dejavu situations.

I was walking into an indoor mall of some sort when a woman stops me and tells me that I owe money for something. I disagree, turn around and begin to leave when I see the woman exiting the mall ahead of me and a male security officer (not police) begins to follow me. As I step off the curb and onto the parking area blacktop, the security guy reaches over and pinches my arm. In shock and surprise, I about face and shout “What the fuck was that for?” He replies something about a cop that was lost as I woke up with a spiked heart rate.

As far as dream interpretation, I’m pretty sure that it’s just the result of stress from everything that is happening in the US and the world at the moment plus caffeine before bed, plus my cat probably deciding to pad with claws on my arm at the moment that I woke up.

Again, it hasn’t happened. It was a dream. But a long time ago, when I was in JROTC, our SAI said that the best way to deal with a situation was not to deal with it in the moment, but rather to come up with how you are going to deal with it before hand. Basically, play what-if with the situation until you have covered every likely possible scenario.

  • blackbrook
    2·
    1 day ago

    I would preemptively confront the security officer telling telling him that woman was nuts or at least mistaken, and seek to straighten things out.

    Of course that presumes I don’t have reason to think that doing so puts me at risk of violence or something, if for example this scenario is in some kind of fascist police state, I’m a persecuted minority, etc.

    But ignoring the cop and letting him apprehend you while probably interpreting your actions as fleeing is probably not the best choice.