Sketchy guy

[subtledagger.livejournal.com]

Has anybody else ever been in or around Davis Square late at night and run into the guy with the clip board asking you to donate money to children in Africa?  He's super sketchy, and gets really aggrivated when you refuse.  I've seen him follow people for a block or so pestering them to give him money...

The first time he approached me, he shouted at me from like 50 feet away and said "I AM NOT A CRIMINAL!  I DO NOT HAVE ANY WEAPONS!" 

I saw him last night standing in the middle of the square looking for people, and it made me wonder if anybody else had run into him.

Comments

[glen-highland.livejournal.com]

If it's the same Sketchy B. McSketch I'm thinking of, we have encountered him twice. The first time, he was wearing scrubs and "collecting money for med school" or something. But I'm pretty sure it's the same guy, as he was completely nuts and shouted preemptive warnings about not being a criminal as he approached us. The second time, (more recently), I didn't give him a chance to make his pitch. ;-)

[chivesthebutler.livejournal.com]

is he blonde?

[ron_newman]

What organization does he claim to represent? There are so many people around the square with clipboards for Greenpeace, Environment Massachusetts, Mass PIRG, and the like, it's hard to keep track.

[subtledagger.livejournal.com]

Nah he's just a normal looking black guy. Glasses, clipboard, and wearing a suit if I recall correctly.

[subtledagger.livejournal.com]

I don't know who he claims to represent. I don't remember him saying he represented anybody. And it was like 1am.

Super sketchy.

[plumtreeblossom.livejournal.com]

I haven't seen this particular one, but they're all over Harvard Square.

[righteousness-1.livejournal.com]

I bumped into him too. What about the Vet looking guy with the dog tags going around saying "shoot me in the fucking head"?!

[ellf.livejournal.com]

There are few things that would set off my sense of concern about a person I don't know more than having them approach me while announcing that they were unarmed, especially at night and in the city.

[rishikanta.livejournal.com]

It's the same guy.

This guy goes down Cambridge St to Lechmere.
From my own experience, and that of my friends, he can get very aggressive around women sometimes following them for blocks, but the one time I encountered him firsthand he backed off once I got out of my car.

My friends (both female, who live in the Inman area) have called Cambridge PD but have been given the "nothing we can do" line as he didn't physically assault either of them, and they don't have a name.

He is dressed neatly and cleanly (almost looks like an 'academic' with his glasses, tie, satchel, and papers) but he behaves like someone with a strong mood or personality disorder.

If people start reporting more encounters with him maybe that will spur the PDs to action.

[thetathx1138.livejournal.com]

If you think he's a fraud, just call the cops. I run into these guys occasionally at Porter.

[ruxxell.livejournal.com]

yeah ran into him twice. once near alfrescos, he gave me a look like he just needed directions or something then goes into the money schpeel. even saw a few bucks tacked in his clipboard. i was like fuck this dont beg for money right near my house.

next we left the burren a few nights later at like 2 am and he was there. i was like yeah i aint fallin for that shit and hightailed it. i think he hit up my friend for a minute. smart to pry on the drunks leaving the bar, i guess.

sketchy mcgee to say the least. i'll make sure my GF knows to tell him to fuck off if she runs into him.

[spacehawk.livejournal.com]

Nah he's just a normal looking black guy.

Ouch. That hurts, ya know? Really.

[subtledagger.livejournal.com]

I can't say that he was black when asked what he looked like?

[spacehawk.livejournal.com]

You were asked "Is he blonde?", not "What did he look like?" "No, he had dark, curly hair" or "No, he was bald" (or whatever the case may be) would be an appropriate response.

I recognize that it was probably not your intention, but your description of him as a "normal looking black guy" in the context of describing sketchy he was can easily be read to imply that "normal looking" black guys look "sketchy". I personally felt kicked in the gut at this unintended message. Given how most black males in this country are painfully aware of this prejudice against them based solely on their appearance (yes, "pre-judged"), I ask you to be more conscious of your use of language.

That this was not your intention is not relevant- this was the impact.

[othniel77.livejournal.com]

He was hanging out in front of Skybar this past summer. My fiance thought he was a Jehovah's Witness and ran him off.

[ron_newman]

While someone could be black and have blond hair, that's an unusual enough combination to be notable and not ordinary-looking.

[derekp.livejournal.com]

If you've seen this guy, you know it.

I first encountered him after the Pats/Colts game when he claimed to be raising money for kids with AIDS in Africa. Here was his pitch:

"Did you just see what they did to those guys?" (I had my Patriots shirt on).
"They are the baddest N****** in the world."

When i refused to give him money he said, "You fool. Go f*** yourself," as I walked away.

[derekp.livejournal.com]

In all seriousness, I'd tell her to walk quickly past him and not to say a word.

I'm amazed that this works well enough on people that they keep doing it. I once had a friend who gave a guy who had quite obviously not seen a bicycle saddle in 20 years $20 for the "AIDS Ride" in December.

[ron_newman]

Not to mention, who does benefit charity rides in New England in December?

[jodi.livejournal.com]

no one ever said he looked,/i> sketchy and subtledagger would not have been a very helpful poster if he answered the hair color question with a simple yes or no. i think feeling "kicked in the gut" over this particular post is hyperbolic to the point of inspiring backlash. i am more than aware at the power of language in the institutionalizing and strengthening of prejudicial thought and action, but in this case, i think the reaction was unwarranted. in addition, i take issue with the fact that you pre-judged the comment as intended as evidenced by the tone of you first response without offering any further details.

[teko.livejournal.com]

As a reader of this forum, I couldn't care less what the perceived impact was. The question was answered in a helpful, informative way: the man in question is a normal-looking black guy. Not a normal-looking Asian guy or white guy, and not a creepy-looking or disturbing-looking black guy, but a normal black guy in suit and tie. That's a good way to describe a person who looks average and normal but acts sketchy.

If you have issues about this sort of thing, I'd ask you not to bring your drama into this forum. I just don't need it.

[daft.livejournal.com]

He approached my S.O. & I in Inman Sq. at, like, 2:45 a.m. one night (we were walking home from a club) with the "I am not a criminal" line. It struck me as really damn odd for anyone to be soliciting for any cause at that hour of the day, so we brushed him off. I've seen him once or twice since then at slightly more reasonable hours, but the first encounter was enough for the warning flags to go up.

[clevernonsense.livejournal.com]

I thought the comment was clearly saying he was a normal looking black guy, as in NOT sketchy.

[plumtreeblossom.livejournal.com]

I haven't had the pleasure of making his acquaintance. ;-p

[librarybrandy.livejournal.com]

If this is the guy I'm thinking of, he says he was in Beirut in '83 and will follow people around demanding "fifty cents for an ex-marine." My husband had two run-ins with him on the same day last winter, culminating in being mugged (for that same fifty cents) in Harvard Square around midnight. We see him around from time to time, usually in the Harvard-Central area.