RightGalaxy wrote:
My poor, daft, younger brother, who of course is an aspie, saw a lonely-looking girl at a bus station. He didn't try to pick her up, he just felt bad for her. He proceeded to talk to her to keep her company when she started screaming, "Rape!" She stabbed him with a nailfile many times until security intervened. He had to go to court. There were witnesses to his innocence in addition to psychiatric papers claiming that the girl was mentally ill. Evidently she did this before. The previous gentleman died from infection to his stab wounds. My brother later met his wife through a support group for crime victims. His wife was victimized when she picked up a female hitch-hiker who robbed and badly beat her. She was another "Good-Samaritan". If somebody looks like they need help around me, that can forget it and just call a cop because I won't help. At best, I'll call the cop for them.
I cringed when I read this. There were many times in the past when I saw a lonely-looking girl in public, and was tempted to approach her. However, my better judgment, and possiblty shyness too, prevented me from doing it almost every time. The few times I approach a girl like that, the worst thing she did was look at me with a "get away from me, you creep" expression. I guess I lucked out. Now, I generally don't approach women anywhere outside (including bus stops), unless it's "ma'am, can you tell me what time is it?" or "excuse me, which way is [place I'm looking for]?". And I've gotten somewhat good at reading body language to determine who might react violently.
If I see someone who appears to need help, I approach them two arms lengths (so they can't reach out and grab me), and say in a clear but somewhat flat voice: "Sir/ma'am, are you OK?" I don't say anything else, so it doesn't get misinterpreted. If their answer is anything similar to a "yes", I call 911, and let the trained professionals do their work. If it happens in a building or on a train, I summon a nearby security guard. In all cases, I avoid all physical contact with the person, and keep conversations to a minimum.
RightGalaxy, do you know if your brother touched that girl in any way? I think that might have caused her to react violently. Not that I'm defending her, I think she should go to a maximum security prison, but the touch might have set her off. Your brother did a nice thing by talking to the girl, but if he touched her, that was a mistake on his part. Touching strangers in public is considered bad form, although a tap on the shoulder is usually tolerated.