Some idiot kid shined a red laser beam at me while I was walking home on street sidewalk. What should I do?

Red laser beams are not dangerous unless they're solar powered and shit.

simple you should have kicked his a$$ - only way to teach the punk a lesson

I think I can identify your culprit. Was the kid really small and dressed in a spacesuit?

Too much thinking, not enough instincts. You should've just spun towards the kid, pulled out your concealed weapon, and let him eat lead. Afterwards, just blame it on PTSD.

Would it be legal for someone to fire back?

a seemingly fair overview of the common laser pointer

includes this:

Safety Considerations

Laser pointers are effective tools when used properly. The following considerations should be observed when using laser pointers:

Never look directly into the laser beam.

Never point a laser beam at a person.

Do not aim the laser at reflective surfaces.

Never view a laser pointer using an optical instrument, such as binocular or a microscope.

Do not allow children to use laser pointers unless under the supervision of an adult.

Use only laser pointers meeting the following criteria Labeled with FDA certification stating "DANGER: Laser Radiation" for Class 3R lasers or "CAUTION: Laser Radiation" for Class 2 pointers.

Classified as Class 2 or 3R according to the label. Do not use Class 3b or 4 products.

Operates at a wavelength between 630 nm and 680 nm.

Has a maximum output less than 5 mW, the lower the better

Was it set to stun?

Should I file a police report?

I wonder if you could get away with shooting the kid. You could just say you thought he was a sniper and felt your life was in danger.

tstock wrote:

I wonder if you could get away with shooting the kid. You could just say you thought he was a sniper and felt your life was in danger.

I think so

You won't follow this advice, but it's well meaning.

Fight only big battles. Get the time and the energy to do it by skipping the smaller battles for the rest of your life.

For most people, the big battles are within themselves, stop drinking, get off drugs, get in shape, study hard enough to get a useful education, work hard enough to acquire good paying skills, find and keep a quality spouse to take on life's challenges together, etc.

You are thinking about how to deal with some little punk. That's a small battle. He's wasting his time and life trynig to annoy strangers like you. Don't share any more of your life or attention with him. Your vision is fine. Your perspective is what is out of focus. For almost everything is life, the person who you have to push to do more for you and less to you is yourself.

Good luck.

Some chirp chirp bird kept annoying me by chirp chirp chirping outside of my window, regardless of the side of the house I was in. I'm pretty sure it knew what it was doing and was following me around. I got a mirror, went outside, and reflected the sun at the bird, and it very quickly disappeared.

That's a bit of a weird story.

An answer this well thought out and meaningful has no place on a message board.

Next time say "did somebody say laser pointer?" then whip out your 5kW Nd:YAG laser and burn a hole through his head.

Posts like this one are the reason I read the letsrun message board.

Thank you sir.

You are thinking about how to deal with some little punk. That's a small battle. He's wasting his time and life trynig to annoy strangers like you. Don't share any more of your life or attention with him. Your vision is fine. Your perspective is what is out of focus. For almost everything is life, the person who you have to push to do more for you and less to you is yourself.'

So be a coward basically?

Are you talking about a revenge plot or something? You should gradually woo his sister over a period of years, bang her, and then break her heart. That'll teach him!