Idris Elba Says He Was Held at Gunpoint After Trying to Intervene on Man Threatening Woman

True story. So was I. A little over 30 years ago … South of Market in San Francisco. (Just in that one sentence you have more information about my story than the linked article tells you about the Idris story)

AND I wasn’t even intervening on an argument - I was just ‘hanging’ with my friend.

There were three of them, one with the gun, one watching while the third put his hands into my pockets looking for (I assume) money or a wallet. He found nothing. I don’t know why because the wallet was there. Finding nothing, the one with the gun looked at me intently, staring me down. It seemed to last a lifetime. And then he nodded to his two buddies and off they sauntered. No words spoken. No need.

I have had on occasions shared this story with small groups of people - generally when people start going on about how they won’t travel to x or visit y - after they have just heard about some violence in said location … which IMHO is just ridiculous - and why I share it. That said, I have never shared my story in writing, on a blog, into Social Media. For a start - who would be interested? After all, nothing happened. Then nothing happened in the Idris story, where the key point of the piece was …

“He pulled out a gun, stuck it right in my face.”

and

Elba didn’t elaborate on the actions he took to talk the man down, or what happened to the woman after the encounter. But given that the actor is able to recollect the instance, the situation seems to have been quelled.

That’s the story - and that qualifies for an entry in 🔗 Entertainment Weekly, The NME, The Daily Mail and hosts of other places

Meanwhile, 🔗 When 5 people get stuck in a tiny little sub it makes the headlines - while over 700 lives lost in The Mediterranean at the same time barely achieved a footnote.

What Makes News? I sense a pattern.