I think you identified the best reason to have/be a wingman: helping others learn about Tijuana. (Which, IMO, also is, or should be, the mission of discussion boards.)
Looking for a wingman for Saint Patricks day. I've been down there 5 or 6 times. I figure just safer to have someone else along. PM me to figure some details.
There is nothing wrong in having a wingman; many hobbyists find it more enjoyable to go to Tijuana with a friend.
However, having a wingman isn't a requirement to be in Tijuana. Unless, of course, you're the type of guy that wanders around the Zona buzzed. Drinking to excess makes many things unwise or unsafe--including hobbying anywhere in the world.
I've lived in Tijuana for over a decade and have spent more time hobbying in TJ than most board members. I go to the ZN solo and have never had a problem or needed a wingman to keep me safe.
Felize Dia de San Patrico!
I agree with all your points. Sometimes there is a newbie that wants to go so I figured I would throw it out there. I've been down there around 10 times and feel pretty comfortable.
I think you identified the best reason to have/be a wingman: helping others learn about Tijuana. (Which, IMO, also is, or should be, the mission of discussion boards.)
Have you ever been stopped by the cops when you were alone? I came out of one of the bars and lost my direction a bit, anyway looking for my favorite taco place and had cops stop me. That was actually the second time (the time before I was near Hotel Villa Zaragoza) My assumption was because they saw a gringo all alone and they were hoping to find drugs. Other than police, the only place I have been scared is below the arch really late at night. Not sure what the safest path to the more populated Calle Revolucion is.
Being a lone tourist in the Zona has not caused me problems with the cops.
--------------------------
I've posted many times that most of what I know about hobbying in TJ I've learned the hard way. On my second visit to the Zona a street person kept following me asking me for money so I gave him a dollar. Out of nowhere the cops appeared in a pickup truck.
They separated us then asked if I had drugs and I said no. So to be sure I wasn't lying they searched me. Back then I didn't know what I do now--(which is keep wallet, money, and valuables in your hand during a search--but they stolen nothing. They let me go after not finding drugs on me and glancing at my passport. (It was sort of surreal at the time, but strangely I wasn't afraid.)
The cops hauled the street guy off to jail. I don't know if they found drugs on him or if he didn't have ID. (Both of which can get you arrested.)
I've always though the cops believed they'd seen a drug buy and that is why they stopped me. Which is why I advise people to ignore street people and never give them money.
Anyway, being on foot alone in the Zona has not resulted in me being targeted by the cops. (I've had encounters with corrupt cops over the years, but they were while driving or outside the Zona. Like when the cops caught me leaving a pharmacy after buying Viagra without a Rx--a practice they stopped about 10 years ago.)