Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Ultra, you might just need some more wine to mull this over further...cause, IMO, you are making some over-generalizations and assumptions about previous posters that just might not be true and merit pointing out. I'm sure I am not alone (amongst previous posters) when I state the following:
I, for one, do not "think nothing of it". I think you are overstepping it there with that statement. We all may have a certain swagger in our step in posting on this thread, but that does not mean we have no conscience or morals.
I, for one, do take action in my community. I am going to leave that one at that.
I, for one, do safeguard my home actively in advance. Goodness, sweetie, my DH oversees commercial security installations, mainly banks, but also has worked on large DEA offices, Sheriff's offices, etc. Let's just put it this way... his well-placed cameras have caught images of folks you can only pray do not decide to walk into a bank while you are in there cashing that Christmas check from Grandma.
In closing, I ask you this question... how is it that it is ok and expected for cops to protect self and the people they serve by possessing and using a gun when the situation deems it necessary, but, in the absence of a cop, you think it unreasonable for people to take similar action?
Anyway, love a good debate, just had to point out the absence of merit in your argument, at least as far as where this household is concerned.
I don't think any of us is concerned about giving up possessions. However, the trend is going to gangsta type killings, such as we have seen recently w/ the two UNC-CH students. A psychopath is not going to use a gun as a method to guarantee your compliance - they just kill to be killing.
Our Sheriff in the county I grew up in said - If someone is carrying out your TV, then they have both hands on the TV . . . so they can't attack you. In that case, you will be in the wrong if you use deadly force. But if someone breaks down your door, and is brandishing a weapon, then they mean you harm and you have to assume they would kill you.
Now that is the scenario when someone is gonna get shot. Carrying out my TV is not going to get much of a response from me (except cuss words that would make a sailor blush) - as long as they leave my family and dog alone.
ani - I think you stated your case (as usual) very well! But in the instance, of someone carrying out my new TV, they may end up like Janet Leigh in Psycho. I'll be the Tony Perkins character minus the dress. I don't have a gun (yet) and for many years was very anti-gun. But after having moved down here and finding the police response time to be much slower in some places than NJ, I've since changed my mind about the whole issue. I actually went on the internet looking at the Smith & Wesson site after watching a segment of the Discovery or NGEO Channel last night. a guy was shooting a S&W Magnum 500 model - a little too much gun for me - it could shoot through a tank with that 50 caliber bullet!
I tend to think of many of my possessions as extentions of me! I know many people will regard that as an indication of a "shallow" person, but I've worked hard for what I have, and refuse to give them up without a fight!
Here's a little interesting story. My grandfather was a cop who ended up fatally shooting the man who had shot and killed his partner a few months earlier. This was in 1936. My grandmother told me he came home that night and cried about it, being upset about having to take a life. I wonder about whether he was more upset with the death of his partner than shooting the perp. He unfortunately died before I was born so I could never ask him that question.
I must have a much different psychological make-up than him, because I think if I were placed in that homeowner's situation, I would find it hard to muster up as much sympathy or empathy than I would if I stepped on two fire ants near my back porch!
ani- I wasn't the best-liked kid in Sunday School either. I remember Sister Michael Ann saying we should always save people before animals. I then posed the question "what if it was Hitler or your dog"? "Which one are you supposed to save"? She answered Hitler, since he was a human being to which I replied "I'm saving my dog" and "if God doesn't like that too bad"!
Last edited by TheEmissary; 03-21-2008 at 02:28 PM..
Reason: punc
ani - I think you stated your case (as usual) very well! But in the instance, of someone carrying out my new TV, they may end up like Janet Leigh in Psycho. I'll be the Tony Perkins character minus the dress. I don't have a gun (yet) and for many years was very anti-gun. But after having moved down here and finding the police response time to be much slower in some places than NJ, I've since changed my mind about the whole issue. I actually went on the internet looking at the Smith & Wesson site after watching a segment of the Discovery or NGEO Channel last night. a guy was shooting a S&W Magnum 500 model - a little too much gun for me - it could shoot through a tank with that 50 caliber bullet!
I tend to think of many of my possessions as extentions of me! I know many people will regard that as an indication of a "shallow" person, but I've worked hard for what I have, and refuse to give them up without a fight!
Here's a little interesting story. My grandfather was a cop who ended up fatally shooting the man who had shot and killed his partner a few months earlier. This was in 1936. My grandmother told me he came home that night and cried about it, being upset about having to take a life. I wonder about whether he was more upset with the death of his partner than shooting the perp. He unfortunately died before I was born so I could never ask him that question.
I must have a much different psychological make-up than him, because I think if I were placed in that homeowner's situation, I would find it hard to muster up as much sympathy or empathy than I would if I stepped on two fire ants near my back porch!
ani- I wasn't the best-liked kid in Sunday School either. I remember Sister Michael Ann saying we should always save people before animals. I then posed the question "what if it was Hitler or your dog"? "Which one are you supposed to save"? She answered Hitler, since he was a human being to which I replied "I'm saving my dog" and "if God doesn't like that too bad"!
ROFL - Now, Em, you know you were the perfect little altar boy and Sister Michael Ann was only concerned for your immortal soul.
And it doesn't make you a shallow person b/c you want to protect the possessions that represent a lifetime of work. (And I know how you feel about your Trekkie collection!!!)
Sadly, we can't rely on our LE to be here w/in minutes . . . and anyway . . . I gotta tell you . . . that 911 call is not gonna help very much if you are in imminent danger.
I guess for many of us, it is a personal responsibility issue. I don't expect anyone else to step in to take care of me and my family. I have learned not to count on anyone else being there. I have found that when emergencies strike, best I know how to take action. That is why I know First Aid and CPR.
ROFL - Now, Em, you know you were the perfect little altar boy and Sister Michael Ann was only concerned for your immortal soul.
And it doesn't make you a shallow person b/c you want to protect the possessions that represent a lifetime of work. (And I know how you feel about your Trekkie collection!!!)
Sadly, we can't rely on our LE to be here w/in minutes . . . and anyway . . . I gotta tell you . . . that 911 call is not gonna help very much if you are in imminent danger.
I guess for many of us, it is a personal responsibility issue. I don't expect anyone else to step in to take care of me and my family. I have learned not to count on anyone else being there. I have found that when emergencies strike, best I know how to take action. That is why I know First Aid and CPR.
Well ani - That's one of the nice things about living down here. No one gets too upset if you take out a few low-lifes. In NJ, it would be indeed difficult to get a handgun permit and almost impossible to get a concealed-carry permit. The response you would get from a similar situation taking place in NJ, would be diametrically different, with the relatives crying on TV about how their little monsters were such good boys and didn't deserve their fate. You would find yourself being portrayed as the new "Bernard Goetz vigilante" and would be spending time in jail probably even with a handgun license. Glad I moved! What would you suggest as a good model gun to get? Can you get anything decent for $500. Computers I know - guns I don't!
Well ani - That's one of the nice things about living down here. No one gets too upset if you take out a few low-lifes. In NJ, it would be indeed difficult to get a handgun permit and almost impossible to get a concealed-carry permit. The response you would get from a similar situation taking place in NJ, would be diametrically different, with the relatives crying on TV about how their little monsters were such good boys and didn't deserve their fate. You would find yourself being portrayed as the new "Bernard Goetz vigilante" and would be spending time in jail probably even with a handgun license. Glad I moved! What would you suggest as a good model gun to get? Can you get anything decent for $500. Computers I know - guns I don't!
Hand gun or shot gun?
Actually, we have quite a few members who can give very good advice on this.
I would suggest a Mossberg for a shotgun. Let me get you some links. My dad just bought a new one and I really like the weight of it. Have not shot it myself yet.
For a handgun, oh my - there are so many suggestions and everyone has his/her own preference.
My dad and I were just discussing this recently. We were discussing a Sig, but he said he would stick w/ a S & W or maybe a Colt. He is not into 9 MM automatics the way I am. He is a former Marine and a sharpshooter, so I take his recommendations seriously . . . but I just like a 9MM automatic.
My advice would be to visit one of the ranges that rents guns & try a few out before you make a decision to buy one.
Knowing nothing about guns, do you have to get a permit to do that? Not that I'd think I would have a problem. The last and only speeding ticket that I ever got was in 1975. Other than that, I think my record would be spotless. My FICO is over 800 and I'm willing to part with DNA & RNA. Being a former Fed, my fingerprints are on file with the FBI. Can you get a new 9mm something for $500? Is a "Glock" a 9mm? Questions. Questions! I know ani will be back with a list but the more, the merrier!
I have a G17, 9mm. Its an easy gun to control & shoot. You can also get 32 round magazines for it.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.