Hi folks, Jay again.
Today, I'd like to make a few points about home invasions. Of the reports that cross my screen thanks to the power of google, I've picked out just one to talk about with you today.
Homeowner shot while fleeing Fayetteville home invasion
Television report: http://www.wral.com/...
Newspaper report: http://www.fayobserver.com/...
Police press release: http://police.ci.fayetteville.nc.us/...
The first point I'd like to make about the Fayetteville crime is to note that the people seemed to follow the typical anti-gun suggestions:
They didn't have a gun - didn't you know guns are bad and make people into bloodthirsty serial killers like leatherface?
When faced with someone in their home, nobody attempted to defend their property - it's just property right? If that's all the invaders want, then give it to them and they'll go away, right?
Where possible, flee - because a fleeing person always manages to perform some wild movie stunt escape through an open door or dive through a window and escape even if the bad guys are shooting because they always miss, right?
And get the cops - because the cops are always going to show up just in time, they are duty bound to protect and serve and somehow always have some sort of magic talisman that makes their bullets swerve to hit the target, right?
Bullcrap. Chris and Latoya didn't protect themselves, so they had caused themselves to be subject to the decisions of the invaders or try and escape using the real world NON movie theatrics. Accordingly, the real world says that folks who don't practice pulling off movie stunts do not magically get the ability to perform a window-crash tuck-and-roll into the yard outside. The real world also says the bad guys can also be good shots, so Chris got drilled in the hip. Chris is damn lucky his hip bone didn't get shattered, severely limiting the ability for his body to support the weight of his upper half while standing. Folks can't bend real world physics like in the movies no matter what sort of nonsense Christine Odonnell is trying to pull off through witchcraft.
And finally, the cops... The cops are not the superman/batman heroes like movies such as Die Hard or Lethal Weapon show us. Take a good look at the cop living next door to Chris and Latoya, he's just a normal dude like the rest of us. He knows how twitchy the real world is, how quickly things can disappear down the toilet, and how manipulative the criminal element can be. That's why he didn't open his door. He, as a cop, is not actually on duty 24/7 no matter what sort of propaganda is given out to make folks feel secure. He's just a guy who has seen and deals with the real world physics that most of us can ignore, and knows it.
So, I'd like you NOT to follow in Chris and Latoya's footsteps. How?
Obviously, have sturdy doors and windows with good locks. Someone bashing their way in will alert you early enough that they won't be in "before you know it", like Chris and Latoya.
Second, it's not always about property, so don't assume that's all someone wants. You don't know, they could be lying to get you to stand down. Hell, they busted into your place, isn't that enough evidence they don't care for your personal boundaries?
Third, if you decide to bug out; don't 'flee', execute a guarded retreat. Ever faced down a snarling dog? Turning and running is bad, opens you up to rear attack, while carefully retreating while on guard serves to keep the dog on notice that you aren't an animal to be brought down. Even if it's at a good speed, retreating is better than fleeing. Chris wasn't superman able to outrun a speeding bullet, but a careful retreat might have allowed him to make it hard for the invader to drill him.
And finally, as Chris and Latoya learned, the cops are not the dramatic knights in shining blue armor arriving in glorious gleaming chariots to save them. Even if one lives next door. Because crime is completed quickly, it's damn hard for cops to do anything other than show up and secure the evidence / draw the proverbial chalk outline / set out the yellow tape and hold the public back while the forensics team starts swabbing the dead body for fingerprints. If it's one thing the CSI style shows get right, it's that the cops show up to do clean up. So YOU be the one that makes the decisions. If you've got good doors/windows, you can make sure your solid safe room door is secure while calling 911. And if someone has decided to make it all about you and not your stuff, it's up to you to decide who gets medical attention.
It's your rear end on the line, and there are no do-overs.
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The other topic I'd like to touch on is the recent suicide at the UT campus in Texas.
It is my position alone, not to be applied to anyone else without their express admission.
My position is simple, and aligns with Students for Concealed Carry on Campus http://www.concealedcampus.org/
Students for Concealed Carry on Campus is a national, non-partisan, grassroots organization comprising over 42,000 college students, professors, college employees, parents of college students, and concerned citizens who believe that holders of state-issued concealed handgun licenses should be allowed the same measure of personal protection on college campuses that they enjoy virtually everywhere else.
Seriously folks, does anyone really expect college students not to put forth a hell of a lot more time than you or I into researching the issue and taking apart a LOT of arguments point-by-point-by-point? Think about the college library at the local university, about the folks spending hours upon hours in there combing through information sources that just aren't available to you or I from our home computers.
It's too long to include here, so take a look at the page where they take apart the 25 'common' arguments with intelligence AND some humor! Really, go through and see some serious research devoted to the issue.
http://www.concealedcampus.org/...
If 25 count as the most common arguments, I wonder if they're putting together a comprehensive list...
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Until next time; stay safe, lock your doors, be alert, and don't forget to relax.
Jay.