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A girl beat me up once in fourth grade
Couldn't live that down the whole rest of my school years afterward
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In my adult lifetime I've been in at least 4 situations where I felt I was going to be either robbed or physically harmed due to random crime. I know that sounds like a lot of times...maybe I just have "victim" written all over me.
Although in 3 of the situations I was armed I never brandished the weapon, pointed it at anyone, or used it. In fact, had I done any of the above I would have been the one that could have been prosecuted. The reality is that armed self defense is an act of last resort and in that sense I understand why people could argue it doesn't do any good because by the time you feel justified in using it...they've already attacked you!
In my situations, however, I do believe the perpetrators sensed something was unusual in my self assurance (and probably posture) and chose to move on. In the 4th instance I was unarmed and I'm actually fairly glad I was in that case because I know dude was armed and that would have been ugly. As we have just witnessed, being armed in the presence of a hardened criminal like Maurice Clemmons doens't guarantee anything.
Here's where I was when I felt threatened (maybe I should stay out of these places):
1. In a lit public park in Florida with my girlfriend eating fast food on a park bench (night time but the park was open) when a guy on a bike tried to break into my car...saw us and decided to pedal over...jump off his bike..and reach into his hoodie pocket for something. (Wearing a hoodie on an 80 degree night in Clearwater, FL) There was nobody anywhere close to us and he was twice my size. He was literally less than 6ft from me...put his kickstand down and got off his bike without speaking...reached into his jacket and took a step towards us smiling.....but I guess the fact I smiled at him back and had my arm hidden behind my girl led him to believe I was armed. Oh yeah...and I think he heard the click when I took the safety off....it was pretty quiet that night. (that was a close one). He stopped smiling...turned around...and rode off. Him I would have probably shot at the time because I watched him try and break into my car before approaching us in a menacing way...very obviously getting off his bike, reaching into his hoodie, etc. Thank God he left.
2. In a Toys R Us parking lot in Tampa when my car was surrounded by Puerto Ricans banging on my window for no reason....some telling me to roll it down...some telling me to get out. (not being racist...they had a Puerto Rican flags on their clothes!) They left when I opened the glove box to look for my English-Spanish dictionary.
3. At a private firing range (of all things) where old guys site in hunting rifles...only one there with my son when two punks jumped out of a truck and continued to approach me asking for directions repeatedly...even after I told them 3x "I can't help you" and finally "that's close enough". They weren't deterred by my son's little .22 Ruger that he had in front of him on the bench but when I pulled my Sig Sauer 9mm out from under my shirt and racked the slide....(because it was my turn to shoot the targets downrange of course).....they all of a sudden decided they didn't need directions that badly. I was really glad they left because what was I going to do...shoot them for asking for directions? Glad they left. Yet another example of not really being able to take advantage of the fact you are armed. If I wasn't at a range I could have gotten in trouble for pulling my gun...but it was my turn and it wouldn't be fair to allow them to interrupt our target practice.
4. Walking with the family in NYC when I noticed we were being stalked by a guy. Got out of there by walking into the middle of Broadway and forcing a cab to stop and pick us up...lucky I didn't get run over. The next day I saw the guy that was following us on NYC's most wanted website for mugging 5 people at gunpoint. This was a time when situational awareness absolutely saved me from an unpleasant situation. You've got to know what's going on around you!
One more just for fun. My relative who is retired law enforcement has a ranch in Florida. He has to get out to open his gate and sometimes gets home really late. One time there were some guys across the street parked and when he got out to open the gate one of the guys yelled across "Hey, aren't you scared living out here all alone" to which he replied "No". The guy started walking across the street and said "You should be". My relative replied "Really? I've got a .45 in my hand and if you take another step I'm going to drop you right there". The guy turned around and went back across the street. In reality my relative didn't have a gun in his hand...it was in the truck but it was dark and the guy couldn't tell. Now I know the guy could've had a gun and called his bluff....but I wouldn't mess with my relative even without a gun in his hand...he was a US Marshall and is a bit of a bad arse. That guy was lucky.
Florida is kind of the Wild West in many ways. Maybe that's why I'm such an advocate of gun ownership. I've been conditioned by so many criminals coming up to me over the years.Last edited by SUPERUNDERDOGGIE; Dec 1, '09, 11:54 PM.Leave a comment:
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Ya...and they are in the ZOO!
Seriously though...to our oversees friends who haven't been over here much...if I'm not mistaken the majority of gun violence/deaths in the USA is in the ghettos/poor neighborhoods/big cities where there is a lot of gang and drug activity. Many of the people involved in these crimes have criminal records already and aren't legally allowed to own a gun anyway so outlawing them only affects law abiding citizens.(my view) Interestingly enough...and again I'm no expert...but the cities with the worst gun violence are also those where guns are banned...i.e. Washington DC. Wee67 could probably verify or correct my preceding statement since he knows that data better than I...but that's my perception.
By the way, I'm a huge supporter of law enforcement but unfortunately as the other member pointed out not all cops are good cops and corruption happens. In the US we don't give our citizens that happen to serve as cops rights that are too far and above those of the average law abiding citizen. We have the right to own/carry firearms (in most states) just like they do and most of the cops I know are glad there are good guys out there. I think in most cases that helps keep law and order. Over here you can even ride along as a civilian with a buddy who is a cop...help him perform certain duties, etc.
At the end of the day it comes down to limited government in my view and personal responsibility. Law enforcement can't be everywhere. We need a balance between the wild west and George Orwell's 1984 and I think the US has a decent balance.
Anyone see this video about the gun ban in Britain?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKdBxpKqUvsLeave a comment:
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So ya think i'm mad? Not at all! I'm no keyboard warrior. Your opinion is awesome if it makes you happy. Like I said, I personally know many people who are still alive due to their "Legal Firearm"! I'm fully 100% against those who illegally have or carry weapons. I'm not mad at you, just fed up with the lame saps that cry to ban guns already. As for me, more guns coming my way soon!
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