“Everybody should be able to come home peacefully without having to look over their shoulder.” – Madaline Williams in Woman says robbers held shotgun towards her & gun to her head [via fox5atlanta.com]
“Everybody should be able to come home peacefully without having to look over their shoulder.” – Madaline Williams in Woman says robbers held shotgun towards her & gun to her head [via fox5atlanta.com]
Not a word in the article about… you know, actually defending yourself against such aggression. Always looking to others to make the world totally “safe” for oblivious and irresponsible behavior.
“Neighborhood watch” is a fairly good compromise, as long as everyone who is able participates and agrees with it. But it can be a set up for whoever actually takes action, of course.
We don’t have that kind of crime here in the rural country… since almost everyone is armed, one way or another. Funny how that works out.
Neighborhood watch is just vigilantism that allows racists to harass poor innocent people of color.
I’m going to assume you mean that to be sarcasm….
Just like any other inanimate object or thing, “neighborhood watch” is exactly what those who use it make of it.
You pass.
“We don’t have that kind of crime here in the rural country…”
Perhaps you live in the Alaskan wilderness, or so remote in the western US as to never interact with other people. But for the rest of rural America, these things happen, just not nearly as frequently. But they do happen, precisely because you are in the middle of nowhere.
Just sayin’…
Maybe where you live… But this is rural NE Wyoming.
In the ten years I’ve lived here we have had zero home invasions, driveway muggings, business holdups, bank robberies… you get the picture. We have had rare “domestic violence” incidents, and mutual combat at the bars occasionally, but there is no actual criminal class lurking on the streets or in the back alleys. Even our “drug” folks keep a low profile and don’t usually cause problems.
We also have no ghetto housing, large numbers of generationally unemployed (and unemployable) people (of any race or creed), and no special snowflake colleges or organizations to tell us what to think and do. We’re mostly hard working, ordinary people with families and responsibilities, retired people who still work hard and keep a vibrant community humming… lots of children who don’t try to kill each other or burn down the town… stuff like that.
But sure, there is no place on earth where the risk is zero. My point is that this kind of crime doesn’t happen here – even though it MIGHT – because most people here are not looking for someone else to make them “safe.” Most people here take responsibility for their own safety. A great many of us are armed and alert, ready to do whatever is necessary. It would probably work anywhere else as well.
We dont have such things here in NE Montana either. Bu this level of accuracy is par for 16V. I’m sure glad I dont have to hunt with him/her, whomever s/he is…
Why aren’t you guys covering the shooting in Washington State? The one at Cascade Mall?
I was thinking the same thing but it might be better to wait for more information.
A simple notification of something having occurred with more information to come would have sufficed.
I use Drudge Report and Daily Mail Online for my breaking news. TTAG? Ummm, no. Not really their forte.
Given her description of the event, I’d say she was cased another time so they were waiting for her to get home to minimize their exposure to intervention and get her at a vulnerable moment (exiting her vehicle).
Being armed is not a panacea if one doesn’t have: 1) good observation skills and situation awareness to avoid getting getting trapped and forced into a deadly conflict in the first place as well as 2) training and regular practice to avoid/evade/escape confrontations but to draw and fire quickly and accurately as a last resort. For a lot of people #1 with alert neighbors and gates are easier to accomplish than #2. I don’t want to be my neighbors backstop when they draw in haste and miss.
There is a series on Netflix covering Londons CCTV systems and crimes. London has the highest number and density of CCTV cameras on earth and full-time police monitors looking for crime.
I am not suggesting such a solution (nor is it practical except for very dense populations).
My point is It is amazing to see how poor the situational awareness is for many victims of crime. they cover violent crimes as well as bar brawls and pickpockets.
“Being armed is not a panacea if one doesn’t have:”
Your larger point is well taken…too often, situational awareness stinks.
But one nitpick: being armed is NEVER a panacea.
Considering the very high incidence of violent crime in London the CCTV system apparently doesn’t work there either. Personally, I don’t like Big Brother watching everything everywhere, especially since the police (mostly unarmed) are still minutes away when seconds count. If I had to live where I was almost always under the eyes of a camera (and we pretty much are in big cities these days), I’d still rather be armed and use the videos as proof of self-defense/justifiable homicide.
True. “I’d rather have it and not need it, than need it and not have it”. I was taught “situational awareness” long ago. Within a densely populated area, one can NEVER live in “Condition White” any longer. That can get you killed.
Yes. Yes you should. But until you can it’s up to you to figure out how to protect yourself.
“without having to look over their shoulder.” Uh, you should be looking over your shoulder.
I always look over my shoulder. It’s called situational awareness…
My town of 29,000 has 390 total crimes per year, 17 of them violent and no stranger murders. Pretty safe, huh? And I still keep my head on a swivel and remain well-armed at all times.
Sure, everybody should be able to come home peacefully without having to look over their shoulder. And since lightning can strike anywhere, anyone who doesn’t look over his or her shoulder is an idiot.
110% agreed.
I have a similar situation and I pay attention to my surroundings because how statistically safe your area are doesn’t matter when it’s you lying in a puddle of your own blood and thinking “Well, at least I was murdered in a statistically safe location” doesn’t sound like a very comforting last thought.