More on the survival instinct:
Someone on the “would you ever own a gun” thread I mentioned yesterday challenged the respondents with the following (obvious) question:
I have an honest question for those that are opposed to any kind of guns except for hunting.
Say a bad guy breaks into your home with the intent to harm you or your children. What is your plan to protect them?
Here are some responses so far:
Well, I’m not at all opposed to people owning guns for protection, I just don’t want to myself.
My plan is pretty much the same as my plan for an alien abduction of my children- that is, I’ll sit there and go “WTF is going on?????”.
I’m not real worried about bad guys breaking into my house and trying to hurt me. Really. The odds of something bad happening to my children because of a home invasion are smaller than the odds of something bad happening to them because of a gun in the home. (and again we do have a gun in our home, so I’m not anti-gun at all)
And:
Where I live, it doesn’t really happen. I don’t think I’ve ever heard of a home invasion in my area. (And if it was common enough to warrant worry, I’d definitely move. Don’t want to live with fear.)
And:
i live on the 3rd floor of an apt building that you need a coded thing to wave in front of a little box to unlock any door into a building. we have a lock on the door handle, a dead bolt, and a door chain. we always always always lock all three when we are home. (mostly b/c what the point if you don’t lock them) the odds of someone breaking in are slim. our walls are paper thing so the neighbors not hearing is almost impossible.
If someone did break into my house with the intent to hurt DS i would probably lock us in the bedroom and push the dresser in front of the door them call the cops. if this was not a possibility it would depend. if he was armed with anything but a gun i would fight like hell. If someone is threatening my baby there is nothing i wouldn’t do.. so i would either do what he wanted, talk to him and try to distract him (not as far fetched as one would think), or fight his sorry butt. it would depend on his intentions and what he wanted.. it would also have to be in the middle of the day b/c dp gets home around 4ish.
So, here are the common themes I’m noticing, from those responses as well as earlier in the thread (paraphrased):
- That doesn’t happen here.
- If that were to happen here, it wouldn’t happen to me.
- Someone else – neighbors, cops, significant other – will protect me.
- Preparing myself for self-defense equals paranoia or living in fear.
That last one is especially interesting to me. Gun ownership and carry has never been couched in terms of paranoia or fear or false confidence for me. On a day-to-day basis, it’s pretty much just a thing I do, just like I buckle up in the car, or check the batteries in the smoke detectors, or have a fire extinguisher under the sink. I don’t wear a seatbelt because I’m trembling in anticipation of an accident every time I get behind the wheel – nor do I put on the seatbelt and drive 100 mph through town because I think I’m now immune to danger. I don’t stand poised over the stove with the fire extinguisher every time I cook bacon (mmm… BACON!!!) – nor do I barbecue in the living room.
I put on my seatbelt in the car because in the unlikely event of an accident, I don’t want the paramedics to be my best chance at survival. I keep the smoke detectors working and the fire extinguisher under the sink because in the unlikely event of a fire, I don’t want to hope the fire department gets there in time to get me out and/or save my house. I carry a firearm because in the unlikely event of needing to use it in self-defense, I don’t want to count on the cops, neighbors, passers-by or my husband to show up in time (and be willing and able) to help me.
That’s it, folks. There’s no tinfoil, no paranoia, no fear. It’s just a thing I do.
Those two paragraphs are simply awesome. So many people just don’t get that it’s no different from the seatbelt/smoke detector/fire extinguisher thing. Repeating and emphasizing that they’re all unlikely events should be all that people need to “get it”.
those were very typical “Sheeple” answers
If they ever find the Wolf at there door and don’t have a clue as to what to do
they can call the cops….who will call the M.E. to bring the body bags to load
there dead bodies in. I am glad we have the sheep dog mentality around here….
Woof
Hi, I found my way over to your blog from Xavier’s. This post and the previous one really caught my attention. The arguments that “it won’t happen to me” or “it won’t happen here” simply do not hold water. I think many people have a Hollywood version of a home invasion in their head, not realizing that it doesn’t have to be a gang of masked strangers breaking in to your home to cause mayhem. In actuality, 1 out of every 3 women on the planet will be a victim of violence (stats courtesy of our friends in the UN, http://www.unifem.org/gender_issues/violence_against_women/).
It amazes me that anyone (man or woman) would not realize that human history is filled with violence. Even decent humans, when under extreme conditions, can resort to acts that would not be committed during more normal times. Why wouldn’t someone who has a fire extinguisher in their home and seat belts in their car not have some sort of personal defense tool as well?
Thanks for the interesting posts and topics.
I loved the push the dresser in front of the door and call the police remark; it works great against those more lethargic criminals that only broke into their 3rd story apartment to saunter in and give them all a hug. Time is a critical factor, having recently repaired my girlfriend’s dresser, I cannot help but wonder how long it will take this person to move the dresser, an item not really made for sliding, in front of the door while simultaneously giving away his, and his family’s position. All with the intent to call the police and make a potentially prolong and compound their potentially life-threatening situation by police response time, thus extending the amount of time the intruder is in their home while they have no defense — possibly leading to a hostage situation when the intruder is cornered by the police. Not to mention the fact that dressers are rather top-heavy by nature, and a good blow to the door should knock it over while removing their last line of passive-defense (if they even managed to move it in the first place after thoroughly wetting themselves.) Calling the police is always a good idea, but it helps when you have some line of active-defense to match active-offense.
well said. Though, i wish i lived in a country where you are allowed to actually protect yourself!
julie, it’s time for you to move, while you still can. The words “i wish” and “allowed” came out of your keyboard much too easily.
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