[QUOTE=no_really,Oct 11 2006, 12:15 AM]For crying out loud, if you have insurance, you have no need to shoot people to stop them from taking your crap.

 

Nope, I live in a very nice suburb of Dallas. White fences around all of the front yards, neighbors drive BMWs, Mercedes and Range Rovers.. but guess what? Crime happens EVERYWHERE. No matter if I live in the ghetto or in a nice neighborhood I'll still always want to be able to defend myself. When a robber sneaks into my house and I see him walking through my bedroom door what good is the gun going to do in a shoebox in the closet? But then again I guess I could just call 911 and ask the bad guy to hang around for 5 minutes until they get there. I didn't mean I sit up all night with my gun in my hand waiting for someone to break in, but I sure as hell feel a lot better knowing I can defend myself, my family and my property if it ever does happen.

Excel.. all that damn data and graphs is why I had to stop arguing with you in the Political Forum

 

Are you just a naturally paranoid person then?

 

Yeah, not wanting an intruder to rob and kill me makes me a very paranoid person. Y'know since it NEVER happens in today's society...

So why don't you go disable the airbags in your s2000, the smoke detectors in your house and take all of the locks off the doors? You're obviously extremely paranoid about getting into a car wreck, your house burning down, or someone breaking in.

Go to the political forum if you want to continue this.

 

I pay for insurance so I don't have to defend my belongings with my life. If someone wants to take my shit, I'll let them, then file a police report and insurance claim. I don't have anything that isn't replaceable, and I am sure as hell not going to risk my life or that or anyone else over some petty theft.

Shit, I am having a very hard time thinking of anything I own that I'd die to keep someone else from having.

Discretion is the better part of valor.

 

Sorry Josh, it's just that someone who seems to live in the perfect society (big houses, big cars, big lifestyle, etc.) yet is still paranoid because in Camden, NJ someone is getting robbed, comes across as KIND OF paranoid.

I think you have a greater chance of getting into a car wreck coming home to your million dollar house outside Dallas because your neighbor in the BMW wants to get home before you, than someone deciding they want to rob you and take your blankie, so yeah, sorry I'm so thickheaded.

You gun-happy folks share the same short temper. Not a good combination. You guys seem to live in a video-game world...

 

That data is the only thing that doesn't lie.

Opinions are worthless when realiiy is something completely different.

However, there are rare time we seem to agree with each others opinions and the data.

You keep saying that like we give a crap about our watches or tv sets, i don't give a damnn about that. I care about my fiance, myself or other innocent people getting raped or killed/hurt.

If your girl is lying in bed with you when the rapest walks in just tell her you expect her to fist fight that 220 lbd guy.

 

[QUOTE]I think you have a greater chance of getting into a car wreck coming home to your million dollar house outside Dallas because your neighbor in the BMW wants to get home before you, than someone deciding they want to rob you and take your blankie, so yeah, sorry I'm so thickheaded.

 

I'll tell her to call you :/

Seriously, no-one is going to break in and rape your family. Sure, it happens. But not often. In fact, it is extremely rare. No, that doesn't make the victims feel any better, i'm sure. But obsessing over aberrations in human behavior just makes you crazy, it doesn't necessarily make anyone any safer. The reality is that you greatly increase your family's chances of being hurt by a gun just by having them around. Kind of like you greatly increase your family's chances of drowning just by having a pool. That isn't an argument that either pools or guns are inherently bad. Just that having a pool to guard against the possibility of dying of thirst makes about as much sense as having a gun in your night stand for the day someone breaks in your house while you are home. IMHO. I keep my guns at my parents' house because I only use them for hunting. I have no use for them in my apartment, and if I thought I needed one for protection, I'd move.

I know how hard it is to hit something with a bullet. Therefore, I know that it's probably smarter to make an effort to not be in a situation where I will die if I don't hit my target before they hit me. And I'd say I'm a good shot.

I ride my bike around the city at night fairly often, and have done so for years and years. I stopped carrying a knife for protection a long time ago. I realized that I never needed it, and the few times I was forced into a physical altercation, I never thought to use it, and was actually more concerned it would find its way into their hands. I've been ripped off at gunpoint, and there is no way in hell carrying a gun would have been helpful right then. (I did NOT piss my pants, but it really, really wanted to come out lol) What did help was using my head - I gave the guy a few bucks, and when he demanded more, pulled out a handful of change. He got surly, but ran off when I insisted that's all I had. I thought about chasing him down, but in the end, I didn't even call the police. The guy was a moron, that's why he's robbing people with a gun. He'll get his one day.

A gun isn't a shield, it's a target. That's why I can't see the logic in people wanting to surround themselves with guns "for protection." Opinions vary, and there's probably room for more than one. There are a few handguns I'd like to own for target shooting (1911, Walther P99), but I can't ever see the day I'd point one at a person. I avoid those situations. If my head can't keep me out of trouble, I'm certainly not going to put my faith in a hunk of lethal metal.

 

You guys just get so defensive when I ask why.. especially when I say you are the last person on earth to get robbed, you flip out and tell me to go leave my doors wide open and take out my airbag...