Self Defence Redux

Just wanna thank Mr. Baker in advance for the Insta-Ulcer caused by reading his link!

This infuriates me more than I thought would be possible. I'm sitting here literally banging my knuckles against my desk, wishing I could be doing the same to the utter wastes of flesh who inflicted these injuries upon helpless old women.

I would be at a loss to understand why Britons would put up with this kind of crap, except that I know very well why it happens. They've let the Nanny-State socialists take over the running of their affairs, and now the "rights" of lawbreakers are given greater emphasis than the natural rights of the British people.

While there's a grassroots movement to rewrite the laws concerning self-defense laws in GB, I just don't think there's enough collective intestinal fortitude left in Britain for it to be passed.

Mind you, I don't doubt the individual bravery of your average Brit. They've shown in war after war that they are wonderful allies to have fighting with you, and an enemy that you most certainly don't want to have shooting at you. The problem is, they're not let off the leash until they're overseas. Since recorded history begain in Fair Albion, the people of the Isles have always been subjects to a Crown. (OK, the laurel wreath for Roman times) Only in the last 75 years (or thereabouts) have the shackles of those 3000+ years of ingrained subservience begun to fade, and it's fading more slowly than it needs to. Why else would a people accept the ruling of a government that forces you to run away INSIDE YOUR OWN HOME from armed intruders? Why else would a people accept a law that would imprison you for life for defending home and family from those who invade and threaten with violence and mayhem?

In the States, we get accused of having a "cowboy" mentality, where the streets run red with blood as a result of our gun culture. We're constantly accused of having too many guns that cause too many senseless deaths. What the MSM and the TransNational gungrabbers fail to tell you about are the thousands upon thousands of crimes in America that are not committed, literally stopped in progress, due to a citizen (NOT a subject...) being armed, prepared to use that firearm, and having the knowledge that if they have to kill the intruder, they won't be risking loss of everything they hold dear.

I wrote quite a bit about home invasions on a long thread on the rec.knives newsgroup about a year ago. Here's a sampling of my thoughts at the time:

If you break into my house uninvited, armed, and with malice aforethought, you deserve every bit of what punishment I choose to dole out. Up to and including, I might add, chasing you down and finishing the job so you never try it on another person.

I can already hear the liberals squawking "You'd make yourself judge, jury and executioner?" You're damned right. You gave up your rights when you threatened my home and my family by armed invasion.

The other whine you likely hear is "Just let them take what they want! It's not worth your life." Well, they're partly right. It's not worth my life to have someone carjack me and steal my truck. It IS worth THEIR life, though, with quite a bit of change left over.

And...

Nope, you can bleat all you want with the other sheeple. I'm just making sure you're properly labeled as one who favors the armed intruder over the innocent victim.

As for your earlier reply regarding self defense... here, let me quote you exactly: "The moment the one you're attacking turns their back to you, stabbing them changes from self defence to murder."

You are absolutely wrong. They committed themselves to whatever retribution the homeowner deems fit to hand out as long as they remain inside his domicile, even if they are on the way out. My state law says that I may not pursue them outside my house, and I can & will abide by that law, though I stand by my earlier statement that the collective population would be better off if he was hunted down and eliminated.

Once again, I'm not referring to vandals, itinerant salesmen, or even the weird kid that I catch playing "doctor" with my daughter. (Ed. note, should I have ever have one...) I'm talking about armed home invaders. What I fail to understand is your apologetic attitude towards those that committed the initial crime. Why should the scumbag that performs an armed invasion, threatening the lives and well being of people that had zero say in whether he intruded violently into their lives, be cut any kind of slack or leniency by the intended victims? Just because the tide turns against him and the opportunity to terrorize the victims vanishes does not erase the initial severity of the crime. The armed invader has chosen to set himself irrevocably apart from polite society, and in my 'barbaric' viewpoint, that person has by his own actions shown himself as unworthy to live among peaceful people, and deserves to be culled from the herd.
Rust, though I disagree with you, and would never wish this for you, the day you have a loved one murdered by an armed intruder perhaps you will understand my loathing for these animals. It's very easy to preach love and tolerance until you have to stare down at a cold body in a casket.

And...

When the goblins come breaking down your door, that is not the time to debate social inequality, poor moral upbringing, the breakdown of the family unit, or any of the underlying reasons that people turn to crime. It's the time to repel boarders, quickly & decisively.

And...

If someone on the Internet or over the phone threatens my life, I can ignore whatever 'really awful threats' they make. If the cops have a guy in handcuffs, and he's screaming about killing me as he's dragged off to jail, well, that can slide too. More on that later. If they are in my house making those threats while armed, though, they have just crossed a point-of-no-return line. Whatever they decide to do, it's still defense of my household until they are outside of it, whether they're advancing or retreating. They made the decision to break in, not me. I have no moral obligation to cut them any slack. "You buys the ticket, you rides the ride."

Finally... (apologies for the long post... I wanted all the juicy bits in, though.)

What I see as the primary problem is that too many people live in a state of perpetual fear, and they try to legislate away all things that make them fearful rather than to face them down. Hence, all the weird laws that have sprung up.

No defending yourself from intruders, mandatory helmets for bicycle riders, no harsh language, etc. and so forth. I also believe that the perpetually fearful are profoundly envious of those who can stand up to the predators & also those who have set aside the learned helplessness that infects the majority of the populace. So envious, in fact that it affects their self-image to the point where they feel they must supress the urge for self-protection in others in order to feel better about themselves.

That is why we see cases where the victim is jailed for his 'crimes'. The state of fear has begun to permeate all facets of life, even in those who are supposed to be our first line of defense. Here in Texas, we used to have a phrase "one riot, one Ranger". Now it seems to take 2 and even 3 police cars for even a routine traffic stop. I used to be able to get out of my car and walk over to the officer to hand over my ID & insurance card when pulled over. Now they are so keyed-up that they have their hands on their weapons at all times, and getting out of your vehicle is likely to end in a gun pulled on you. Criminals are not that much more violent that they were 50 years ago. Guns were cheaper and more available back then as well.

So why the change?

The Black Helicopter/Conspiracy crowd would have you believe that we are slowly being conditioned to accept the bit & bridle of an authoritarian one-world government, with all our "fight the power" reflexes bred or scared out of us. Personally, I think that's all a load of hooey, but we are becoming disturbingly complacent in larger and large numbers. The socialist nonsense that is so prevalent in Europe is becoming more popular over here. I think if social class structure wasn't such an ingrained part of life in countries that had an aristocracy vs. serf culture in their recent past, they wouldn't need so many silly laws to 'make everyone equal'.

So, to cut off a long rant before it gets even longer, fight the fear, people. We are all destined to die one day. There's no getting out of that one, so there's no point in worrying endlessly over how it's gonna happen. Protect yourself the best you can, watch over your loved ones, and for pete's sake, stand up to those who would deny you a long life.

El Capitan

"It may be better to be a live jackal than a dead lion, but it is better still to be a live lion. And usually easier." - R.A.H. (Ed. Note - Heinlein)

One final note... I was asked via email during the course of that thread what I would do if the invader surrendered, i.e. dropped the weapon and put up his hands or hit the floor. To paraphrase Seth Gecko in "From Dusk Till Dawn" I am an generally an evil bastard, but I'm not a fucking evil bastard. The surrendering skell would be held for the gendarmes.

But I might blow out a kneecap. Just 'cause I'm an evil bastard.