OMG I am freaking out, shaking, scared- what would you do in this situation??? *UPDATE in OP* - Page 5

[laurelg]

Didn't really read the whole thread, but some thoughts on guns coming from the perspective of a gun owner/carrier:

If you are going to introduce a gun to your home/lifestyle, I strongly urge you to get some formal training. The NRA offers classes on personal protection both in and out of the home, as well as basic pistol, etc. Check their website to find local offerings.

Guns are tools. Dangerous tools, yes, that must learn to be respected like any other. I could rattle off a long list of items we have in our homes - cleaning supplies, ovens and stovetops, coffee pots, knives - that are also very dangerous. Rather than issuing blanket prohibitions against these items, we take precautions to secure them away from our children and teach our children to respect them.

If you are going to bring a gun into a home with children, it is your responsibility to ensure it is not a threat to them. There are many ways to do this - wearing it on your person where they can't access it without your knowledge, securing it with some kind of locking device or safe (not my first choice for a personal protection firearm), educating your kids when they're old enough... Check out the NRA's Eddie Eagle program for more on safety education.

The point I saw elsewhere in the thread about the usefulness of a gun in the home is a good one - are you willing to carry the gun on your person? If not, it's only going to be useful if you can get to it. That works if you have time to retreat to a bedroom or whatever as someone breaks in, but not if you're caught by surprise.

I advocate that anyone willing and able to undertake the responsibility arm themselves - especially women. Firearms are a great equalizer, and you can learn the skills needed to safely operate one in self-defense in a matter of hours. (Compare that to martial arts, which likely require years of study before an individual is skilled enough to take on a much larger or stronger opponent.) That said, if you are not willing to undertake that responsibility, a shotgun in your closet isn't going to do anything to make you or your family safer.

If you have any questions, please feel free to PM me.

[maygee]

Originally Posted by Ironica

Your instincts are pretty reliable. Mine are too. But I think there's also another dimension, because things that happen to other people just *don't happen* to me. There's other signs, too, that there's another level to this... my best friend, for example, loves to go shopping with me. Week before Christmas? No problem... the crowds just part for me. It's like I have a different electrical field or something. People don't invade my body buffer zone.

I don't get burgled, robbed, mugged, pickpocketed, or accosted. My car has never even been broken into... my car stereo was stolen one time, but I *did* leave the top off the car and the faceplate on the stereo.... they didn't actually *break* anything (though they did pop out a fuse to disable the alarm, and I had to take the car in to the shop to find out what slot that fuse had come from). My home has never been broken into (since it's been my own; we had some neighborhood teenagers break in a few times when I was a kid). Whatever makes me useful at the mall seems to extend to my property, too.

And I'm terrible about locking my doors. I leave my purse in shopping carts or at the restaurant table while I go to the bathroom.

But that's *me*. My experience is unusual, and if I knew for certain what was different that causes this, I'd sure as heck teach others... because I know that this is not the reality a lot of people experience.

Actually, statistically, your experience is completely generically what is to be expected. Most people don't have their purses stolen, their bodies raped, or their homes burgled, so maybe what you think makes you untouchable, maybe just makes you normal. Seriously, you all have more of a chance of slipping in the shower than being offed by your "off" next door neighbor. I get wanting to "owe" it to some magical electrical field, but I do all those things you mentioned, and I'm not "chosen", just a little lazy.

[bigeyes]

Originally Posted by Ironica

Your instincts are pretty reliable. Mine are too. But I think there's also another dimension, because things that happen to other people just *don't happen* to me. There's other signs, too, that there's another level to this... my best friend, for example, loves to go shopping with me. Week before Christmas? No problem... the crowds just part for me. It's like I have a different electrical field or something. People don't invade my body buffer zone.

I don't get burgled, robbed, mugged, pickpocketed, or accosted. My car has never even been broken into... my car stereo was stolen one time, but I *did* leave the top off the car and the faceplate on the stereo.... they didn't actually *break* anything (though they did pop out a fuse to disable the alarm, and I had to take the car in to the shop to find out what slot that fuse had come from). My home has never been broken into (since it's been my own; we had some neighborhood teenagers break in a few times when I was a kid). Whatever makes me useful at the mall seems to extend to my property, too.

And I'm terrible about locking my doors. I leave my purse in shopping carts or at the restaurant table while I go to the bathroom.

But that's *me*. My experience is unusual, and if I knew for certain what was different that causes this, I'd sure as heck teach others... because I know that this is not the reality a lot of people experience.

I believe there are some of us who almost magnetically attract this stuff. I'm a prime example.

So it makes perfect sense to me that you might almost magically repel it.

One of my friends insists people with strong psychic abilities attract this sort of thing. I don't know for sure, I just know I'm slightly more paranoid than the average person because I've had too many bizarre experiences not to be.

[cloudswinger]

Originally Posted by laurelg

I advocate that anyone willing and able to undertake the responsibility arm themselves - especially women. Firearms are a great equalizer, and you can learn the skills needed to safely operate one in self-defense in a matter of hours. (Compare that to martial arts, which likely require years of study before an individual is skilled enough to take on a much larger or stronger opponent.) That said, if you are not willing to undertake that responsibility, a shotgun in your closet isn't going to do anything to make you or your family safer.

I agree about the training needed for guns, I don't agree that martial arts requires years of training. Maybe if you wanted to do one on one combat. But for self defense purposes, a few good techniques and a lot of mental preparedness. It's all about intention and awareness. Make them aware that any ill intentions on their part will be responded to in kind. There is a victim mentality, and predators pick out the "easy" targets. Project confidence and awareness. Like they say in bear chase survival stories, you don't have to be the fastest runner, just faster than the next person.

I also am a martial artist, and do weapons training, and we also say that once either party is armed, that situation is escalated to a life and death situation. Be prepared for that. If you have a gun and it's taken away from you, are you prepared for defending yourself against that? If you have a knife, you need to be prepared to be cut. If you have a stick, be prepared to be hit. If you've never been punched before, it's a shock. If my dd is around, I'd much rather kick and poke and punch than take the chance that a random bullet goes somewhere wrong. And believe me, if that situation ever came up, there's going to be eyeballs rolling! You did good to keep aware and keep him outside.

[bigeyes]

Originally Posted by cloudswinger

I agree about the training needed for guns, I don't agree that martial arts requires years of training. Maybe if you wanted to do one on one combat. But for self defense purposes, a few good techniques and a lot of mental preparedness. It's all about intention and awareness. Make them aware that any ill intentions on their part will be responded to in kind. There is a victim mentality, and predators pick out the "easy" targets. Project confidence and awareness. Like they say in bear chase survival stories, you don't have to be the fastest runner, just faster than the next person.

I also am a martial artist, and do weapons training, and we also say that once either party is armed, that situation is escalated to a life and death situation. Be prepared for that. If you have a gun and it's taken away from you, are you prepared for defending yourself against that? If you have a knife, you need to be prepared to be cut. If you have a stick, be prepared to be hit. If you've never been punched before, it's a shock. If my dd is around, I'd much rather kick and poke and punch than take the chance that a random bullet goes somewhere wrong. And believe me, if that situation ever came up, there's going to be eyeballs rolling! You did good to keep aware and keep him outside.

ITA.

And, when push comes to shove, I'd rather go down with a bullet in my back or get off a punch or 2 and possibly leave evidence behind than sit there and make no attempt whatsoever to save myself.

I had only taken a few months worth of martial arts classes when I threw the guy down the stairs who grabbed me. All you need is the survival instinct and practice.

[treehugginhippie]

Originally Posted by bigeyes

I believe there are some of us who almost magnetically attract this stuff.

Sounds just like the book/movie concept The Secret.

[bigeyes]

Originally Posted by treehugginhippie

Sounds just like the book/movie concept The Secret.

Far from it, actually.

some other psychic buddies and I have a theory that many of us with abilities have an unconsicous way of of attracting people who would do us harm, but none of us have an explanation for the 'why.'

It's not at all about being the type of people who went through life expecting the world to be scary and then attracting that to ourselves. In fact, not all of us even believe people are capable of doing that.

I do believe there is some sort of aura or vibe we give off, though.

[sapphire_chan]

Originally Posted by Amila

he came to our FRONT door 2 times when our cat got out

Why was him coming to the front door weird?

As for the situation at hand, being cautious because of a general bad vibe is cool. There's nothing about the particular situation that immediately freaks me out though. Coming to you for help--he's met you before and you're home can't ask someone who isn't there and it'd be even weirder to go to a complete stranger. Strange look--he's in pain and that gives most of us really strange looks. Can't see left hand--any chance it was pressed into his back?

[dubfam]

Originally Posted by bigeyes

I believe there are some of us who almost magnetically attract this stuff. I'm a prime example.

So it makes perfect sense to me that you might almost magically repel it.

One of my friends insists people with strong psychic abilities attract this sort of thing. I don't know for sure, I just know I'm slightly more paranoid than the average person because I've had too many bizarre experiences not to be.

I could not agree more...I am unfortunately the type that seems to draw it closer.
I am also very intuitive...I have predicted some pretty random things.

I have never considered this before

[LittleBlessings]

that is scary

[IvyAfire]

Originally Posted by sapphire_chan

Why was him coming to the front door weird?

I thought maybe people used the back door there like they do here. People almost never knock on your front door here and it still startles me when someone comes to my back door. My PC sits in the corner of the breakfast bar and my back is to the back door so it always bugs me when someone 'sneaks up on me' that way.

[Smithie]

Apologies is a previous post has already addressed this, but didn't you say that Creepy Dude lives with his brother? His brother may be playing a caregiving role in his life, and a big part of that would be constantly explaining and reinforcing acceptable social behavior. Could you or dh maybe talk to the brother?