The People Will Have Their Say
I was appalled by this story when I heard it too. While I do not condone vigilantism, I would have felt better about this story had the guy blown their knees out. He did not have to go for the 'deadly force' factor.
My in-laws live in Texas. They are not natives. However, I fear that their children will grow up with the majority mindset of that backwards state.
On the neighbors: could be they're afraid of crazy shotgun guy. But you're probably right.
this gives yet another reason to be afraid of texas. but Notsoccer Mom and i have a very dear friend that lives in austin. at least she is a normal sane liberal!
KH - Or he could have just done what the police TOLD him to do and stayed in the house.
barbie - tell that friend to flee!
Murder, clear and simple. There is no excuse. Shotgun guy sould be locked behind bars until he's too invalid to be any danger to society (I'd say "for decades" except he's 70 years old).
If it were *his* house being robbed I might be inclined to think differently. He would have a claim to self-defense. But under these circumstances it is clear that he is nothing but a blood-thirsty savage yearning for any excuse to kill.
I would love to have him next door to me.
The only people that need fear someone like that is a thief.
Now there are two less.
OB
OB,
So, you are saying that someone else's property is more valuable than a human life? What if you lived next door to him and he felt YOU were breaking a law. Would you feel comfortable then?
Yes, I sure would feel relaxed at all times knowing that someone was helping to protect me. If we lived next door to each other, we would know one another. He is retired, I am retired, we would spend time together and get to know one another.
It is not me that thinks a human life is worth less than property, it is the one that is stealing that thinks his/her life is worth less. They gamble with their own lives when they take what does not belong to them. These two gambled and lost.
I am a neighborly type of a person. If you and your family are hungry, ask me and I will feed you. BUT, don't steal from me.
OB,
Thanks for sticking around to discuss. I appreciate it. Yours is a fair point. They devalued their own lives with their actions, but he did, too. They each made a choice.
I don't want anyone stealing from me and I wouldn't steal from them either. But I don't consider my stuff worth more than another person's life. Stuff can be replaced. Life can't.
Should the criminals pay? Absolutely. Should they be killed for a non-violent crime? That is a tough sell for me.
Of course, it is easy to look at this in hindsight. What if someone had been at home in the other house and injured or killed by the robbers? In all likelihood, we would be singing a different tune.
My main issue is with the fact that he was told by the police not to do it. He was told by the police to stay in his house. He ignored this and took the law into his own hands.
Different people have different feelings about things. People from different areas have different ideas and needs. Sometime "stuff" cannot be replaced. I am 66 and retired, fixed income and all the "old folks" things. Most of the stuff that I have gathered up in this lifetime could never be replaced and I don't want it taken away from me by some low lifes that are too lazy to work.
I have given it a lot of thought and I think that my stuff may not be worth more than a life BUT my right to own it is. No one has the right to walk into my home and take anything. No one has the right to come on my place and threaten me. I have the right to stop it. Now the law says that right extends to protecting my neighbors and their stuff and I would/will.
My nearest neighbor lives about a half a mile from me and we talked about this very thing years ago. He would do anything necessary to stop my home from being emptied out and I would do the same for him. This was during a period when there was a group going around the county with a truck and breaking into houses. When the folks came home from work, they would find their house empty.
On Mr. Horn, he waited until they were ready to leave with the stuff. That was as long as he could wait.
You must remember "When SECOUNDS count, the police are only MINUTES away". In my case, if I needed to call 911, it would be between 15 and 20 minutes before help arrived.
OB
OB,
Thanks for the different and well-reasoned perspective. I can't disagree with you on any of your points. The only area where I think we differ is on how to value the life of the criminal.
Given the difference in our ages and circumstances, I think our different POVs make sense.
I'm no longer as sure as I was when I wrote the article. I may have to revisit the topic.
I'd certainly try to prevent my neighbors' houses from being emptied, but I don't think I could kill for it. I might shoot out the tires of the getaway vehicle before while they were in the house, though. And I'd certainly try to get photos and videos.
Before you shoot out their tires, keep in mind that this means they can't get away. That sounds good in theory, but if they are armed too, it may force the issue of having to shoot them to protect yourself. Especially since they're going to hear you shooting. If they know you're armed and feel like they're trapped, they might prefer to shoot you and steal your car instead.
Most people form their opinions based on the world as they see it every day and don’t stop to think that there may be a different kind of a world out there. I can’t vision living where there are drug users within twenty or thirty feet of me or drug dealers standing in front of a building I live in, selling their wares. I would have to try to put a stop to it. But that is their world and my way of thinking would not fit in with it.
Different situations demand different solutions.
Where I live would determine my actions in any given situation. Here and now, yes I would probably use deadly force as my first choice. If I lived on the tenth floor of an apartment building with children and other people living all around, above, and under me, That would not be my first choice. At least not with a high powered rifle like it would be here and not.
I got in to this because I saw people from around the country condemning Mr. Horn for his actions. I never saw any post from Pasadena, Texas condemning him. His neighbors came out in his support. The law there says you can use deadly force to protect your or your neighbor’s property. When the thieves learn this they will move to where the people who condemn Mr. Horn will protect them as they rob and steal instead of work for a living.
Commenting by HaloScan
