Different Perceptions

I was raised in an industrial, coastal city. It was home, and I never thought much about how it was perceived, but as time when on, I realized my town had a bad reputation. Considering some of the things I encountered, the reputation was founded on facts.

I decided to leave a few years after I was married. The decision was galvanized by an experience one night:

Our dog started barking in the middle of the night. It wasn't the questioning bark; it was the bark that signified something was wrong and I needed to pay attention.

Investigation revealed a group of teenagers walking down the street. Looking at the clock, I realized it was 3:00 am, a school night and they had no reason to be out; much less talking loudly as they sashayed down a quiet neighborhood in the middle of the night.

I didn't like the feeling of not feeling safe. While they were causing no harm, they had the opportunity if they wanted to take advantage. Without the dog, they would have passed by without me knowing and if crime was on their mind, thievery, burglary and other mayhem was a wide open opportunity. They were intruding on my peace and quiet, did so with impunity and there was nothing I could do about it.

I moved to a rural area; so rural they don't deliver mail to my house and there is no cable service. I do have neighbors, but they're not intrusive, will wave if we happen to see each other and will shoot first if the need arises. They'll protect me, my property and I'll do the same, if necessary.  It's an unspoken agreement and necessary. The sheriff department is our only police force and they can be a long time arriving.

I like this arrangement. I like knowing I have the liberty to protect what's mine, know strangers are only welcome if invited and criminals may find something as simple as a burglary may turn into a capital offense. With a rural setting, low law enforcement presence, and the fact any intrusion signifies a complete lack of mental acuity, any criminal can only be considered dangerous and life threatening.

I know many people think living in the city is grand. They feel safer, although I doubt they are. Predators roam at will, and have been allowed to so for a long period of time. Society has broken down and those that have no business roaming freely do so without thought. Where a criminal should have few opportunities due to the number of citizens unwilling to allow their behavior, the opposite is now true. Those willing to support the laws, lock and bolt themselves in their homes, pay for security, allow their ability for defense to be lowered by the removal of their firearms and do so without ever thinking they've reduced their standard of living. They aren't in control of their environment; they're prey and the predators are only waiting for the right moment to strike.

To make matters worse, the predators developed a feeling of entitlement. They have no qualms about sneaking into garages, stealing all that can be found, vandalizing automobiles and burglarizing businesses. They feel you deserve the thievery, since you were so inefficient with protecting your property. Even if caught, they may only get a state jail felony conviction, spend a year or two being clothed and fed, and return to continue their predation. When they become emboldened, they jack cars, knock down doors and terrorize families.

I know many people believe education, understanding, civil discussion and more laws will change this, but they're foolish in their beliefs. Society has created a predator that has no respect for laws, privacy, personal property or safety. They only understand their wants, take what they want without fear of consequence and will never change, until they're either incarcerated forever, or taken out by a citizen without qualms when dealing with a predator.

Like it or not,  when predators threaten society, a healthy society will eliminate the predators, whether they're coyotes or the group of thugs chugging malt liquor down at the corner store. How it's done is always up to the society, but it usually involves deadly force, since predators are beyond reason and only understand violence.