.

Saturday, January 29, 2011

Reply: Home Invasion in USA

Anonymous said...
While I completely agree with your assessment that more Americans need to take home security more seriously, no amount of guns, physical fitness, or defensive training could have prevented this horrific incident. The article describes the man being beaten in his sleep, lapsing in-and-out of consciousness while tied up, and losing a lot of blood. There's no way in hell he (or any man) had a chance of fighting off the attackers or even making it to his gun stash alive.

Insinuating that this tragedy could have been prevented is quite insulting. Shit happens, even to the most logical and prepared.
January 28, 2011 9:52 PM


Hi,
The idea of home security is to give you time to react. There's nothing you can do that will keep bad guys out of your home 100% of the time. With enough time and resources every single house can be broken into.
But how much time will it take? How much noise will they make? What alarms will it activate? That's the difference.
If you nap calmly with the windows opened so as to feel the nice breeze then yes, nothing you can to about getting hit over the head with a bat with by an intruder. We don’t leave doors or windows unlocked around here, not unless they have burglar bars which will take several minutes (and enough nice) to cut through. We don’t because these things happen all day long so no one even things about leaving doors or windows unlocked or locked with poor locks.
This tragedy could have been prevented with a moderate amount of concern for your home security. If bad guys can break into your home with such ease, then you have a problem you didn’t address.
I'm sure this man never thought this would happen to him. On the other hand I expect this to happen and plan accordingly. Its not an insult, its not his fault that some degenerates were out there looking for an easy victim, I never said otherwise. But don’t fool yourself into saying something as stupid as implying there's nothing you can do to avoid being woken up by intruders already in your home. If that happens then you didn't have an alarm activated, you didn't have dogs, and you sure didn't have a house that was difficult to break into.

FerFAL

17 comments:

Kurt said...

Some people don't want to think that it could happen to them, or think about how to avoid it. Its too painful a though. Just report it as you see it, let the chips fall where they may. Some will take it to heart enough to do something about it. And that is the best you can do my friend. I've been trying to warn people these times are coming for decades, and peeps thought, still think, I'm off my rocker. Its coming whether they want to think about it or not, the best we can do is attempt to wake some of them up.

Anonymous said...

What bothered me about the comments made here from you and other readers is that you all assume that this man was completely unprepared. Nobody here has any idea what kind of preparations this man made. Maybe he did lock the windows, maybe he did lock the doors, maybe he had a home alarm that failed at the wrong moment, etc. We just don't know and the article that was linked offered no details on this matter. So yes, the unfounded speculation and projecting that this guy was an idiot as opposed "guy whose preparations spectacularly failed" is insulting and kicking a man when he's already down. You don't know how he prepared, so stop pretending like you do.

It's also troublesome that the survivalist community naively believes that all of their preparations make them immune from harm. For example, I laughed hard at the comments in the last post saying that this guy would have been saved if he had a dog. C'mon folks, anyone who has read this blog regularly has seen FerFal mention many times that serious criminals neutralize dogs by poisoning them. A dog is nice to have, yes, but you have no idea if a dog would have made a difference in this particular case. Stop treating speculation as fact. Preparations aren't 100 percent foolproof and it's naive to think otherwise.

Lastly, I wouldn't be writing any of this if the tragedy were approached with the tone of "Hey horrific things can happen in nice communities too, so just because you aren't in the ghetto doesn't mean it can't happen to you. Let's review some safety tips". Instead, the posts and comments read like, "HAHAHAHA that family deserved everything they got because they aren't as smart and prepared as I am!" Shame on everyone who uses a tragedy to gloat and feel better about themselves.

Anonymous said...

My thought reading the news about this was that if he was jumped while asleep then no security would have helped by that point. But a making dog, crunching gravel, alarm systems, and good doors and windows would ensure that he IS awake.

Anonymous said...

As Kurt says, "It's too painful a thought" so people will deny away rather than put up motion-lights, alarms, motion-detectors in the home.

THERE IS A REASON SOME PEOPLE SLEEP HARD AT NIGHT. For at least a 1/4 century I suffered from sleep apnea and had no idea. I am a "quiet snorer" though my wife noticed I often stopped breathing at night she wasn't sure if that was really the case. IT WAS.

I always was exhausted at night and napped through the day. Doctors said it was normal, until someone suggested I have a sleep study done. Now I have a CPAP (Constant Positive Airway Pressure) machine and feel rested. I sleep lightly at night.

I feel better knowing that I don't sleep so hard at night (and I am MUCH more alert and calm during the day).

If you cannot get up in the morning and always feel tired get yourself checked out. Even if you don't have the "thick neck", are "obese" or "snore heavily" you may still have a form of apnea. If you're walking around in a daze all day you are a potential target for thugs.

Peace.

Bones said...

Measure, countermeasure. Alarm systems, several big dogs - inside and out. Sure, there's way's around these but the harder you make it, the less likely the bad guys will try. That's as good as it will ever get.

Anonymous said...

"Anonymous said...
While I completely agree with your assessment that more Americans need to take home security more seriously, no amount of guns, physical fitness, or defensive training could have prevented this horrific incident. The article describes the man being beaten in his sleep, lapsing in-and-out of consciousness while tied up, and losing a lot of blood. There's no way in hell he (or any man) had a chance of fighting off the attackers or even making it to his gun stash alive. "

i disagree... by your assessment the man is the only one able to defend the family? the mother and girls are completely helpless?

these people unfortunately sound like the typical american sheep - pacified by the promise of trading their liberty for the safety of government protecting them. brainwashed into going along with the bad guys as they are always preached to by the ones who want to contain and control power for themselves.

it is a very sad story, yes - but those who read it need to wake up and realize they need to prepare take care of themselves. if anybody reads a story like this and then goes on being a sheep and expecting someone else to save them - then they will mostly likely end up the same way at some point.

look at egypt where after just a few days the police have all gone missing - probably gone home to protect their own families and homes.

dc.sunsets said...

With a modern cordless drill or Saws-all nearly any lock can be defeated but doing so noiselessly seems unlikely. It's all about getting time to awake and react.

In many homes where bedrooms are located on a common hallway, putting in a secondary barrier at the hallway entrance (a locked gate, probably) would almost eliminate the possibility of surprise if it was closed whenever people were sleeping.

With houses so cheaply built in recent years where walls are made of nothing but vinyl siding, Styrofoam sheathing, fiberglass insulation, and wallboard, someone can literally cut through a wall in a minute. It's up to us to use such time wisely.

Julia said...

I agree. I have an alarm, 2 small but loud dogs,and a bolt on the door to the basement. Our standard basement windows in the midwest are easily kicked in.

I know that none of these on their own will stop a bad guy. But any single one WILL wake me up.

FWIW, my male cat has been known to run to the front door growling before the dogs have even alerted to the presence of someone in the driveway. So I have an additional, but inconsistent, barrier.

FerFAL said...

"Lastly, I wouldn't be writing any of this if the tragedy were approached with the tone of "Hey horrific things can happen in nice communities too, so just because you aren't in the ghetto doesn't mean it can't happen to you. Let's review some safety tips". Instead, the posts and comments read like, "HAHAHAHA that family deserved everything they got because they aren't as smart and prepared as I am!" Shame on everyone who uses a tragedy to gloat and feel better about themselves."
Wait a minute. I presented this with great respect for the victims and no, you dont have good home security if you get woken up by criminals in oyur home. That doesn't mean they deserved any of this.
Would you bee kind enough to point the HAHAHAHA part? As I said in the first post, 99% of the homes in USA dont have any regard for home security. Security in USA homes is in fact a joke an obvious to anyone visiting. People dont lock their doors, if they do their locks aren't worth a damn, or thier doors. I never made fun of any of this. I'm in fact worried about this so that's why I brought it up. Of course a daughter can be held hostage at gunpoint and forced inside, nothing is 100% certain but it is very clear that homes in USA don't have security in mind and Americans aren't prepared for this. It just doens't happen often enough (yet) for it to hit close to home to the general public.

FerFAL

Anonymous said...

FerFal, I am probably like many readers on this blog who think you handled the post respectfully. I don't know where these people (or this person) gets off thinking you made fun of this man. I guess it's the fact that he feels that the case is SO traumatic, that his response was based on emotion, not logic. You are kind of like Mr. Spock on Star Trek in the way you analyze things. I guess in this analogy, the angry guy must be Bones.

Anyway, keep up the good work.

russell1200 said...

If I remember correctly he was asleep on his front porch.

The bad guys had seen his wife with his daughter out shopping and followed her home.

There is a lot they could have doen, but in fairness to them, this is a very unusual crime. At least in their type of neighborhood.

The urban wealthy in NYC are generally much more paranoid.

Uncle George said...

FerFal, you are correct. Most homes in the USA have no security measures. Alarms, locked doors and windows, together with dogs inside the house will be a deterrent or cause enough delay that you can get to your firearms while calling 911 and not hanging up.

If there are no other people in the house outside your bedroom, you can lock the bedroom door with the shotgun trained on the entrance, all the while leaving the phone connected to the 911 center. You will have made it much more difficult to be attacked successfully, while doing everything expected to justify self defense, if a dirtbag ends up with holes in him (shots or dog bites).

RR said...

FerFal wrote:

Security in USA homes is in fact a joke an obvious to anyone visiting. People dont lock their doors

Funny (in a non-humorous way) you should mention that. From the NYTimes report on the case (http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/07/nyregion/07slay.html?pagewanted=2&ref=petitfamily):

The authorities say the intruders entered the house through an open door at 3 a.m. Monday as Dr. Petit slept in a chair on the first floor, his wife and daughters in their rooms upstairs.

Petit not only didn't lock one of his doors, but he left it open. This is NOT to blame Dr. Petit. Obviously NOBODY deserves to be victimized. Nonetheless, Fernado's point stands. There are things that can be done to discourage home invasions.

Double Tapper said...

Conn is a special case. The people there are overwhelmingly liberals and hate guns. They vote solidly democratic and have no problem sacrificing their freedom for police "protection"

They have the attitude "only police should have guns." When you cede your protection to others who are not vested in you personal protection (like the secret service), you make yourself an easy mark. Many upper middle class people believe this way.

Any way you stack it, the father let his family down. Hard. How he can live with himself, who knows. He willfully let the absolute worst thing that could ever happen to a man happen - have have family raped and murdered by thugs.

Such men are not really men. They are half man/half woman. They may have played an ivy league sport or pulled off a pseudo tough guy routine in a bar to impress a chick. But the bottomline is they had NO plan or guts to do anything about it.

Unfortunately, this has become the modern American male - a metrosexual. When shit strikes, IT IS INCUMBENT FOR THE MAN TO TAKE CHARGE. Once invaded, you take up a defensive position where you are, have the wife call the cops while you assess the situation. If your children are in danger, you do what you have to do even if you die. Dying is a man's job in protecting familes. It is what we were designed to do.

We can pick his tactical errors apart, because he had no tactical plan. I am not going to go through them all. The bad guys can take any of us. Never forget that. Ideally, they should have to clear your gate, perhaps triggering an alarm, kick your door in or break a window perhaps triggering an alarm, get past two barking dogs, one of whom just might bite your nads off. At that time, I will be awake from the break in sound, the alarm, the dogs attacking or getting shot (we fight as a team, I give them everything I can and they do the same for me) or from some other surprises. At that point, I am in ready position with Vest on and high cap 12 gauge shotty ready to go in a defensible room. GF and her kid are behind me with a safe way out. First BG shows a hair of his asshole gets his head blown off. Repeat as needed. GF is calling the cops hunkered down with her child - and with her own .357 mag.

Bottomline, I can be had, but at least I have given myself a good fighting chance. And that is really all you can do - mindset.

FerFAL said...

Thanks RR, I figured something like that. Here its usually people wake up to criminals alredy inside becuase they thought a window was too high, (so safe to leave opened..wrong) or left some back door unlocked. They dont realize those are the favorite points because they are out of sight and they can work more calmly.

"You are kind of like Mr. Spock on Star Trek in the way you analyze things."

Thanks... I guess :-)

FerFAL

Anonymous said...

http://www.wtsp.com/news/state/story.aspx?storyid=171980&catid=19&6

Check this out. Guy says: ""At 9 o'clock at night, I never take any chances," Crawford said."

How about not opening the door? At least he had his sidearm handy.

Anonymous said...

@ DoubleTapper

Have you lived in CT?

Their laws are far better than neighboring states:

http://crime.about.com/od/gunlawsbystate/p/gunlaws_ct.htm