Saw this on the book of faces:
First off 19 year old. That’s a legal adult. Old enough to vote, to join the military, to sign binding contracts and basically do anything except drink alcohol (legally) or buy handguns (legally).
Second, mugging is not just “theft.” Theft is when someone sees something they want, nobody around, and they take it and walk away. Theft is breaking into an unoccupied car and boosting it’s stereo. Theft is a pure property crime. Mugging is a subset of robbery. It’s a violent crime. It’s using the threat of death or serious bodily injury to induce someone to hand over their personal property in a face to face confrontation.
After the fact, our judicial system uses whether the criminal actually caused death or serious bodily injury as part of determining the appropriate penalty. But the person facing the mugger doesn’t have the luxury of an after-the-fact determination. They have to go with what they have in front of them right then with no crystal ball to see how it will turn out.
The mugger might say “hand over your wallet and you won’t get hurt” but, really, how much can you trust that? After all, the mugger is robbing you. Is it really that much of a stretch to consider that he might lie to you too? While some people advocate cooperating with the criminal, statistics show that resistance reduces the risk not only of property loss but the likelihood of injury.
And that, right there, is the crux of the matter.
I have a daughter at home. I am her sole means of support. I have not only a right but a duty to return home safely to my daughter so I can care for, provide for, and protect her. That means that I have not only a right but a duty to do whatever is necessary to stop someone who threatens my ability to do that. A mugger might, might be satisfied with the contents of my wallet. But I have no way to know that.
Thus, I have not just a right but a duty to treat any face to face confrontation with a criminal as a potentially violent, potentially lethal threat. And when you consider the vast majority of violent criminals, including muggers, don’t stop with just one, it’s not just me and my daughter at question, but all the other fathers, mothers, daughters, and sons who could be victimized after me. I may not owe them a specific duty, but they remain part of the consideration as to why I can, and indeed must, treat that confrontation as a threat not just to me and mine but to them as well.
And if the criminal doesn’t like that he has a simple way to avoid it: don’t put me in that position.
Don’t start none, won’t be none.
The Writer in Black 
I’ve dealt with attempted muggings, but I live in California – so I can’t carry a gun. But – don’t start none, won’t be none. I give you a chance to walk away before I start taking you to pieces – I don’t care if you have a pistol, knife, pointed stick, bomb, or whatever – I know how to deal with you, and if you don’t take off, I’ll be happy to demonstrate that little factoid.
I don’t /need/ a pistol to put you in the hospital – and you’re probably going to get hurt worse than if I’d have just shot you.
But, not everyone is built like me (6’3″, 275#, and built like an ape.) So, we have CCW, and we have sidearms. California just hasn’t gotten the damn hint.
Yet one more reason to leave this benighted and bassackwards state
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This seems to be a theme of late. The news is running interference via terminology.
4.nbcny.com/Xugjhkn
Breaking and entering is now ‘unwanted house visiting.’ I am waiting on them to rename rape as ‘undesired surprise sex’ or something similarly stupid.
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Really?! Unwanted house visiting? What is seeing with people? These same people who want this damn witch hunt would be the first ones crying for blood and punishment if it was their person or property being violated. The crazy just keeps getting crazier.
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Sorry, what is wrong with people is what I meant to write. Unfortunately, the artificial stupidity system that operates my phone has other ideas.
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No worries. I’m sufficiently heatstroked that I read what you wrote with what you meant the first time and realized the Otto Crick happened afterward.
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Otto Crick?! Haha! That’s a new one for me! My friend and I came up with Hans the ASS after autocorrect changed something to Hans. Now we have a whole book series planned based on this bit of nonsense! Haha!
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The inmates are running the asylum, my dear. The inmates are truly running the asylum.
I agree with one political commentator I read of late, who said that “Trump was a cry for desperation from a people who are tired of being ignored.” Not only are we being ignored by the “political elites” (who, frankly, should not exist – the system started to go downhill once “politician” became a career option…) but those of us who have any brains or common sense are sick and damned tired of being ignored and marginalized by the political Left, who keep throwing their “politically correct” horseshit upon us /ad/ /nauseam/ and /ad/ /infinitum/, like what they’re saying actually makes any damned sense.
“Spirit of ’76 – Re-elect Nobody!”
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I agree about your assessment of Trump. I’m not easily seduced by people seeking power, but I must admit that even I was hoping it would be him rather than Clinton or some other establishment politician, even if he is a bit of a clown. I feel like we’re bearded towards idiocracy. Have you seen it? An utterly stupid movie, but done with a stroke of brilliance, in that it portrays the direction our society appears to be headed in.
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Oh yes, I have seen Idiocracy, and I likewise feel it was prophetic. Then again, I felt it was prophetic when I read the novel that Mike Judge got the idea for the movie from – Cyril Kornbluth’s “The Marching Morons” (I recommend it. Along with anything dystopian, they seem to be prophecy – Aldous Huxley’s “Brave New World” is an example. And dammit – Orwell’s “1984” was a WARNING, not a manual! Likewise “Animal Farm.”)
If you’re into Golden Era science fiction, do a search for “X Minus One” – it’s a 1950’s radio show that is now in the public domain, that had stories from the greats (and some obscure writers who were quite good as well.) You can find it as an .mp3 collection, each one is 20-25 minutes long, they’ve chopped the commercials out of what was originally a half-hour programme. Again, highly recommended (and some of those were rather prophetic – like “Mr. Costello, Hero.,” about a society where you ALWAYS have a companion to watch you, because “you can’t do anything bad if you have a friend along to watch you….” Surveillance society, anyone?)
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Banks for the recommendations. I’ve seen 1984 and metropolis is one of my faves. Tried brave new world, but had the impression I was reading the wrong thing.
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BNW’s a little odd, but good once you get into it. John Hurt’s 1984 has much to recommend it.
I’ll try to think of a few other recommendations for you. The problem with having read so much is that you have so many things rattling around up in the melon that you can’t keep track of them all anymore…
“When a society requires positive identification, it is time to go elsewhere. Fortunately, space travel has made it possible to go elsewhere.” -Lazarus Long
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I seriously think we need to bring gibbets back to town squares and start using them.
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Mugger committed suicide.
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