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AIBU?

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Original poster

To think that if you get stabbed by the owner of the house you're trying to rob...

270 replies

BupcakesandCunting · 23/06/2011 19:12

That it's an occupational hazard of being a burglar?

Obviously I am NOT glad that someone has died here but if you break into a property, you cannot guarantee that you will come out of it very well off. If someone broke into my house, I don't know how I would react but if I felt that my family were under threat and I was panicking, I imagine it would be very easy to go OTT and the other person come off worse.

I know that the law says that you're supposed to use "reasonable force" but heat of the moment/panicking etc etc...

What does everyone else think?

OP posts:
PigletJohn · 25/06/2011 11:46

Here is a practical (not a moral) point:

If you are not trained knife-fighter, and get up, bleary-eyed and half asleep, barefoot and without your glasses, carrying a big knife, and face a person who is known to be a criminal, likely to be wound up on excitement and fear at the thought of being caught, possibly has a history of violence, possibly under the influence of drugs, and wide awake, which of you is likely to end up with the knife in their hand, and who is most likely to end up being stabbed?

begonyabampot · 25/06/2011 11:48

don't think practical comes into it when you are terrified.

WidowWadman · 25/06/2011 11:49

I'm not sure keeping a knife under your bed is a good idea - the burglar might disarm you and knife you in the end, rather than running away when being spotted ..?

We once had someone trying to break into our house - when confronted he ran away - I felt very insecure in this house after that and in the we moved, but I think it would have been a very stupid idea to confront him with a weapon of any kind, as this could have led to much more tragedy.

Gooseberrybushes · 25/06/2011 11:53

"if your DN screamed you would stab the bastard"

this is the first step to lynch mob, vigilante stuff

yes we all love our children, but what is all this about?

I suppose I should read a bit more of the thread but I think I agree with sausages here and a few others of the less "I am not responsible for my actions if my child got hurt" mentality type posters

Gooseberrybushes · 25/06/2011 11:54

"Breaking into my home carries a possible death penalty"

cripes

unabomber

ThatsWhatSheSaid · 25/06/2011 11:55

Bloody hell! Expat, you sound like a Stephen King novel. I can just imagine you sitting on a swing on a verandah at dusk telling a stranger about how you killed a man and all about your horse-whisperer Papa.

I'm impressed really. You have quite a way with words.

begonyabampot · 25/06/2011 12:02

the style did read as a novel, it was quite well written really.

Thing is expat has had so many experiences with guns. The intruder, the mugger, her father in the store. I don't really know of anyone I know in the UK to have experience with guns so maybe it is better to not have them in the first place as they seem to be such a common weapon in the US. I agree with someone being able to defend themselves in their home but don't think I'd like to see the Uk go down the 'gun' route.

PigletJohn · 25/06/2011 12:02

"His father was a tall, blonde, blue-eyed man, his people being from Aragon in the north of Spain."

Yep, typical spaniard.

garlicnutter · 25/06/2011 12:13

I can shoot, as it happens. A person in a state of blind panic should definitely not be wielding a lethal weapon. A person who has a gun licence should be able to aim it properly.

AwesomePan · 25/06/2011 12:23

iirc, Aragon streches up as a far as the Pyrennes, and this region was setteld by Nordics thousands of years ago.

I think piglet's humorous sarcasm is referring typically to Andalucian spanish, at the other end of the country

LetThereBeRock · 25/06/2011 12:26

Arm and leg shots aren't always enough to bring down an attacker. It makes sense to aim for the central mass,rather than the smaller moving targets such as arms and legs.
If someone is charging towards you it's very unlikely that you'll have time to aim for their arms and legs,shooting at a moving target is difficult enough,without having to aim specifically for the limbs,and even if you do shoot them in the arm or leg it may not bring them down,meaning that they're still a threat.

Gooseberrybushes · 25/06/2011 13:30

"iirc, Aragon streches up as a far as the Pyrennes, and this region was setteld by Nordics thousands of years ago"

guffaw

piglet I think I'll stalk you but in the nicest possible way

ninedragons · 25/06/2011 13:34

Well, really, that's the beauty of the jury system.

You couldn't put together a jury of 12 people who would convict a mother for whacking a burglar to death with a Creuset pan when she found him outside her toddler's room. It just wouldn't happen.

AwesomePan · 25/06/2011 14:02

""iirc, Aragon streches up as a far as the Pyrennes, and this region was setteld by Nordics thousands of years ago"

guffaw

piglet I think I'll stalk you but in the nicest possible way"

snurg.

PigletJohn · 25/06/2011 14:08

if she starts calling me Pig I'll know she's turned hostile.

Gooseberrybushes · 25/06/2011 14:14

no no will just stop stalking

no fun in stalking people if you don't like the cut of their jib

Maelstrom · 25/06/2011 14:24

So now Expat's dad is an army officer? wasn't he in the oil business? ah no... they were descendants from mayan royalty... now it is the "big empty" thrown into the equation.. bloody hell, what a confusing situation... Hmm

I have plenty of friends living in the "best neighbourhoods of Houston", they have not trained their kids in using weapons. So let's not taint all America on the decisions of the few.

Having said that, the UK is a different place than many other places in the world, for a starters it is less likely for an assailant to have a weapon than in any other place. Lets face it... not even policemen carry weapons in this country so the levels of dangers you can expect are lower than those you can get in the US where you can even get a bazooka over the counter as long as you tell them is just to add to your "collection".

garlicnutter · 25/06/2011 14:35

in the US where you can even get a bazooka over the counter Shock Shock Shock

sausagesandmarmelade · 25/06/2011 14:37

Have to say there are plenty of armed police on the streets of central london....some with handguns, some with great big kaloshnikov type things (outside houses of parliament).

And we have armed response units across the country.

alexpolismum · 25/06/2011 14:45

nothing to add, except that I would like to read Expat's novel when it comes out...

expatinscotland · 25/06/2011 14:53

'So now Expat's dad is an army officer? wasn't he in the oil business? ah no... they were descendants from mayan royalty... now it is the "big empty" thrown into the equation.. bloody hell, what a confusing situation...

I have plenty of friends living in the "best neighbourhoods of Houston", they have not trained their kids in using weapons. So let's not taint all America on the decisions of the few.'

Well, people have more than one job in their working lives. Imagine that.

Nice try, though, too bad you didn't have the balls to just call me a liar straightup. Why not PM me, tell me your real name so you can cross-examine me without hiding behind a namechange.

I have plenty of friends in great neighbourhoods who do use weapons, and keep them. And others who don't. My sister doesn't keep them in her house. She's in Galveston County, though.

How is it taining America because people do use firearms there, more so than here.

expatinscotland · 25/06/2011 14:54

Oh, where can I get a bazooka over the counter? Which state? What store?

I can think of a few uses for one right about now.

sausagesandmarmelade · 25/06/2011 15:02

I would also like to read Expat's novel....but then again I don't think it would be that original...

Heavily influenced by the Horse Whisperer, Annie get your gun....and maybe Gone with the Wind...

expatinscotland · 25/06/2011 15:08

LOL. Just like Harry Potter, heavily influenced by LOTR and hero quests of ages.

Made loads of money, though.