The Delusion of Safety
As I have mentioned before, by some accounts, I’m a fairly large individual. While I remain steadfast that I’m not a freak, I will for the sake of this discussion admit that at 6’7” and over 320 pounds, I may be a bit of a statistical anomaly.
Part of being “big” is that you pretty much are always big, as a child I was smaller than adults, but was generally bigger than my peers. As time progressed and hormones kicked in, there were less and less adults that I looked up to and more and more who betrayed their bald spot as they walked by.
I think people have an innate ability to know how they fit into the pack. Like dogs, we internally weigh our mentality, might, and tenacity and fit ourselves into society within those parameters. Part of that process is understanding the dangers faced by society, and developing your own mitigation's to those dangers. This I think is best exemplified by the little kid, who is funny and charming enough to call most people his friend, and when confronted by the playground bully is able to call in reinforcements at will.
Security was rarely a concern of mine. Once my neighbor, who has a security and military background, asked me about the safety of the neighborhood and my concerns and I laughed. “Who would steal from Me?!” I chuckled. “I don’t own anything of real value, nothing worth stealing.” “I have an old truck, an older minivan and two kids. Really, who’s gonna break in MY house, it doesn’t stand out on the block, and I guarantee I’m bigger than the criminal, they would have to be stupid”
Anyone see the flaws in that argument? I imagine most of you do, unfortunately until recently, I did not.
In the course of the last two months my naive perceptions have been dashed, and replaced with a newly minted concern that I have been playing loose and stupid with fate for too long.
After the police arrived and I had time to process it all, the realization hit me like a brick, not only was I unprepared for this occurrence, I had handled it poorly, and I had rejected preparation due to some perverse mixture of pride and stupidity…I vowed to make some changes.
Turns out that you have to know me to know I’m big, and to know I have kids and very little worth stealing. You have to be smart enough to weigh the risks of getting caught against the value of the stolen tools or contents of the van. My entire home security plan was based on the predication that the thief would know me, would be smart, and therefor would think twice. Of course the evil doers didn’t know me, they were not local, my whole plan was based on false conceptions.
Duh! You all knew that, I’m learning it now.
Now that I have the situation in hand, the experience makes me wonder what else I’m missing, and by extension what others are missing. We all use our personal experiences to color our perception of reality; we use what has happened as a basis for the future. But it’s a faulty thought model. Just like in roulette, each wheel spin is independent, and getting three reds in a row is no guarantee that black will come up next. Reality has bitch slapped me, try not to let her get you!
Intermission: Bulls on Parade
So this is what happened: alla Tarantino where you learn the aftermath of an incident and then flash back to its cause.
We woke at 4 in the morning with Iris the Dog barking in the biggest voice she could muster at the door which connects the living room to the garage. As I opened the door, to show Iris that she was barking in vain; I saw a strange car, engine running and trunk open in the garage. I quickly closed the door to get dressed and took about three steps before I realized that this was a bad thing and my home had been invaded. By the time that realization hit me, the car sped out of the driveway.
The neighbor’s video captured this: The bad guy walked up the center of the street to determine where the motion lights were, then walked around the cul-de-sac testing peoples car doors. He found my car doors unlocked and rifled around in it. He took the garage door opener and walked down the side walk out of frame. After a period of time the bad guys (he got friends) returns in a car backs into my driveway and opens the garage door with the opener. I didn’t see anyone when I opened the door, but as they sped off you could see what looks like one on the hood of the car and another in the trunk.
Iris the dog did her job.
The Officer cautioned me about confronting anyone if it happened again then informed me home alarm would likely have worked to inform me of the invasion, but little to dissuade the evil doers and recommended we keep the dog. A week after my incident and after the police said they caught the guy in the video; a man was shot in his driveway of his home after confronting a group of kids who were “mobbing” the neighborhood. (Mobbing according to the Albuquerque Police Department, is where multiple kids invade the street and check each car door to see if they are locked, those that aren’t are pillaged, and homes may also be invaded and robbed). Keep in mind; I don’t live in what’s considered a “bad” part of town.
actively pursuing a concealed carry permit.
The home defense plan is simple, and not at all like the movies. The next time the dog barks at 4 in the morning I will be armed, installed defensively with the kids behind me. My hope is the cops will arrive before the dumb ass opens the door to the house and forces me to make hard decisions.
