by nitroman » Thu 19.07.2012, 22:57
I took this car to a welding shop today in a bad area of town. At a stoplight someone threathening came to my window "asking" for money. It is one of only three times in my 49 years of life I've pointed a gun at a civilian. "Is that supposed to scare me," was his reply. "I've never been shot point-blank in the face, so I don't know," was mine.
As someone that has killed in combat, please listen. Yes, protect your life and person and family, but if they want your wallet, gas or car, let them have it. In the end, one gets over losing those things. But if you kill or permanently maim your attacker over an object your life will be destroyed far more than you can imagine. It isn't worth it. Sure, I have been visited at night by the zombie I killed on the Iraqi shore 21 years ago. If you kill other than to save the life of someone dear to you, it will be the criminal who wins, even though lethal force protecting property has been legal in Florida since 2006 & in Georgia since 2007.
That said, if someone kills or seriously harms my daughter, I am not saying I will do the same to them... but they will not be walking the earth for long. I know how my mind works, how some things bother me, stick with me, and don't go away. Certain people are worth ending your life or going to jail for. I once spent two days in a real jail, locked up with true criminals including murderers, so I'm not mentioning something I know nothing about. Some people are there for breaking their parole on a minor technicality, or simply waiting to be bonded out. It doesn't matter. They group everyone together and treat everyone like scum. What a mistake! They create loathing for authority from people who had none before.
Just a word of caution. Don't make someone who's family was a 19th century Husker or Sooner fall back on their roots. It won't end well for the other party. This is something I have learned only through experience. They make the best soldiers, Alabamian's (the rural hunters from Alabama, those who venture with their rifle in the woods) being a close second, having an innate sense of how to kill pigs, chickens, rabbits (a taste betwixt chicken & pork). Trust me, rabbits raised on a farm are WONDERFUL EATING, quite different from those shot in the woods.
In 2008/9 an Iraqi veteran I met at a shooting range told me his job didn't hit home until some Iraqi kids around six or seven years old were playing with a boot and found that the foot was still inside. Instead of leaving it alone (as any normal person would do) they took over an hour trying to get the foot out. That is when he started to question what he was doing there.
How can I expect in hours to explain what took years to understand? I don't. In fact, if you've not been in combat you NEVER truly will. Your nearest experience in the UK, from Goose Green to the central highlands we studied in Army War College... your heritage means nil to you today. Only because those who died have no direct meaning to you. They're not real. You never met them.
Strive for perfection in everything. (given time)
Take the best that exists & make it better. (given inclination)
If it doesn't exist, create it. (God did)
Ignore what I say. (good advice)
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