re: #108 Justanotherhuman

I’ve never slept in a dark house, always leaving a light on somewhere. Never been broken into, either, even when I didn’t have a dog.

Burglars do not like to think there is anyone home, because as you say, they’re scared to death when they’re committing these crimes because most are rank amateurs. They don’t like light, and they don’t like dogs or any other noise going on inside.

(It’s a day for repeating rants)

It’s not just the amateurs. Getting into a fight with someone means hospitals, witnesses, and potential death. You don’t need a gun for a burglar, you just need to convince them your house isn’t a good target tonight. Locks and dogs and alarms, oh my.

On the other hand you need some sort of defense for the intruders for whom the primary target is you. What’s really sad here is that it’s yet another place where we focus on the flash and ignore the bang.

Most gun deaths are from pistols, but we focus on rifles. (“assault” rifles at that.)
Most gun deaths are suicides, followed by single homicides. We focus on the mass shootings.
Most non-robbery rapes and murders come from known acquaintances. We focus on the strangers.