West Seattle scene: Different kind of 'neighborhood watch' sign

SJoy April 29, 2012 (3:26 pm)

LOL – I think he had that backwords – isn’t “Get my gun and then call the police”?

Love the sign. Though I am not promoting everyone start toting guns around, our home is definitely armed. In addition we have our own alarm system which includes two obnoxious yorkies that bark at the wind, and their pitbull brother who follows right behind them… unlikely we will get broken into :-)

Bonnie April 29, 2012 (3:27 pm)

Wow! Doesn’t look good for the neighborhood.

Euripides April 29, 2012 (3:30 pm)

That sign will keep me and my kids – a peaceful WS family – away from that neighborhood. What if whoever posted this sign decides that I look like a criminal? The last thing we need is to turn WS into a battle zone.

Just saying April 29, 2012 (3:40 pm)

I’m sorry I’m not one for gun violence but the utter brazenness of these criminals lately makes me chuckle at this sign.

Chuck & Sally's Van Man April 29, 2012 (3:43 pm)

L O V E.

Noelle April 29, 2012 (4:00 pm)

How funny, but a little too true at times . . .

jiggers April 29, 2012 (4:24 pm)

Shoot first, answer questions later.

Bonnie April 29, 2012 (4:37 pm)

Euripides, I agree. I sometimes will go over that way to walk to Westwood Village and I think I may avoid the street. What if my daughter on her bike looks like she is wearing a hoody?

Lura Ercolano April 29, 2012 (5:03 pm)

I am surprised at the positive responses. To me, the signs appear to be an abuse of public property for a personal, hate-filled promotion of violence. Easier to clean up than gang graffiti I suppose, but not particularly different in intent, purpose, or legality.
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WestsideMom April 29, 2012 (5:24 pm)

Guns are more dangerous to the families of their owners then helpful. This is gross! I would tear this down if it was on my street. Put up a block watch sign and know your neighbors. This sign makes your property values sink.

Desertdweller April 29, 2012 (5:29 pm)

Given this is my immediately neighborhood, I’d like to point out that not all of us subscribe to the sign’s message.

Frankly, the southern regions of WS that are on the “bad side” of 35th (or, as we like to think of it…the “right side”), don’t need anymore bad press, especially of this variety.

Our neighborhood has come SO FAR lately…this type of sign (and the coverage of a handwritten sign in the WSB) makes me a little sad, to be honest.

WSB April 29, 2012 (5:39 pm)

We cover ALL parts of West Seattle, the good and the bad, the east/west/north/south. We didn’t just pluck this out of thin air – a neighbor called it to our attention, like so many stories, and thought it notable. Frankly, this doesn’t strike me as any different from the signs we covered here that were in Fauntleroy, as linked in the story. https://westseattleblog.com/2012/01/west-seattle-crime-watch-neighborhood-warning-signs (which ALSO were brought to our attention by neighbors). Yeah, different words. Same message. Somebody somewhere is apparently so frustrated with crime they’re trying to send a visible message. And yes, it’s worth noting and discussing, wherever it happens, whether you think it’s good or bad. We also note endlessly that crime can and does happen everywhere, the north, the south, the east, the west. – TR

Cascadianone April 29, 2012 (5:49 pm)

The person responsible for this sign is probably just sick of all the property crime. Are they a bit of a red-neck? Sure. But people should feel (and be) secure in their homes; criminals erode that sense of security when they violate them.

How does it erode your sense of security to know that a neighbor isn’t going to stand for it and will fight back?

Such fainting flowers we have here… No wonder the criminals act with impunity and laugh at our weakness.

valhalla April 29, 2012 (5:51 pm)

A sign of frustration? I go to work, pay my taxes and come home. If I came home to a looted house, I’d be fightin’ mad. I own guns for self-defense, but even I wouldn’t advertise it by posting a sign. But I see where he’s coming from.

J April 29, 2012 (5:52 pm)

Have any of you ever been burglarized? Once your home has been violated it’s easy to feel this way.

Niceperson April 29, 2012 (6:06 pm)

Assumes that the criminal can or will read the sign…. highly doubtful. Sad times (small attention spans, poor reading abilities, crime…)

CM April 29, 2012 (6:15 pm)

I don’t own a gun, but my house has been burglarized. I didn’t think I was a redneck, but maybe I am, because this sign make me laugh.

Tracy White April 29, 2012 (6:26 pm)

THINK OF THE CHILDREN!
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I totally agree that those people should be completely un-defended and unsafe in the neighborhood they live in so you can feel safe when you’re visiting.
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/snark

Desertdweller April 29, 2012 (6:43 pm)

@WSB: We love you and WSB. I just get tired of being a constant defender of my neighborhood…which I think is pretty awesome, despite said sign.

Aman April 29, 2012 (7:02 pm)

Free speech to all. Art to some.

Seattleseabug April 29, 2012 (7:03 pm)

I didn’t know there was a ‘good and a bad’ side of West Seattle. It is sad that people think this way. I’m guessing the ‘good’ side is where the people have more money. Our house was burglarized this year and my husband caught someone trying to break in a month ago but we have 5 kids at home so guns are definately not an option.

WSB April 29, 2012 (7:55 pm)

Re: the “good/bad” … the notion of a “divide” certainly doesn’t bear out in crime stats these days, but when we decided not long after arrival 21 years ago that we wanted to live in West Seattle, somebody actually claimed that California was the street you didn’t want to go east of! Which is of course insane. Anybody who hasn’t been ALL OVER the peninsula by now, go for a drive sometime … we hadn’t really been south of Fauntleroy/California till we were house-shopping in 1993 and I remember driving south on California up, up, up Gatewood hill and thinking wow, I had no idea this was all up here … I can also still remember the first time I discovered 16th SW and South Seattle Community College, and then 8th SW and Highland Park … and over these past five years of doing this full-time, we have heard from so many great people EVERYWHERE on the peninsula, have driven and walked (and rushed to) so many places we still hadn’t quite been … there are still places to discover. We hadn’t been to the Arroyos shoreline till the gray whale stranding two years ago, for one (and last week, we found ourselves down there again looking for something that wasn’t easy to find) … also a couple years ago, we had occasion to wander into the hidden neighborhood east of Puget Park … I could go on. Do go out discovering some time, if you can. Back to the actual thread.. TR

thistle stair April 29, 2012 (7:04 pm)

I understand the frustration and anger….I also understand that most break-ins happen when people are not home and that means you just gave your gun to a criminal.

Eric April 29, 2012 (7:16 pm)

It isn’t the neighborhood. A house between Lincoln Park and the ferry dock used to have a sign that made me laugh all the time.
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House guarded by shotgun 5 days a week. You guess which.

CBS ah April 29, 2012 (7:43 pm)

This just goes to show that “P-C” hasn’t conquered everyone! Thanks God. About time we play wild west again.

Jim April 29, 2012 (7:49 pm)

It is baffling how adults think it cannot possibly happen to them. Or that police response times are down to the first few seconds…

bridge to somewhere April 29, 2012 (7:51 pm)

instead of jumping all of the person who put up this sign, why aren’t folks similarly up-in-arms over the fact that some stranger tried to kick-in a door to an occupied house the block over? people, get some perspective: criminals are getting more brazen, so it isn’t illogical the law-abiding citizenry would get equally brazen in protecting their families and property. i’m all for the sign. and the underlying message.

Krm66 April 29, 2012 (7:59 pm)

Glad someone put this up. People should be happy to have neighbors that care this much about their neighborhood.

Ken April 29, 2012 (8:15 pm)

Westsidemom – “Put up a block watch sign and know your neighbors”??? Are you kidding me??? I happen to know the victims and this was an unsolicited attack from a stranger. When you’re asleep with car in the driveway and are awoken to someone trying to get into your home and then having them viciously kick the door in while you’re screaming do you think your block watch sign will save you??? What do you think the attacker wants in that situation? Someone’s life was at-risk and you’re talking about “property values”??? Seriously???

CSW April 29, 2012 (8:32 pm)

The sign made me laugh too. When people are fed up with BS in their neighborhoods, they will do what it takes.

bridge to somewhere April 29, 2012 (8:38 pm)

block watch signs remind me of the “drug-free school zone” signs we’d pass by in high school and mock. we didn’t know if the signs were desperately naive or hopeful, but we knew they were absolutely, certainly not true.
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neither block watch nor drug-free school zone signs actually deter crime/criminal activity in the slightest.

Coffee Brewster April 29, 2012 (8:38 pm)

Underneath it should read;

WELCOME TO THE STATE OF FLORIDA!

RW April 29, 2012 (8:40 pm)

We’re armed, and I know of several other folks in the area who are, too. These would be the wrong homes to break into…

White "e" in White Center April 29, 2012 (8:45 pm)

POWER TO THE PEOPLE,….with guns! lol

Gyngersnap April 29, 2012 (8:54 pm)

This gives me an idea for a sign for our street.
RETIRED PEOPLE LIVE ON THIS STREET AND WE WATCH.
And we do, with our cell phones in our hands.

brin April 29, 2012 (9:10 pm)

Ya mean I git to shoot me some people? Praise be!

laura April 29, 2012 (9:10 pm)

being armed and broken into means that guns will fall into the hands of criminals – or that you get the joy of killing someone. like my father, an officer, used to say… if you pull a weapon on someone, be prepared to kill them – otherwise you’ll end up dead. i take his words seriously. either way, sounds horrible. sorry to see a threatening sign in our neighborhood. someone, take it down.

L April 29, 2012 (9:13 pm)

And now they know what houses to break into when they are looking for more guns.

Momof3 April 29, 2012 (9:26 pm)

Love it. I don’t know who people are kidding when they think of WS as a safe community. Might as well have some fun with it.

carter April 29, 2012 (10:08 pm)

Utterly uncivilized and great for property values. Another notch in the 35th Ave SW as the demarcation line in WS.

M. April 29, 2012 (10:12 pm)

Own a firearm and willing to protect life and property is how I read it. Thumbs up here.

RW April 29, 2012 (10:19 pm)

>Laura – There is no joy in killing someone. There is no reason to do so unless there is an immediate threat… And yes, if you pull a weapon, be prepared to neutralize the threat. Like I mentioned earlier, my house and others in the area are the wrong place to break into.

We’re here 24/7 so if they decide to get in they will be dealt with.

Luckily our neighbors have as weird hours as we do, so there’s always someone looking out.

We’re tired of the BS.

Neihgborly April 29, 2012 (11:12 pm)

Please don’t let another child die because a gun was left unlocked.
Would you consider a big stick and a can of mace to protect your stuff?
(or having less conspicuous consumption?)

KR April 29, 2012 (11:16 pm)

If one of these signs popped up on my street, I would be upset. Not because it affects property values, but due to the fact that the sign was needed in the first place. By the time a sign is needed to detour criminals, property appeal is already affected due to the crime statistics available to buyers. Regardless of this sign and it’s implications, I still feel safe in W. Seattle. And no, I didn’t see a unicorn on my lawn this morning. Again. :)

Millertime April 30, 2012 (12:42 am)

To all those who worry about guns getting stolen or having kids and guns in the same house, get a safe. You can bolt your safe down as well so the bad guys can’t steal it. Also, you can buy nightstand safes that can be quickly opened if you are the victim of a home invasion, while still keeping the gun out of your child’s hands. If someone invaded my home and hurt my family, and I did not have the ability to protect them, I could never forgive myself. Unfortunately, there are vicious people out there who have different values than you or I, and we must prepare for their actions. Be safe neighbors.

ohthehorror April 30, 2012 (12:50 am)

(or having less conspicuous consumption?)

Thanks for reminding us that we all bear the blame for having too much tempting stuff in our homes for criminals to be able to resist kicking down our doors and taking it. It’s right up there in audacity with those pharmacists who insist on stocking narcotics that people are forced to take at gunpoint and uppity iPhone owners who blatantly walk down the street provoking people to mug them.

WMF April 30, 2012 (2:49 am)

not gonna read all teh comments… just gonna throw my opinion in there. that sign is no more or less effective than a standard neighborhood watch sign.

Jarhead1982 April 30, 2012 (5:38 am)

Hey, lets compare firearms in the household versus someone safe, say a doctor.

US Census 2008 204 million eligible voters, 304 million population = 100 million 0-18 yr olds

CDC Death & Data Statistics 2007

613 deaths by accidental firearm discharge, 116 age 0-18 yrs old

116/100 million = .00000116 % chance of your child being an aciidental victim of firearm discharge

JAMAJAMA http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/286/4/415 700,000 doctors in US kill 44,000 to 98,000 by medical malpractice every year .065 to .14 per physician.

Adjustment of population for children 100 mil/304 mil = 32.4%.

Physician is .065 x 32.4% = .02% or .14 x 32.4% = .045

Calculated .02 to .045 / .00000116 = 17,241 to 39,103 times more likely a doctor is to kill your child than an inanimate object in your household.

Reality is any parent knowingly taking thier child to a doctor should have child protective services called on them.

So where is the risk from concealed carry holders and why aren’t you antis crying to ban doctors?

Scott April 30, 2012 (5:51 am)

It is sad how many people are anti-self defense. They speak of how horrible it would be to take a bad guy’s life with no regard for their life or their families. They hope that a call to 911 will get the police there quick enough. Some hope to use pepper spray as the only means to defend themselves and their family. Some think that by being good neighbors and knowing who your neighbors are will somehow stop the stranger lurking outside. I will protect my family with any and all means available, including firearms. If a bad guy trying to do me or mine harm dies, so be it. I will not subscribe to the sheep’s theory that I will be saved by someone in “authority”. I am the protector of my family and my life and I will determine what means I need to do so. You can keep your pepper spray, I prefer lead.

Kayleigh April 30, 2012 (6:00 am)

Do you really think having a gun in your house is going to deter someone from breaking in? The burglars are most likely to break in when you’re away from the house (most of them don’t want to see you. They want your stuff.) Someone breaking down your door while you’re watching TV is really not very likely.
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The American way of feeling strong and powerful and cool because of their guns has always made me laugh. I don’t think most people know how silly they sound.

W.S. maverick April 30, 2012 (6:01 am)

criminals beware west seattle is sick and tired of criminals breaking in to houses and threatening our way of life. if a few get shot good riddens

laker1 April 30, 2012 (6:20 am)

Probably the safest neighboorhood in the area. Crimminals fear armed citizen’s more than police. Gun free zones like schools,universties, post offices, are among the most dangerous places you can be. Even crazy people know where the defenseless victims reside. The funny part is liberals want more gun free zones. Thus they want more killing.

Jan Jarrell April 30, 2012 (6:30 am)

>Laura, I am with you. Why so bloodthirsty? A can of pepper spray will stop a criminal in their tracks. So will a taser. Maybe we need a pepper spray sign. *sigh* There must be options other then going all ‘Rambo’ on someone.

Danny April 30, 2012 (7:06 am)

Jan … apparently you have never seen a large drunken enraged human before. I saw a man one time get pepper sprayed and tased 3 times with Police grade equipment before he finally dropped. Now picture for a moment that the person breaking into your house is high on methamphetamine. Pepper spray and a consumer grade taser is NOT going to do a thing.

Good luck though.

Ken April 30, 2012 (7:14 am)

Kayleigh,
A criminal DID try to kick in a door with good cirtizens home and scared. What Would Kayleigh Do?

EMT April 30, 2012 (7:25 am)

Unfortunately a sign such as this is just as likely to be ignored as a a block watch sign or any other sign. Chances are that by the time you call 911 you yourself will be beaten and left for dead by most criminals before SPD shows up.

To those that are touting pepper spray as a self defense option in an enclosed space, bad idea. You will end up suffering the same punishment that you are trying to hand out to a intruder.

Criminals are getting more and more brazen these days, they have no qualms entering your house with you there. I’m no advocating violence against other humans, but until you’ve been in the situation of someone trying to get into your house while your in it you don’t know what it’s like.

Whatever your choice of self defense (or not) stay safe and be alert.

RG April 30, 2012 (7:30 am)

I don’t view a burglar as someone alone, wearing a black eye mask, holding an empty pillow case, quietly breaking the glass on my back door to slip inside my house and steal my valuables.
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I see a drug-fueled, desperate, remorseless, addicted criminal with nothing to lose, who has the potential for violence against me and my family because while in a such a drug state they don’t know the difference between right and wrong and are on auto-pilot with increased physical strength and no ability to rationalize.
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But that’s just my personal perspective.

Millertime April 30, 2012 (8:11 am)

RG, well said.

Meghan April 30, 2012 (8:33 am)

Ick.

EF April 30, 2012 (8:34 am)

I’m not against people defending themselves with guns in their own home. I just get the feeling from the most outspoken gun owners that they really can’t wait for their chance to put it to use. Its like a dream scenario that they constantly think of. But in reality, its very unlikely that you would be in that situation, and if you are it probably isn’t going down like you picture it in the movies. It starts with a basic fear of your surroundings and other people, and paranoia. I’m glad I don’t live in this constant fear of my surroundings, that would be stressful to feel like I needed protect myself at every turn. Not to say I’m not prepared to defend, its just that every new crime I hear of doesn’t signal an escalation, it doesn’t mean” things are getting worse”, it doesn’t mean the criminals are closing in on me day by day. .

Lura Ercolano April 30, 2012 (8:43 am)

RG – and yet you expect that auto-pilot zombie “with no ability to rationalize” will read a silly sign on a telephone pole and suddenly decide to give up his life of crime?
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I don’t disagree with anyone’s right to defend his home and family. What I disagree with is a mentality of inviting or baiting a criminal in just for the opportunity to kill him. That’s not self-defense. And I disagree with a mentality of promoting violence, which the sign certainly does.

Of course, we’re probably all supposed to “get” that the sign-maker isn’t really “welcoming” the criminals, that on some level he’s just saying he’s really just sick of crime and wants the criminals he’s saying “welcome” to to just go away. Yeah, I “get” that. I’m pretty sure that we all “get” that.
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Danny April 30, 2012 (9:07 am)

I don’t think the sign is promoting violence. Quite the contrary, I believe it is attempting to dissuade violent criminals from attempting to make violent break-ins in that neighborhood.

Barba April 30, 2012 (9:58 am)

The gun hysteria in the media is not about guns being any more or less dangerous than they have ever been. It’s about taking the power away from the people by creating false issues so that the gutted economy can’t cause a civil revolution. Guns are more regulated and locked up now than ever, and the economy is collapsed. Media is owned by six huge global corporations, so one guy shoots one kid in Florida and a news item that would not have made it off the tenth page of the local news ten years ago is all over every media source on the planet. Get a clue, people and stop the knee jerk emotional reaction to the media. It’s a tragedy that people get shot, but people also die of starvation a lot in this country anymore. Do you remember any news stories about women and children dying of starvation in the tent cities? It ain’t because it isn’t happening.

EF April 30, 2012 (10:17 am)

Barba, your perception that your guns are being taken away is the false issue. The issue in Florida is blowing up because the police are accused of treating the case improperly because it was a young black kid who got shot. Not because the media decided to cover this one particular shooting.

datamuse April 30, 2012 (11:58 am)

Pepper spray does NOT stop people in their tracks. Ask anyone who was at the WTO protests in 1999. One of them was a friend of mine and after I drove him home so he could have a shower, we went out for Mexican food.

True story.

lookingforlogic April 30, 2012 (2:05 pm)

Well, now the criminals know where to steal guns. Thanks for tempting them in your neighborhood.

Kayleigh April 30, 2012 (2:42 pm)

Well, Ken, I try to be logical and rational and worry about the things that are actually likely to happen. I haven’t seen any evidence of an increase (real evidence, not hysterical internet anecdotes) in burglars breaking in while people are home. I understand the fear, because I have had my home broken into (despite barking dogs, retired people in the neighborhood, and blockwatch signs everywhere.) I’ve also had my wallet stolen twice, once even pick-pocketed from my purse. All of those were terrible, safety-shattering experiences, and none would have improved had I carried/owned a gun.
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Adding more and more guns and bravado to the equation is not likely to solve the problem. But I’m sure it makes many people feel better. For awhile.

WTF April 30, 2012 (5:29 pm)

Crime is not positive and neither are those who are completely fed up with it. Sometimes you just have to take a stand and this was (undoubtedly a victim) their way of doing just that.

—-
Least we forget: http://www.seattlepi.com/local/article/Rape-murder-charges-in-South-Park-stabbing-1305409.php

Martman April 30, 2012 (5:52 pm)

Hi this is in rasponse to Westsidemom. You mention about getting to know your neighbors. Well, what if it isn’t a neighbor that may be breaking into your home? Most of the time it isn’t a neighbor but a stranger.

I believe in being prepared and if that means keeping a gun handy then so be it. I had an incident about ten years ago and if it wasn’t for my gun then I, my wife and our two children would be dead instead of the other way around. People have a false sense of security. They may say, well it can’t happen to me. If it does then I will call 911. What do they think, the police will be right over? What is probably going to happen is the police will be cleaning up the bodies of the victims.

I am a certified firearms instructor as well as a home safety instructor. I give courses on how to try and prevent some things from happening, but you kever know. It can happen to anyone.

There are four things that you should always remember, they can save your life.

1. unaware
2. Aware
3. Alert
4. Alarm

Be safe.

waterworld April 30, 2012 (6:31 pm)

Kayleigh is right when she says she hasn’t seen any evidence of an increase in burglaries. The rate of burglaries in Seattle has been steadily dropping (with minor fluctuations now and then) for well over a decade. What’s changing is our awareness of incidents through media such as WSB. I am glad we have resources like the WSB publishers & editors to keep us informed, but increased awareness of burglaries should not be confused with an increase in incidence of burglaries.

Also, Jarhead’s comparison of firearm deaths to malpractice deaths is a bit misleading, partly because he focuses solely on accidental deaths from firearms. There are other risks to owning firearms, and there are specific risks related to children. The Washington Department of Health culled data in 2006 and found that firearms were the fourth leading cause of injury deaths in the state, and they were used in over half of all homicides. Ninety percent of firearm incidents involving children occur in the home. Among children up to age 14, 40% of firearm incidents occur in the room where the firearm is stored.

Many people tout the need to store firearms safely, both to protect against theft and to protect children, yet a broad North American study found that in 70% of homes with both firearms and children, the firearms were not safely stored (i.e., in gun safes or with gun locks). Perhaps that helps explain why a federal study found that 8% of all unintentional shooting deaths were from shots fired by children under age six. Kids living in homes with firearms are more likely to take them to school, as well, and the numbers of firearm incidents in state schools has increased steadily over the past decade.

There’s also the increased incidence of suicide among households where there are firearms. In 2006 alone in this state, firearms were used in almost 400 suicides, roughly half the total suicides statewide. Other studies demonstrated both an increased risk of suicide in homes with a firearm and an increased risk that an abused wife will be killed. Abused women are five times more likely to be killed by their abuser if he (or she) owns a firearm.

People who keep a gun in the home are nearly twice as likely to be killed in a firearm-related homicide, and 16 times more likely to use a firearm to commit suicide. The firearms are far more likely to be used in an unintentional shooting, a criminal assault, or a suicide than to be used in self-defense.

Does any of this mean that people should not own firearms? No, at least not to me. But don’t be fooled about how firearms in the home are most likely to be used: you put yourself, your children, and your spouse at a very increased risk of harm or death for the comfort of planning to use it on an intruder.

jc April 30, 2012 (6:53 pm)

Thank you for your posts, EF.

EF April 30, 2012 (6:56 pm)

Martman, people aren’t suggesting the neighbors are breaking into homes.

Markus April 30, 2012 (7:01 pm)

At least whom ever made and hung this sign has shown some initiative and they are sending a message of dont do that crap here .. good for you

prax April 30, 2012 (7:14 pm)

Martman, the point of knowing who your neighbors are is that you know who *doesn’t* belong there. If I had a gun in my house (I may, I may not) I sure as hell wouldn’t advertise it. They are small, portable and worth money–totally worth it to thugs. And when it comes down to it, most of us don’t really know if we actually could shoot a person. Even if they were breaking in, I think they’d have to be coming for you and not just your stuff.

z April 30, 2012 (10:01 pm)

All this is is speaking to the criminals in a language they can understand. Street justice.

SamAdams1776 May 1, 2012 (5:04 am)

Well, Several comments here deserve my attention and comment:

“I am surprised at the positive responses. To me, the signs appear to be an abuse of public property for a personal, hate-filled promotion of violence…”

Comment by Lura Ercolano — 5:03 pm April 29, 2012 #

Response:

Hate-filled? Really? I, too will without remorse kill an invader to my home-I’d like to say it’s not personal but it is…to threaten my property, my life, or the life of my family—which is what ocurrs by definition when criminals engage in a war with me by disregarding my natural rights–I am simply using violence against an act of violence toward me and my family or property. Violence is not repugnant when it is justified.

“Guns are more dangerous to the families of their owners then helpful. This is gross! I would tear this down if it was on my street. Put up a block watch sign and know your neighbors. This sign makes your property values sink.”

Comment by WestsideMom — 5:24 pm April 29, 2012 #

Response:
Sir, that myth has long since been disproved. In fact, firearms are used by law-abiding citizens(the most conservativce figures) more than 800,000 times per year to stop violent crime.

“Given this is my immediately neighborhood, I’d like to point out that not all of us subscribe to the sign’s message….”

Comment by Desertdweller — 5:29 pm April 29, 2012 #

Response: Too bad…if more of you showed open hostility toward criminals, it would BE a safer neighborhood.

Ken Sr. May 1, 2012 (7:18 am)

I bet the person responsible for trying to break into this home had many “prior’s” and this has just become a way of life for this scumbag. Eliminate the donut shops and put more cops in our neighborhoods.

brenton adams May 1, 2012 (10:19 am)

I prefer ‘No guns, disarmed and defenseless’ signs in my nieghborhood. I made my wife a sign to that effect to bring with her when she walks to her car at night after work… If every city was a ‘gun free zone’ like Washington DC, Chicago, Virgina Tech, hell… even the entire country of Mexico, we would all be free from ‘gun crime’. Did you know that your 24.7% more likely to shoot your dog than a burgler or a rapist? I read it on the ‘handgun control website’ Did you also know that 70% of statistics are made up on the spot…?

Ken Sr. May 1, 2012 (11:45 am)

Hey Brenton, don’t you realize that those who give up their will to fight back will be taken over by those who have that will? It doesn’t sound like anyone has tried to kick your front door down at 4 A.M. in the morning lately. If this person had made it into my home…. Bang.

Jarhead1982 May 1, 2012 (1:02 pm)

Ken, he was being sarcastic!

Ken Sr. May 1, 2012 (1:43 pm)

Sarcasm is fine, when appropriate.

EF May 1, 2012 (4:04 pm)

Ken, I think it makes you feel good to think of yourself as this tough guy who doesn’t take any crap, but really, any of us would defend ourselves in that situation. I just don’t really glamorize it or brag about what I would do. Not something I really look forward to. But as in my earlier post, I think people like you actually can’t wait for someone to make your day.

batgurrl May 1, 2012 (8:51 pm)

Oh my… first I think a lot of this dialog is awful snobby. To own a gun or not does make you better than others.

For me.. I prefer to have some protection.

Lastly, it is legal to post on a phone pole a flyer in the city of seattle. I researched this when I was putting up anti Iraq war posters.

yes.. I am a peace person who owns a gun. Get over it folks!!

Lura Ercolano May 1, 2012 (9:39 pm)

Thank you Batgurrl for the correct information that posting on utility poles is legal. I was wrong about that. It is legal, regardless of whether the sentiment is shared by the community.
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JSmith May 2, 2012 (12:33 am)

An armed society is a polite society.

CDKSea May 3, 2012 (2:42 am)

Some advice…

I experienced a home invasion in the late 90’s. I was home on break from college and my parents had just left the house to do whatever they had planned. Fortunately, our cocker spaniel was the only one that sustained injuries (the intruders kicked her head but she went on to live a great life.) I’m very security conscious because of this event and I hope that my approach to home security can be of use to you.

I want a burglar to pick your house over mine (sorry, I’m selfish.) I try to deter burglars to your house by making mine unattractive to thieves with motion detection lights, visible security cameras, burglar bars on the windows that are hidden from street view, and window stickers that advertise our monitored alarm system. If someone does decide to break into our home given these deterrents then I likely have an illogical, dangerous person in my house. In this situation, I will have my daughter and wife behind me in our closet while I yell warnings to the intruder with a shotgun aimed at the closet door. I’m not a big fan of guns but I’m betting I’d have a different opinion if I end up hog-tied while an intruder performs terrible acts on my wife and daughter. I will do whatever I can to never be in that situation, which is why the gun is my last resort. Yes, the gun is secured to the house and hidden from view (unlikely it would be stolen while we aren’t home.) Don’t rely on crime trends and statistics to influence your decision to make your home as safe as you can for you and your family. Don’t worry about your property, it isn’t worth getting yourself hurt or the grief you’ll experience if you kill someone.

WSCoug May 9, 2012 (9:19 pm)

Somehow it slipped the minds of some residents that there is no such thing as a dangerous neighborhood, just dangerous people.
Think like a criminal: go for the nice home, look for the Obama bumper sticker, and know your police response times. Easy targets, low risk, but if that sounds like your place, at least acknowledge your vulnerability.