Eturnalshift wrote:
You're forever alone in your bed, ready to close your eyes for the night when a large man of unknown color, religion, ethnic or socioeconomic background kicks in your apartment door.
None of which matter. It makes no difference to me if a thug is black or white. Only in your own mind. And why kick in the door? Wouldn't it make more sense to just try all the doors in the neighborhood, looking for one that was left unlocked, or look for an open window at ground level?
See, you're describing a fantasy. Something that is just not cogent in real life.
Eturnalshift wrote:
You don't know if he's armed. You don't know what he wants.
You're right, I don't. So waving around a shotgun when he could well have an automatic weapon isn't very bright, now is it?
There are some psychotic killers who will take targets of opportunity, usually homeless people, prostitutes, isolated individuals or innocent bystanders, and there are house robbers, who want your stuff and will take the path of least resistance, but your Walter Mitty fantasies of Zulu raiders looking to invade your house at midnight, rape your wife and take your scalp as a trophy are just that, a fantasy.
Eturnalshift wrote:
Is it better to cower in a corner and call the cops, hoping this guy doesn't find you pissing yourself?
Is it better to cower in a corner and call the cops while training your firearm on the doorway to your bedroom?
Is it better to cower in a corner with your firearm trained on the doorway since you have no way of calling for help, since you left your phone in the other room?
The best thing to do is to matter-of-factly say, "Who's there? What do you want?"
Eturnalshift wrote:
Or, do you loudly announce that you're in the bedroom unarmed and proceed to pull an Aestu by TL;DRing when he demands you hand over your money, hoping that all your bloviating about how you studied 'the classics' helps you understand him better than he understands himself, will somehow buy you some safety?
How did Sun Tzu put it? Know your enemy and know yourself and you'll never lose, if you don't know yourself or your enemy then you'll always lose? One might almost think he's saying that knowing your opponent better than himself is the basis of a solid defense strategy.
I guess you think that no one who has ever gotten in a real fight reads that crap or finds it useful? Or maybe you're just so unaccustomed to using your brain that it doesn't occur to you that it might actually confer a defensive advantage if you can use it better than someone else? Why do you think people
evolved brains, anyway? Oh wait...never mind.
What we have here is a coward who can't deal with his lack of courage in any way other than cowering in a corner or overcompensating with bravado. And his inability to admit to himself that he is a coward compels him to narrow his options and force a false duality on himself, rather than admit that he's dismissing other options for irrational, emotional reasons.
To answer your question directly: that is pretty much what I would do, because it is clearly the option most likely to produce a favorable outcome.
That is the point, right? Or are we in Walter Mitty land?
In the kind of situation you describe, fear and aggression are equally likely to get you killed. If the invader sees you are paralyzed by fear, he will be emboldened. If he sees you are aggressive, his instinct will be to try to neutralize you.
If the invader sees that you are neither paralyzed by fear nor aggressive he has only two options available to him: state his demands or retreat. Since killing you would guarantee life in prison, and it's unlikely he could make a clean escape with your stuff, he will probably just beat a hasty retreat and look for an easier mark.
Now, for this strategy to work, you need to have a bit of manly courage. So of course, it's not for everyone.
