Just ASKING to be shot--stay aware

[Bauer]

If there were armed criminals, they could have easily killed him and his wife.

Um, apparently not actually.

That made me laugh, sorry.

[Smoke Screen]

When I was in 4th grade, I was sleeping over at a friends house for his birthday. Someone broke into the house and I woke up. The intruder came over to my friend and I and leaned over the couches where my friend and I were sleeping, no doubt to see if we were awake. I still remember trying not to breathe and thinking that my heart was beating so loud that the guy would hear it. Apparently, my friends mom was awake and heard him come in the house. She called the police and shouted downstairs that she had done so. The intruder flew out the house without a second thought and she came down, locked the doors and hugged us and cried. I will never, EVER forget feeling so helpless, unsafe, and violated. I vowed I would never feel that again.

HOWEVER, it does not mean you need act without reason. I remember coming home late at night one time from a boy scout camp out and my dad did not know I was returning. I went into the kitchen for a snack and he came out in his skivvies with a loaded pistol. But....before he turned the corner and fired he whispered real loud, "Son?" I whispered back, "Yeah, its me". He was pretty pis**ed I hadn't told him I was coming back, but this was before cell phones and the like. Point is, he acted with reason. But it sure woke me up to realize that a man (especially a law enforcement officer like my dad) will do what he can to protect his home and family. I was ALWAYS a bit more communicative and cautious with my pops after that incident. He used to tell me, "Don't do anything so stupid it could get you shot." Wise advice.

[AZAK]

I personally love good humor and laughter!

But, never at the expense of scaring someone else, especially when it might trigger a fight or flight type of response. People that you don't even know, and even those who you think that you do, can be very unpredictable when panicked.

Reminds me of road rage. (Don't really have much where I live, but have driven where there was some.) Just plain stupid.

"Let's push this guy really hard, and then see what happens!" And then they are surprised when it blows up in their face.

Humor = awesome. (Good for the body, mind and soul.) Fight or flight for "fun" = stupid. (Bad for the longevity.)

[CDH]

Most of the examples of misplaced humor that are discussed in this thread are simply additional participants in the annual Darwin Awards.

I was a child once too, and I learned early on that if you think up a practical joke of some kind, you always need to imagine it through to a "worst case" outcome. One of those worst cases was getting beat up by my brother which is when I was taught early on that actions have consequences.

Did the girl in the closet NOT know that her dad could be armed?... And that the "joke" she set up was exactly the kind of situation in which her dad would react in a very serious manner?
Clearly, a plastic bucket filled with confetti on top of a door would have been just as "funny" (funnier, actually).
But no, the girl had to set up a situation of an evident break-in and then JUMP out at her dad in his (properly) heightened state of mind.
Sheeeesh.

[Deet]

Just stupid.

[Glenn E. Meyer]

Um, apparently not actually.

Driving up, being seen - easily ambushed. The daughter if she wasn't planning to yell BOO - had him dead to rights.

[Musketeer]

I remember the incident with the daughter in the closet.

Tragedy happens and kids do stupid things as certainly as the sun rises in the east. Aside from trying to raise intelligent kids and using good judgment yourself at some point we all need to accept that disaster strikes. As a father I feel my stomach turn just thinking about this.

[ActivShootr]

As a father I feel my stomach turn just thinking about this.

Same here.

When I lived with my parents I used to rattle my keys loudly when I came in late at night just so dad would know it was me.

Still do the same thing in my own home to avoid being shot by the wife. Although I expect her to be armed when I come in late now.

[B.N.Real]

In todays crime environment,if you are stupid enough to threaten people with what looks like real weapons,then you are respondsible for what happens to you as a result.

I have no sympathy for people who do this kind of thing.

[revance]

I don't remember what show it was, but a while back some show was trying to demonstrate how few people are willing to help their fellow man. They staged all sorts of things like a babysitter verbally abusing the child they were watching in a park, a guy pushing an elderly woman around to cut in line, and a bunch of other things. Several shows have done stuff like this, so please excuse me if my examples are from a different show... but they outline the general idea of this particular show.

The one that really got me was they staged an abduction. They pulled up in a vehicle, grabbed someone (another actor), and forced them into the vehicle.

Apparently the creators of this show don't realize that in some states (most?), an abduction justifies the use of lethal force by a third party.

The really stupid part is that the purpose of this show was to see if someone would do something to help these people... their actors should be very grateful that there was nobody carrying nearby when they pulled those stunts.

[hogdogs]

While not a scare prank... when i was 4 or 5 I loved the show "Emergency" and played with my Nylint and Tonka firetrucks daily... Well my dad was a volunteer fireman at the time. They used the "plectron" [sp] system to alert the VFD guys. well I was at the end of the hall near his bedroom door (my firehouse) playing with my fire trucks and I had a *call* come in... Anyone remember "ERRR AHHHHH" "Squad 51, Squad 51 we have a ...." Well he was enjoying an afternoon nap and I guess my sound awoke him as his stations tone code and he jumped up and while pullin' up drawers he came out in a sprint and tripped over me and my trucks knocking me over hard and him landing on his shins on one of the trucks... At first he seemed angry but it became a hug session and giggles by us both and he made me promise to play else where if i was gonna do that again...
Brent

[Mike in VA]

I had an experience similar to Musketeer's, a co-worker jumped out of a cubicle at me after hours as I was on my way out of what I thought was an empty office. Reflexes got the better of me and I tagged him with a vicious right uppercut (maybe the best punch I've ever thrown -) in his jaw, breaking it and three teeth and knocking him into the next cube. Very embarassing for all involved. The idjit actually thought I should pay for his medical bills, but HR straightened him out pretty good.

Jeebus, I learned in Boy Scouts that if you're going to do a "BOO!!!" on somebody, you should be more than an arm's length away, and they shouldn't have anything in their hands that can hurt you . . .

[tshadow6]

In what city/state did that fool pull the machete stunt? I doubt anywhere in the South. Definitley not Miami, FL. He never would have lived past the second victim.

[scorpion_tyr]

For the first video if I were to see a people running and/or screaming away from a guy wearing a mask or anything like that he would get drawn on, but I wouldn't shoot unless he actually was threatening someone.

The second guy would have taken a few .45's due to the fact that he was acting in a threatening manner, and being in an elevator there is no escape, and I could prove I was in "fear of my life" by the amount of urine on the elevator floor.

[SilentHitz]

In todays crime environment,if you are stupid enough to threaten people with what looks like real weapons,then you are respondsible for what happens to you as a result.

I have no sympathy for people who do this kind of thing.

Neither do I, the idiot in the elevator would have a full mag of 45 slugs in him! That was beyond stupid.

[cold dead hands]

How is shooting an unarmed, non threatening guy wearing pantyhose on his face leagal?

Does the term MO mean anything to you?

To quote one my favorite doofy movies, "Hackers"...

"Are you stoned are you stupid?"