Situational Obliviousness

[wuluf]

I'm just surprised, I guess. I'm so attuned to my surroundings that it blows me away when people aren't. I'm a pest control tech; when i get to someone's house, i walk up to the front door and knock. This house today, the front door is wide open. I knock, no answer. I lean in and knock, and yell "hello", no answer. Then a guy comes to the door from inside a bedroom, wearing headphones, listening to an ipod. He didn't know I was there till I tapped him on the shoulder! He's there to install a ceiling fan, I mention that if it were me, I'd close the door. He says that's a paranoid way to think. If I'd meant him harm he'd be dead! Is this what you call a blissninny??

[GalilARM]

Today's culture is more worried about Ipods and Xbox to think about things like personal safety and social awareness.

[Hunter0924]

I agree. I see folks walking around town all the time listing to headphones and not paying any attention to what is going on around them.
It is not about being paranoid just safe.

[Mike in VA]

I call them "meanderthals" - idjits that wander totally self-absorbed mated with an iPod, cell phone, etc., totally oblivious to their surroundings. While I don't much care if they do it in the privacy of their own homes, the ones doing it in public are dangerous. Then there's the attitude - that you must look out for them, their music/whatever is far more important than a little consideration for others . . . . It's bad enough when they're just walking, but they drive and do it, too, and now with streaming video available on the cell, it's only going to get worse:barf:

One can only hope that natural selection will reduce their numbers sooner than later.

[Tanzer]

No offense wuluf, but you may want to reconsider entering a house that way. It could get you in trouble.

[GalilARM]

I dunno, If I was at a house to do pest control work and the door was open, I would stick my head in the door but not anything more..... I wouldnt go search for the guy through his house

[TRiCoN45]

Although I respect others opinions and way of thinking and no offense what so ever, but I'd personaly would never walk into someones house even if expected. If I knocked/rang door bell multipul times and noone came to the door then I'd find the number whether it be on the work order form or by calling my company(if I was there on business) to get or find out the number(s) and call first to confirm my authorization to enter. Even if it was "ok" for me to come in I'd feel so personaly awkward entering unanounced that I wouldn't be able to do it and revert to trying the bell/kocking again and/or calling.

The door may be open, but maybe not open for me.

I'd have to deff agree with the oblivious habbit many has come acustomed to. And holy moly! The driving while talking on the phone?!!!! (Easy targets for hi-jackers by the way) Some don't seem to have a problem operating their vehicle properly but rarely are those people the ones around you while you're driving. Ha! I once awhile even see people smoke, talk on the phone, and attempt to negotiate the road at the same time, even seen some do all three and try to keep control of the steering wheel with their forearm. No courtesy what so even for anyone else on the road.

Back to main subject-Good thing it was you, the service guy instead of some crazy dude that sees an open door and figure its an easy score.....which evidently it was if you had to tap the occupant on the shoulder for him to know you were there.....yikes.

[Justme]

Odd that on one thread people defend walking into anothers house uninvited while on another thread people think it is OK to shoot someone for the mere act of being in someone's house uninvited. Am I the only person who thinks there is a disconnect here? It seems like people think that their own actions should always be given the benifit of the doubt while other's actions should not be given that same benifit.

Personally I would never cross the threshhold into someone else's house except in an extreme emergency, for one thing I would fear running into someone who has an extreme opinion on the whole "castle doctrine" issue.

[GalilARM]

A guy from my church in Dallas was stabbed 16 times when he left his front door open for an insurance adjuster who was on the way. He left a note on the door that said "Im in the shower just come on in". Likely someone saw that note and figured it was a woman, and when he came out out the shower and found the guy rooting through his things, he was stabbed. He only lived because the insurance adjuster came inside the house, and found him before he bled out.

[wuluf]

Thanks for all the replies. Just to clear up a small point, i never did and never would enter someone's home without permission. As i said in the OP, i leaned in to knock on the opened door. That said..i really like the phrase: "meanderthals!"

[BillCA]

Some years ago there was an elderly blind woman in our neighborhood. God Bless her soul, she was independent enough to live alone in her 80's and do pretty well. One day as I was driving home from the range, I saw her front door wide open which was unusual. I stopped and check it out, rang the bell and hollered. Nothing. Not even the expected bark of her little Schnauser. I backed off and had a neighbor call the cops. They found her in her upstairs bedroom... and she was dead asleep for her afternoon nap with the TV turned on and a fan going. The Schnauser was old too and barely barked at the cops. She woke up, startled of course, but okay.

Any time there's an open door and no response, back off and call the PD. There are several good reasons for this. First, surprising someone in their home can get you hurt.
Second, if there is a crime scene, you won't contaminate it and there won't be a chance of being "discovered bending over the body" kind of thing. Nor do you want to find the perp is still in the house!
Third is that you may run afoul of some protective pet animal.

[CrazyIvan007]

My friends often enter my house without knocking, as do I into theirs. We, of course are expecting one another within a certain amount of time after talking on the phone. But, we are always sure we see the person as they come through the door.

If it is someone I didn't know, they would get tackled hard before they got all the way through. If I thought they were armed, I would retreat to my bedroom to retrieve Max, my Entry Shotgun or some other firearm.

[Kruniac]

Paranoid way to think? If I hear someone talking outside of my window (I live on the second floor, mind you), I immediately rush to look down from my window to see who it is on the sidewalk. Then I usually mutter some things about how they -arent- after me and go back to whatever it is I was doing.

If a cop pulls someone over outside of my building (Im on a main street, on the corner at a stoplight. They tend to pull people over a lot right outside), I usually move into my "Bad Day Plan" phase. Get mossberg, sit mossberg across lap from left to right. In a no-knock, or just general "they're coming to get me" situation, I can fire at the door as soon as it opens. In any other kind of "Bad Day" scenario, I can take cover behind the aformentioned LazyBoy, and give some twelve to the unexpected guests.

I even carried a Wakizashi around when my Mossberg was getting modifications. Thats a paranoid way to think.

[rampage841512]

Some people are so self aware of how they appear to other people that they refuse to look 'aware.' Others are just, simply oblivious and don't care.

[DougO83]

Odd that on one thread people defend walking into anothers house uninvited while on another thread people think it is OK to shoot someone for the mere act of being in someone's house uninvited.

No, on one thread you have people discussing whether or not you are justified in defending your home with lethal force against FORCED ENTRY. Here, we have people discussing whether or not an EXPECTED VISITOR shoudl have just entered. Two totally different subjects.

Am I the only person who thinks there is a disconnect here? It seems like people think that their own actions should always be given the benifit of the doubt while other's actions should not be given that same benifit.

Yes, you are. Because these things are not related. A serviceperson responding to a home was invited to be there. A person forcing their way into my home has no right to be there. There is NO GOOD REASON for a non-LEO to force their way into my home.

Personally I would never cross the threshhold into someone else's house except in an extreme emergency, for one thing I would fear running into someone who has an extreme opinion on the whole "castle doctrine" issue.

What kind of emergency would persuade you to force your way into someone else's home? I cannot think of any.

[MyXD40]

The best is when people listen to their ipod with headphones while driving:barf:

[CrazyIvan007]

What kind of emergency would persuade you to force your way into someone else's home? I cannot think of any.

Perhaps you see someone having a medical attack, beit a stroke or heart attack, through their window. You go to help and the door is locked.

Perhaps you see a man chasing a woman through a house with a knife. The woman is bloody and so is the knife. You are armed, but the door is locked.

You see a man pull a child from the sidewalk riding his bigwheel and drag the child into the house. This is a neighbor kid and you know the kid doesn't belong in that house. The door is locked.

A call to the Police/emergency is, of course, in order. But, it may be too late by the time they get there. You gonna wait around? I'm not.

[PT111]

Several years ago, before Ipods, a friend asked me to help him install a headphone jack in his car so he could listen to his radio with headphones on. I said "You idiot, you have already had three wrecks from not paying attention while driving...". He finally decided it was more trouble than it was worth.

[TRiCoN45]

Install an earphone jack to car sterio to use headphones.....HAHAHAHHA now that is funny!!! Yeah, you're absolutely correct, "stupid". But eh, someones got to acidently hit the guy with the clunker for him to claim insurnce and get a nicer car.

Oh, and for the"why forcefuly entery if not LEO" how bout if a house was on fire and I felt like being the hero on the news? Does that count? Hahaha just teasing, the whole point in general I do agree with about no good reason for anyone besides LEOs to force entry.

kruniac......dude! stating that post is bound to get comments, so here it goes.......man oh man if I didn't know what paranoid was. I swear your face/name is under the definition of paranoid. Mumble to yourself "they're not after me" hahaha that's good stuff.

I grew up in a bad area of the city and got acustomed to closing the door and locking it behind me so its a force of habbit now to do it. When I see doors wide open even when I come over to friends houses I tend to take it upon myself to close and lock them and without restrant comment on the risks of it being open. By no means am I suggesting all cops are crooked, but if the door is wide open and a LEO happens to want to come in they can without a warrent because they didn't have to force their way in......at least that's what I've heard. Wide open house doors is like a scratch on a new car to me......bothers me even when im not looking at it.

[chris in va]

I like to be aware of my surroundings, but honestly you can't go through life constantly being in code yellow. It's just no way to live. Those of you that haven't carried since the dawn of man, can you remember the times when a walk in the park or nice dinner at your favorite restaraunt meant just that?

Ah the good ol' days before taking the 'red pill'.

[Tanzer]

I dunno chris, condition yellow is simply situational awareness. It should be second nature to those who carry. It doesn't mean giving up a peaceful walk on nice day. It just mean not being oblivious.

[seeker_two]

Expected or not, I'd never walk into a home with the door wide open unless someone answered my knocks & calls. If no one does, I'm calling the police.

Last thing I want to explain to the police is how I walked into a crime scene or how I was attacked in someone else's home....