Bi-Polar ? Shoot/Don't shoot - Page 4

pickpocket · January 11, 2006, 05:06 PM

Well thanks

I wasn't trying to insult anyone, nor was I targeting anyone with that statement, I was just trying to point out that killing the guy is the easy part, and I don't think some people fully understand what that means.

All I was trying to say is that to me, there's no 100% right answer 100% of the time. You have to make a decision in about 3 nanoseconds that is going to unalterably change people's lives....yours, the guy who gets shot, your family's, his family's...so all I'm saying is that there are more factors involved than "Have weapon, must kill".

I've been in similar situations, and I don't think anyone walks away feeling tough and powerful. Most of us walk away with a renewed respect for random chance and a newfound view on life. But I don't let those deaths bother me.. In fact, I don't regret any of them. But you have a split-second to commit to action...you have a lifetime to second-guess yourself. Better to make sure you've done all you can to do what's right for your particular situation...and the situation doesn't end with the death of the guy you shoot.

garryc · January 11, 2006, 05:22 PM

I've added a link so maybe some of ya'll see why I train so well both mentally and physically with my weapons. Try to remember I was 20 at the time and I'm now 46

http://www.gunchat.net/chat/index.ph...11792#msg11792

Derius_T · January 11, 2006, 07:56 PM

springmom:

Quote:

That said, I am APPALLED at the suggestions on this forum that individuals should be FORCED BY LAW to take medication. Not kidding. Do we or do we not stand for individual liberty as gun owners? Since when do we want to give the government the right to force psychotropic medications into ANYBODY??? If an individual is so deranged as to be an IMMEDIATE danger (suicidal or homicidal) then that is the exception, but to require someone to take a medication that may have horrible side effects (and the medications for bipolar and its frequently-associated cousins do indeed have awful side effects in some individuals) is NOT what this country is about.

I'm all for liberty and freedom, but I can't completely agree with that statement Springmom. If a person is mentally handicapped, and prone to violent behavior, you HAVE to do something to curb that behavior, both for themselves and those around them. If they are not competent enough NOT to injure people without meds, they need to be made to take meds, or be locked up where theycan do no harm to themselves or others. It sad they are disturbed, but some type of control must be established.....

pickpocket · January 11, 2006, 08:11 PM

Quote:

Springmom:
If an individual is so deranged as to be an IMMEDIATE danger (suicidal or homicidal) then that is the exception

Quote:

Derius_T:
If a person is mentally handicapped, and prone to violent behavior, you HAVE to do something to curb that behavior, both for themselves and those around them

That's what she said.

Garryc:
I find some humor in your story in that you thought the first shots ever fired at you were firecrackers....
My first engagement ever started off with a pair of RPG's. The first one got sent at us down the long axis of a street, from about 100m. I heard it...but thought it was one of those little spinner firecrackers that make that high-pitched whirrring sound.
So....being the silly American...I take a couple of steps into the street to see what group of kids is setting off fireworks in celebration of Ramadan and missed collecting my express delivery by about 3-5 ft. One of my guys said it sailed right over my head... sometimes you can only laugh

No, my friend...yours was about as clean as a shoot can get.

garryc · January 11, 2006, 09:23 PM

Pickpocket
Then there was the time I got chased through the streets of Subic Bay in the Philippines by two Filipino MP's yet another story

Abndoc · January 28, 2006, 08:21 PM

I had an eerily similar experience to the one you described, years ago in Colorado, while attending school. I lived downstairs in some apartments with a central courtyard. Above me lived some friends and one individual who had some kind of mental problems. You could see the erosion of his control as the months went on, but he had not become violent. One morning I left for school and he was out drilling his "troops" in an old style military uniform. When I came home that afternoon, He was out on the balcony screaming at people to get inside their homes and take cover! He began chasing people around the balcony. I was much younger at the time and a little more hot headed so I yelled at him to knock it off(or words to that effect). He answered in similar language, went inside his apartment, and came out with a 2 foot machete. I retreated to my home and loaded my 12 gauge. Sure enough, a few moment later, my front door flew open and there he stood.I had made up my mind that if he entered, I would have to put him down hard. With my wife and infant daughter there, I would have no choice. Would I shoot? Could I do it? As my finger tightened on the trigger, he backed off. It seems that the business end of a 12ga. shotgun had the desired effect. I did not have to shoot and I thank God for that. The police and the guys brother showed up soon after this. His brother explained to me later that he had quit taking his meds. He was a Vietnam Vet who had been wounded in the war and never was quite right after.

January 11, 2006, 05:06 PM	#76
pickpocket Senior Member Join Date: January 6, 2006 Location: Houston, TX Posts: 570	Well thanks I wasn't trying to insult anyone, nor was I targeting anyone with that statement, I was just trying to point out that killing the guy is the easy part, and I don't think some people fully understand what that means. All I was trying to say is that to me, there's no 100% right answer 100% of the time. You have to make a decision in about 3 nanoseconds that is going to unalterably change people's lives....yours, the guy who gets shot, your family's, his family's...so all I'm saying is that there are more factors involved than "Have weapon, must kill". I've been in similar situations, and I don't think anyone walks away feeling tough and powerful. Most of us walk away with a renewed respect for random chance and a newfound view on life. But I don't let those deaths bother me.. In fact, I don't regret any of them. But you have a split-second to commit to action...you have a lifetime to second-guess yourself. Better to make sure you've done all you can to do what's right for your particular situation...and the situation doesn't end with the death of the guy you shoot. __________________ Semper Fi- David Williams "Sabah al khair -- ismee Dave, ahnee al Shayṭān"

January 28, 2006, 08:21 PM	#81
Abndoc Senior Member Join Date: January 28, 2006 Location: Kalifornia Posts: 727	My first post... I had an eerily similar experience to the one you described, years ago in Colorado, while attending school. I lived downstairs in some apartments with a central courtyard. Above me lived some friends and one individual who had some kind of mental problems. You could see the erosion of his control as the months went on, but he had not become violent. One morning I left for school and he was out drilling his "troops" in an old style military uniform. When I came home that afternoon, He was out on the balcony screaming at people to get inside their homes and take cover! He began chasing people around the balcony. I was much younger at the time and a little more hot headed so I yelled at him to knock it off(or words to that effect). He answered in similar language, went inside his apartment, and came out with a 2 foot machete. I retreated to my home and loaded my 12 gauge. Sure enough, a few moment later, my front door flew open and there he stood.I had made up my mind that if he entered, I would have to put him down hard. With my wife and infant daughter there, I would have no choice. Would I shoot? Could I do it? As my finger tightened on the trigger, he backed off. It seems that the business end of a 12ga. shotgun had the desired effect. I did not have to shoot and I thank God for that. The police and the guys brother showed up soon after this. His brother explained to me later that he had quit taking his meds. He was a Vietnam Vet who had been wounded in the war and never was quite right after.

January 11, 2006, 05:22 PM	#77
garryc Senior Member Join Date: November 12, 2005 Posts: 2,536	I've added a link so maybe some of ya'll see why I train so well both mentally and physically with my weapons. Try to remember I was 20 at the time and I'm now 46 http://www.gunchat.net/chat/index.ph...11792#msg11792

January 11, 2006, 09:23 PM	#80
garryc Senior Member Join Date: November 12, 2005 Posts: 2,536	Pickpocket Then there was the time I got chased through the streets of Subic Bay in the Philippines by two Filipino MP's yet another story