It's hard to take something seriously as this when the poll isn't serious. Though I voted "give the burglar a good beating then call the police, it is most likely I would actually do the first choice... Kill him.
Killing is a very VERY difficult thing to do. Maybe not for a trained combat veteran who has done so, pr a LEO, but for the everyday person it's not as easy as all that. Unless you've actually done it, IMO you've no idea.
Ironically as a supporter of the death penalty I do not like killing at all. But sometimes it must be done. There are people out there who just-don't-care. At least not like we (everyday people) do.
First few days of living (again) in my parents house I realized just how vulnerable we were. My father being deaf and blind, my mother deaf and diabetic with a bad knee, both are in their 80's and myself (without my hearing aids) deaf as well. Anyone could conceivably break a window and get in. The doors are stout enough to warrant all but the most determined break-ins.
I find it difficult to fall asleep sometimes because I worry about not being able to hear a glass pane being broken and then someone, possibly armed (and this could be with a simple crowbar-- a common burglar's tool) unwanted and uninvited inside the house.
Someone could conceivably stealthily walk into my room and bash me on the head and I wouldn't hear them. Then my parents are extremely vulnerable.
This does scare me.
Should I wake in the darkness of my room, with internal alarms blaring and if possible that I manage to get into a position to surprise the intruder... I'd probably would kill him if the opportunity presented itself. Legally I would not be too concerned, and feel that the police would be on our side due to the circumstances (just described) and that in a trial by jury (hopefully) be acquitted.
I hope/pray it won't ever come to that and that the neighborhood we live in presently stays relatively safe as it has been for years.
A call would go to 911 most definitely, dispatchers know this address and know the occupants well and thus response time would be near immediate. I wouldn't have to speak to them, just leave it off the hook.
Still, he's in our house, unwanted and uninvited, thus... he dies. Simple as that. There are no weapons in the house per se except my folder which lies by my bed on the nightstand and the kitchen knife set and whatever else I can get my hands on.
No dogs to bark loudly or mangle the intruder. My parents would love to have one but worry about not having a fence around to prevent the dog from running off into the busy 5 lane highway that is in front of the house.
Being on fixed income they can't afford it, neither can I at this time. Besides the house is no longer in their name, it's been given to one of my (step) mother's granddaughters, as sort of living inheritance. I am here to help them best as I may.
An intruder in the home while occupied is far more dangerous than an intruder in an unoccupied home. It takes balls to go into an occupied private residence armed and uninvited. I think any officer here on MT would agree with that.
Fortunately, statistically most home invasions take place when the home is unoccupied. Good for them, good for the home-owner who doesn't have to make a life or death decision on the spot.
