Extreamly Paranoid or Being Safe?

I refuse to be afraid inside and outside of my home.
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I have no fear. I have an understanding that the world is a rough place and that evil does exist. I also understand that things happen outside of my control. I have a family to protect and to provide for. So, I make preperations and practice preventitive maintenance.

I have a fully stocked first aid kit and red cross certification in first aid as well as CPR. If something happens to my child it is my duty to provide immediate aid because paramedics are minutes away at best. That doesn't mean I'm scared it will happen. It means I was a kid and know that kids do things that get them hurt.

I have a fire extinguisher in my home and know how to properly use it. I am not afraid of my house burning down. I do know that fires can start innocently from spilling crumbs or food on a stove. It is my duty to make sure I know how to prevent that from turning in to a disaster.

I have a gun in my home that I know how to properly use. I am not afraid that somebody will come crashing through my door. I do know that evil people exist. The evidence is all around us. It is my duty to be prepared to stop that evil from harming me, my wife, or my child. I don't sit in my chair thinking, "will today be the day." I actually don't think about it much. I have made preperations and I continue on with my life.

I don't live in fear. I live as a man that ensures he can protect, aid, provide for, and emotionally support his family. That means I also watch my diet, I work out 3 to 5 days a week, I read books to help me understand my child's developement, I keep the tires on my car rotated, and take the car in for scheduled maintenance.

It isn't about fear. It is about being the best man I can be for my family. If you don't understand that, wow!
 
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It isn't about fear. It is about being the best man I can be for my family. If you don't understand that, wow!
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And that has nothing to do with what he was talking about with folks carrying in the shower, having guns in every room, not walking to the end of the driveway to get the mail without carrying 2 guns and a reload - sorry there are way too many folks who ARE seriously paranoid under the guise of "being prepared"................
 
If I felt the need to have a loaded firearm near me while taking a shower or sitting on the thrown in my own home, I would seriously reconsider a few things in my life. Have I done something to “T” someone off to the point they would consider assaulting me? Do I live in a high crime area, if so, why do I live there? Are the locking mechanisms on my doors and windows up to par? Do I let news reports of crime from the “drive by media” affect my better judgment? If the answer is yes to any of those, I would sit down and seriously evaluate the environment around me and the thoughts bouncing around my cranium.

There has only been two times in my life that I felt the need to have a loaded gun on my person while in my own home. One was 20 years ago when an ex brother-in-law threatened to kill me for helping my sister move away from him. That lasted three days. The second was when a shady looking pair of guys knocked on my front door at 8:00 PM wanting to clean the carpet in my living room for $25. That lasted one day.

I have been on this earth for just over 19,000 days now. Of that I have felt the need for a loaded firearm with me in my home for four days. I’d say I’m doing well, and my home is located in a reasonably safe environment. Could this all change? It sure could, but then I would be considering a change in the environment.
 
And that has nothing to do with what he was talking about with folks carrying in the shower, having guns in every room, not walking to the end of the driveway to get the mail without carrying 2 guns and a reload - sorry there are way too many folks who ARE seriously paranoid under the guise of "being prepared"................
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He originally said that anyone that carries in their home is overly parnoid.He answered the question, am I parnanoid for carrying a gun from my bedroom to my living room, with a yes. That isn't the case.

I don't hold my CZ while sitting on the toilet. I take it off and lay it on the counter. :D When I take a shower it is usually in the closet in the bedroom. However, once my day starts it is with me until I go to sleep. Then it is with in reaching distance.

To me it is no different than my motion detecting lights and alarm system. It is a layer in a system. Am I paranoid for having motion lights and an alarm? No, it is being prepared for what may happen. Unfortunately bad things can and do happen in places we never expect them too. Be prepared and move on.

Paranoid is, "I know they are coming man. It is just a matter of time." Being prepared is, "I know it could happen so I should have a plan and know how to execute the plan." There are some guys here that may fall in to the first category. Simply carrying a gun at home doesn't make you one of them.

AUGUSTA, Ga.---It may be a nice neighborhood, but people who live there are on alert after several burglaries, two carjackings, and a home invasion.

A total of eight different homes hit, all within a few hours.

Residents in Augusta's Aumond Place neighborhood say they fear the rash of crime may be gang related.

Augusta's Aumond Place neighborhood is a place many say is an ideal place to live and raise a family. But, that safety net was sliced wide open last Friday night (September 21).

"Never in the history of our neighborhood. I just can't understand it." says Terry Johnson, who has called Aumond Place home for more than 30 years.
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Crime spree in one of Augusta's nicest Neighborhoods



The first home invasion in police memory struck Sanger when two armed men forced their way into a 66-year-old woman’s home in northwest Sangner and hit her with a pistol after she answered a knock at her front door.

This year, home invasions are on the rise in Fresno County, but up until the attack last Thursday Sanger had been spared from the crime, police said.

“A home invasion robbery in Sanger is unheard of,” said Sgt. Fred Sanders, in his 12th year as an officer.
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Home Invasion In A Quiet Neighborhood

It has never happened here doesn't mean much when it finally does.
 
McGreen, I think you're doing something a lot of us do. I'm not paranoid at all, have passed 11 psychologicals in my life & have many friends. I'm also a Christian. And I have a gun on me at all times, except when I'm showering, etc. Then it's right besides me. Just a long term ingrained habit that is 2nd nature now. Feels odd if I leave the room for a minute without taking one with me.
 
It's wonderful that of you live in a nice neighborhood and have locks on the door nobody will other you. Or at least you feel no need for handy protection. Comforting to know it will happen to someone else.

If a person chooses to not carry in their home and accept the odds of attack of some form as too low for them to do anything about then good for you. But to call someone else paranoid for doing so is silly.

The fact the critic resorted to hyperbole (carry two guns and a backup to check the mail) indicates he knew he was on weak ground with his original criticism and had to exaggerate to try to gain ground in his argument. Nobody suggested it. Though some who carry abide by the "Two is one and one is none" rule.

By the same logic, why have a firearm in the home at all for SD? I mean really, if you live right and lock your doors what are the odds you will ever need a gun for HD? Pretty low I think.

However for some gun owners, as long as you have a gun for SD you might as well have it handy. And even if the probability is low, the consequences if it happens are catastrophic. In a risk/mitigation matrix you not only prepare/prevent the most likely, but also for the less likely but most serious consequence risks.
 
"Why not just move?"

Regarding those who consider it important to maintain easy access to guns even within their own homes, some of the comments have bordered on ridicule.

And some of those same posters have said, "If you feel the need to be armed in your own home, why don't you just move?"

Personally, I'd like to move. Not because the neighborhood I'm in is particularly dangerous, but because my circumstances have changed and I'm living alone now, and my house is far bigger than I need.

But I can't just trade my house in on a smaller one the way one trades for a smaller car. To sell my house and move (presuming I could find a suitable and affordable house to move to) would be a financial nightmare; in my case, even to move to a cabin in the woods would, at best, involve a net loss to the tune of $50k or more.

So when someone cavalierly suggests "Why don't you just move?", that person strikes me as being far more out-of-touch-with-reality than someone who (in addition to other security measures) keeps a gun in every room.
 
MrGreen

Extreamly Paranoid or Being Safe?

Then about two weeks ago I was laying in bed with the radio on and on comes a story about how a school teacher was raped, strangled, and murdered in her home after someone came in. It was a crime in Pennsylvania almost 20 years ago but it still scared the hell out of me. My first thought was if she had a gun with her she might have been alive and the attacker would be dead. I woke up in the middle of the night scared to death because I thought I had heard people in the other room. (I live alone). I was too scared to even move because I feared if they knew I was awake they would for sure kill me. It turned out noboday was in there and the noise was coming from the AC or something. However since that night I have keep a loaded 9mm handgun next to my bed. I often carry it with me from room to room if I am up late at night. I live in a condo, not a house so there are not many rooms. Do you think I am being extra paranoid carrying the gun with me to walk between the bedroom and the living room?
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I do not think you are paranoid by the act of carrying a gun. You do sound as if you are paranoid since your new behavior was triggered by a story you heard on the radio.

It is good that you have finally realized that you are mortal and are at some degree of risk no matter where you are. However, risk is relative; and you should be capable of realistically evaluating the risk. You should be safer in your home with the entrances locked than you are out in your car or in public.

You need to seek some balance between your emotions and your actions. Millions of Americans sleep with a handgun next to their bed. Millions carry handguns in their homes. So it is not the act that is paranoid. What may be paranoid is the feeling you get from a story which really has no real impact on your life other than what you let it have.

I hope that you consider taking some firearms training such as the NRA Basic Personal Protection In The Home Course. Instructors in most if not all states offer the course a various times throughout the year.
 
ringolevio

So when someone cavalierly suggests "Why don't you just move?", that person strikes me as being far more out-of-touch-with-reality than someone who (in addition to other security measures) keeps a gun in every room.
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I have always thought that was way too easy and simple of a statement too. I myself don't plan on ever moving from the home our family lives in(knock on wood). Luckily(again knock on wood because times change), we are not in a bad area and have a little slice of nature.

I also liked nwpilgrim's post.
 
Not much use locked up unloaded. My little .380 has it's spot in every room I frequent both at my house and my gf's house. We buy health and other insurance and no one finds THAT paranoid: but in a perfect world all that insurance will never be needed, just like I hope my gun will never be needed!
 
no you are fine. I carry mine every where other then in the shower and then it is still very close to me. Hell right now I have a .22 laying on my printer like 2 ft away and my .357 is on my hip..lol.. As long as you are not jumping and poping rounds off for every little sound then your good.
 
MrGreen, paranoia has nothing to do with it ... If I don't have a gun in my pocket when I'm at home, it sits nearby and gets moved when I move to another room ... in fact, my Kimber is on a towel right now, next to my computer in our home office ... I live in a pretty peaceful small town in Texas, but as the man said, better to have a gun and not need it than to need it and not have it ... and as another guy said, I have no need to be paranoid ... I have a gun!! stay armed and stay frosty ...
 
I will relate a quote from Kregg P.J. Jorgenson in his book Acceptable Losses

"Maybe I'm paranoid, or maybe I'm just painfully aware of the possibilities."

I think that pretty much sums it up
 
Hello mr. green...

Now's my turn to make people say awe geeze! Lol! I live in SE OK, or what I'd like to call, THE METH CAPITAL OF OKLAHOMA. I've found that an anxiety med will help a lot with the paranoia. Just make sure you lock your windows and all doors when you go to bed. A large dog inside couldn't hurt. Motion lights outside will wake the dog. I would be more concerned about the ill-effects of anxiety-caused stress than someone actually breaking in to harm you. I'm not saying that keeping handguns is wrong. I personally think that the sound of a shotgun pumping will scare off an intruder quicker, plus if you load it in an improved cylinder, you can hit him with buckshot out to about 50 yards as he's running away. I also tend to leave certain lights on and lock my bedroom door. I leave the hall light, the vent-a-hood light, and front porch lights on. Do all you can to not make your house a target. Don't leave ANY valuables out in plain sight. It's like the drill sergent told private pile: "Pile! If it weren't for people like you there wouldn't be any damn theivery in this world!" There's only so much you can do though. I would definitely get those nerves in order. A wise man once told me to Pray for the best, and expect the worst. Have a good one!
 
Interesting thread. I made it through the first 30 posts and will come back to it later.

What you hear on the news will not change what is or isn't going to happen to you in the future. It may, however, make you think.

Call it paranoid if you like; there is not a whole lot wrong with doing so. You may wish to call it, instead, a well-reasoned focus on a couple of things:

1. It's a dangerous world out there.
2. It's made dangerous by people who are _____ (fill in the blank with your preference of "insane," "criminal," "dopeheads," etc.
3. You don't know when or if you'll encounter such an individual.
4. If you prepare for an encounter, you'll be much better off for it.

I ride motorcycles, always with a helmet on even though I have no plans to crash. I have fire extinguishers in my kitchen and garage even though I have no plans to have a fire there. I have a spare tire even though I don't plan on getting a flat tire. I carry a pistol with me wherever I can even though I don't plan on getting assaulted by one of the people in #2 above. :)

In my house, I may be somewhat more safe from the #2 people, however, it's no guarantee, of course. Stories confirm that fact. I don't carry in the shower either, but I do put one under the towel just outside the shower door. If I get up in the night to get a drink of water, it's very easy to grab the pistol off the nightstand and take it with me. It's no trouble. It doesn't mean I'm paranoid.

It means I'm ready. Ready for the unknown, the unexpected and the bad guys who may have picked just that moment to break in my front door. Better to just have to reach to my hip for my "preparedness" than to have to race the bad guys and their bullets to my bedroom or worse, to my safe, to find my pistol.

I don't remember where this came from but a quote says, "If ye are prepared, he shall not fear." I think that works here.

--Wag--
 
Keeping a fire extinguisher handy, wearing a helmet when you ride, keeping a firearm at the ready... All common sense precautions. Remember, one should always hope for the best and prepare for the worst.

But when you ALWAYS have a gun on you or literally within arms reach... That's living in fear. Call it paranoia, call it OCD, it's not normal and not healthy. It's just like if someone wears a helmet 24/7 or always has a fire extinguisher at arms length, it's an extreme behavior.

I have several loaded weapons laying around my small house so I know that if the unlikely even that I need one should arise, I have a means to defend myself several paces away. Even though my neighborhood isn't very glamorous, that's good enough for me. Life is too unpredictable to try to be prepared for everything all the time.
 
But when you ALWAYS have a gun on you or literally within arms reach... That's living in fear. Call it paranoia, call it OCD, it's not normal and not healthy.
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So this means that I'm paranoid for leaving my home every day in CCW mode? I'm glad I'm "not normal" just the means to protect myself if need be.
 
So this means that I'm paranoid for leaving my home every day in CCW mode
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NO, try reading it again - there are folks who carry while in the shower, feel the need to have guns hidden in every room, and are certain they are the next target for some roaming band of (fill in the blank) that will come busting down the door, rape the women and children and - God forbid- steal their video game console
 
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