A pirate attempted to stop my bus in an old caddy

[Greg Roberts]

Yeah a good yarn but I don;t buy it.  Any self respecting Pirate would not have been doing that alone, as they would not have known how many were on board they would have to deal with.

Self respecting? Are you kidding me? Do you really actually mean to say that a person with extremely low character and poor judgement (maybe even under the influence of chemicals) that would make the decision to perform such an act would actually have good judgement enough to use the logic you suggest? It is not a yarn and I do not appreciate you so flippantly suggesting that it is. It was a very scary and bad situation that could not have turned out better for us. This event put a real quiet spot in my extended family's trip because this was their first time to venture east of Shreveport, LA. I have no reason to get cross with you but I am telling the absolute honest truth just as it happened and my intent is for you guys to learn from my experience and avoid getting yourself in that situation. Simply put, don't go there or any place like it during dark hours. Even if you think this is a yarn I would at least encourage you to listen and take heed.

[Greg Roberts]

where were you headed?  I used to live 30 miles south of Sparta.  I can attest that it is a rough town.

My destination was Sandersville and the wedding was in the Deepstep methodist church on the 14th. I told family and friends in the area about the event and all of them said that Sparta is considered a rough little town. I took a southern route to Millegeville and then cut up to I20 to avoid Saprta on the way home Sunday. Sandersville and Milledgeville both seem like nice respectable towns as compared to Sparta.

[Greg Roberts]

Is it just me, or is this story a little hard to take seriously??  I hate to doubt anybody, and I know about modern-day piracy on the high seas involving ships but, on the highway?  This is the first I've heard of anything like this.  Any of the "old stand-by regulars" care to comment here?

Dennis

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This guy clearly was not trying to help and was also clearly not trying to have a wreck. He pressed his brakes hard to make me brake but then hit the throttle to avoid me hitting the rear of his car. When he flipped the car sideways in the road in front of my intended path he was clearly not trying to assist me. I think he may have been trying to force me to take a side street to get past him and that would have been en even worse situation. No. He was not trying to help and there was nothing wrong with my bus.

When I read this post all I could think about was what happened to me,
please read this and checkout the date= http://www.busnut.com/bbs/messages/233/5795.html
I too was ready to kill this guy.

[Greg Roberts]

Marine Flare gun or rocket flares in the "Road" Safety kit.
( fits nicely out the toll window. )

The last thing I wanted to do was provoke the guy by appearing to fire at him. That is not to say that I would not fire first in the right situation but I simply do not fire anything unless the sights are on the torso in a situation like this. By the way, by law I did have a right to protect my family and his final act of sliding his car sideways in my path almost lead to the final confrontation. Had he not flipped sideways as far as he did to the left side of the 2 lane, I would have had to pull the brake and take the action. As it were, I still had an exit from the situation and my action and his decision to move on in the opposite direction led to an ending with the person still alive.

[Greg Roberts]

Praise the Lord!
That was close call....it could have been worse.

No plate is a possible stolen car and didn't mind car damage from trying to stop you to rob or whatever.

BTW...Sparta. Ga is small village of about 1500. 84% black and 15% white.
http://www.spartageorgia.com/local/cityinfo.html

I would never try to go through a strange town and road after dark if possible.

This is the time to have a very strong bumper on front of bus to be ready in case of blocking.

It going to get worse as economy worsens.

Likewise what other posted have said.

Perhaps we need to thrive on changing our planning goal to take longer time getting to wherever and day time interstate traveling as much as possible.

Have all baggage doors lock as well.

I wonder if using a flash on camera to pretend taking photos of them would ward them off.

FWIW

Sojourn for Christ, Jerry

Jerry, you are right on target and have clearly got the message. The one thing I would worry about is camera flashing. In my mind that could be interpreted as muzzle blast. Of course that could cause the subject to flee in fear but it could also cause him to return fire. I don't know what the right answer is at this point because the delima is knowing when to pull and fire a gun. It certainly makes no sense to only wait until you or a loved one has taken a round. For me in this situation it came down to physical locations and access to a clear shot from the guy to me. In other words, when he passed me each time at a good clip he was moving too fast and on the opposite side of the car from me to get a really good shot at me. When he went sideways in the road he would have had to open a window and point a gun back behind the plane of his back because he slide too for to the left. This was the critical moment for me because of the exposure from all of the windows in the front of the bus. If the guy had been further to the right side of the road we both would have had clear shots at each other. I have to give the credit for our safety to the good lord that night.

[Greg Roberts]

I don't know whether or not the story is true, but for me the idea that every citizen should have "a loaded firearm.....within reach of your fingertips" is ten thousand times more frightening than the idea of coming across a rogue criminal who wishes me harm. Then claiming that killing said criminal is somehow doing the "work of the Lord" just takes it beyond bizarre.

I guess I'm just lucky that I live in a civilised country.

Jeremy

I have been to the UK. Owned a home in Clydebank for a few years (of course the Scots have a complete different view of Brits). I know what the crime is like in the UK. Give me the USA and the hard earned freedoms that we have any day over the UK. The UK has historically been our brothers and I hope that continues. Financially we have supported the UK to the tune of Billions of US dollars especially since WWII. Each country has it's unique laws but, having lived in both countries, I can clearly say that the USA is much safer in most scenarios. I expect you really have not been exposed to the US other than Hollywood movies that most foreigners seem to think exemplifies the USA and you just really have no idea what you are talking about when it comes to the USA.

[Greg Roberts]

I don't know whether or not the story is true, but for me the idea that every citizen should have "a loaded firearm.....within reach of your fingertips" is ten thousand times more frightening than the idea of coming across a rogue criminal who wishes me harm. Then claiming that killing said criminal is somehow doing the "work of the Lord" just takes it beyond bizarre.

I guess I'm just lucky that I live in a civilised country.

Jeremy

I guess in a "civilized" country only the criminals have guns, but hey, whatever floats your boat.  I prefer for the police to arrive to find me still alive, not to show up and try to figure out who to notify that they are beginning an investigation into my untimely death.

And yes, such things do happen...  I know several friends who have had people jump into the back of their work van at a stop light and grab what they can. 

And it has little to do with a "poor economy."  There are very few people who commit criminal acts because of economic circumstance.  They turn to crime because that is who they are.  There is no difference between the guy who mugs people in an alley and the CEO of Enron except the clothes they are wearing and the attorney they can afford.  They both think they are entitled to other peoples money and that the rules of society don't apply to them.  It is all about a little thing called "character."

I think you are right on the money. It could be that we will see more issues as the economy gets worse but your point about character is on the money in any case.

[Greg Roberts]

When it come to protecting my famile "Better To Be Judged By 12 Than Carried By 6".  Jack

Jack,
Exactly. Doing the right thing may get one judged by 12 but any outcome is more acceptable than the alternative. I will protect my family and I will value their lives as well as others.

[kyle4501]

All I would like to say is you guys have WAY too much time on your hands to type post like these over and over.
Before you know it, you'll be writing poems too!
Give it a break and get this board BACK to buses instead of guns! If you own them, use them! If you don't, then worry about the consequences then!
Now did I ever tell the story about the guy in an Eagle that just HAD to get in front of me on the interstate? He tried and tried! He just couldn't muster enough steam!
B S

Give it a rest already ace.

I'm not the only one who knows who you are trying to provoke with the poem & eagle remarks. & don't even try to call it 'in good fun' - not when you know how it is received on their end. . . .

[edvanland]

I also travel well armed.  In over 30 years of RV ing I have pulled my gun on one person. He left when he looked down the barrell of a 357.  Would I have shot him, YES, would I have been sorry that he made me do it, YES.
One other time while delivering newspapers I had 3 punk kinds trying to scare me by running up on my van and doing other things, I was able to get ahold of 911 and kept the kooks in sight while directing the cops to them.  Three teenage kids, drunk trying to have fun.  When cops had them under arrest I talked to the cops as well as the kids and they said they were just having fun.  I then informed them that I would have used my 4000 lbs van as a wepon and they would have been having fun in the hospital or moruge.
Travel safe and be armed. Use gun control, both hands.
Ed
MCI 7

[Greg Roberts]

After reading the various post on the above subject I think that the ideas have gone in 2 different directions.
One for having a weapon and the other for not having a weapon.
Myself I  always carried a loaded weapon when I am on a trip either in my GMC Buffalo or by my trusty Buick.
In this great state that I live in (Texas) we can carry a weapon in our vehicle's.
I hope that I never have a chance to use my weapon but if the need to use it happens I will be ready willing and able to  do so.
Calling 911 isn't going to work when the person is trying to do you or your family harm.
Remember when seconds count the cop's are minutes away.
jlv

You speak the truth. In a situation like that a minute may as well be a decade because the primary responsibility for your protection does rest with each individual and then we have the police to enforce the laws (murder being a real possibility). My family and I will be protected because I choose to take responsibility. Can you imagine people blaming and suing the police because a family member was murdered and the police was not there for prevention?

[Greg Roberts]

Criminals don't have any concern for others and will do any things or ways to harm other person rights.

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4159/is_20041017/ai_n12762405/pg_1?tag=artBody;col1

FWIW

Sojourn for Christ, Jerry

I think this article debunks every statement that Jeremy makes, including school shootings and the only ones that do not have guns are the police. It is for certain that if the criminals want them they are redialy available.

Richard

Good article and a real eye opener too!

[Greg Roberts]

Awesome post with great information!

I am such a strong believer I don't where to start and when to stop. I'll jump into the ring. Most already know how I feel about this anyways.

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One of the best arguments for guns I've read. Makes a logical argument without the use of the 2nd amendment:


Why the gun is civilization.


Human beings only have two ways to deal with one another: reason and force. If you want me to do something for you, you have a choice of either convincing me via argument, or force me to do your bidding under threat of force. Every human interaction falls into one of those two categories, without exception. Reason or force, that's it.

In a truly moral and civilized society, people exclusively interact through persuasion. Force has no place as a valid method of social interaction, and the only thing that removes force from the menu is the personal firearm, as paradoxical as it may sound to some.

When I carry a gun, you cannot deal with me by force. You have to use reason and try to persuade me, because I have a way to negate your threat or employment of force. The gun is the only personal weapon that puts a 100-pound woman on equal footing with a 220-pound mugger, a 75-year old retiree on equal footing with a 19-year old gangbanger, and a single gay guy on equal footing with a carload of drunk guys with baseball bats. The gun removes the disparity in physical strength, size, or numbers between a potential attacker and a defender.

There are plenty of people who consider the gun as the source of bad force equations. These are the people who think that we'd be more civilized if all guns were removed from society, because a firearm makes it easier for a mugger to do his job. That, of course, is only true if the mugger's potential victims are mostly disarmed either by choice or by legislative fiat--it has no validity when most of a mugger's potential marks are armed. People who argue for the banning of arms ask for automatic rule by the young, the strong, and the many, and that's the exact opposite of a civilized society. A mugger, even an armed one, can only make a successful living in a society where the state has granted him a force monopoly.

Then there's the argument that the gun makes confrontations lethal that otherwise would only result in injury. This argument is fallacious in several ways. Without guns involved, confrontations are won by the physically superior party inflicting overwhelming injury on the loser. People who think that fists, bats, sticks, or stones don't constitute lethal force watch too much TV, where people take beatings and come out of it with a bloody lip at worst. The fact that the gun makes lethal force easier works solely in favor of the weaker defender, not the stronger attacker. If both are armed, the field is level. The gun is the only weapon that's as lethal in the hands of an octogenarian as it is in the hands of a weightlifter. It simply wouldn't work as well as a force equalizer if it wasn't both lethal and easily employable.

When I carry a gun, I don't do so because I am looking for a fight, but because I'm looking to be left alone. The gun at my side means that I cannot be forced, only persuaded. I don't carry it because I'm afraid, but because it enables me to be unafraid. It doesn't limit the actions of those who would interact with me through reason, only the actions of those who would do so by force. It removes force from the equation...and that's why carrying a gun is a civilized act.

http://munchkinwrangler.blogspot.com/2007/03/why-gun-is-civilization.html

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Should Christians have guns?

http://www.geocities.com/mikearion/christiansandguns.html

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POLICE ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR PROTECTION OF INDIVIDUAL CITIZENS.

U.S. Supreme Court
Braswell V. Braswell, 410S.E.2D 897, 901 (NC 1991)
"Fundamental Principle of American Law that a Government and its agents are under no general duty to provide public services, such as police protection, to ANY individual citizen, and therefore, there is no liability for the failure to furnish police protection to specific individuals".

Meaning - individuals have no right to police protection under the federal Constitution. The police exist ONLY to perform the general duties of (a) deterring crime and (b) investigating a crime AFTER one has been committed. Each individual is legally required to defend themselves and their families.
The reason for the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.



Quotes from those who wrote the Constitution;

"A strong body makes the mind strong. As to the species of exercises, I advise the gun. While this gives moderate exercise to the body, it gives boldness, enterprise and independence to the mind. Games played with the ball, and others of that nature, are too violent for the body and stamp no character on the mind.
Let your gun therefore be your constant companion of your walks.
Thomas Jefferson -1785
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"The great object is that every man be armed. Everyone who is able may have a gun". Patrick Henry
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"I ask, sir, what is the militia? It is the whole people, except for a few public officials". -
George Mason, June 16, 1788
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The Virginia Constitution - Article 1, Section 13
That a well regulated militia, composed of the body of the people, trained to arms, is the proper, natural, and safe defense of a free state, therefore, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.....
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The right of self-defense never ceases. It is among the most sacred, and alike necessary to nations and
to individuals."
- President James Monroe, Nov. 16, 1818 message to the U.S. House and Senate. [Journal of the Senate of the United States of America, November 17th, 1818.]
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"But now, he that hath a purse, let him take it, and likewise his script; and he that hath no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one." - JESUS - Luke 22;36


Source:

http://blogs.roanoke.com/roundtable/editorials/discuss_mondays_editorials_31.html

[superpickle]

I really dont know so I could be Wrong,, BUT, There were NO Guns on any of the Flights on 9-11...
All the Hijackers had were Box cutters..

Like i said, I dont know if any flights had Air Marshells on them.. Would have mad a Diff in most cases.. 

[ktmossman]

Can you imagine people blaming and suing the police because a family member was murdered and the police was not there for prevention?

Been done (not with those exact details)... IIRC, the police were observing a suspect from an undercover position when another violent crime (with unrelated individuals to their investigation) happened within their view.  They chose NOT to intervene to stop the crime but instead remained hidden (so as not to blow their cover) and summoned other officers who arrived too late. When the criminal was caught and went to trial, the undercover officers were called to testify to what they had seen.  The victim then sued the police for not acting to protect them from the attack.  The Supreme Court ruled that the police do NOT have an legal obligation to prevent crime even if they know ahead of time that it is likely to occur, nor do they have any liability if they choose not to.

Gun control = the ability to hit your target with sufficient caliber to end the situation.