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Thread: Mayberry?

  1. #1
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    Mayberry?

    Almost exactly one year ago Lynn and I moved to a quaint little town of 35,000 folks in a rural area 35 miles east of Tampa, Florida. It’s a quiet, Mayberry-like town. The police department has 99 employees, including 74 sworn officers, and there is little crime.

    A few months after we moved here, there was a fatal shooting here involving a person with a Florida Concealed Weapons License. The shooting was ruled justifiable self defense and no charges were involved. Today, two of our police officers shot to death a violent felony suspect during a confrontation after a vehicle chase, at 7:00 in the morning. The deceased had multiple prior arrests for domestic violence and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

    That’s two fatal self defense shootings in one year in my little town. The lesson: there are no longer “safe places”, except where you make yourself safe through vigilance, commitment and skill. Carry your damn gun. Accept that violence can occur suddenly, anywhere. Be mentally prepared. Someone in a setting much like my town once asked John Farnam, “How many times do people get killed around here, anyway?”. John’s classic response was, “Just once, just like every where else.”

  2. #2
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    I don't think there ever were any truly "safe" places, in that there is no place where a person's "feeling" of safety and security is an actual fact in all circumstances. There are always going to be events that "shock" a community, whether because a local goes off the rails or because an outsider with ill intent comes to town.

    Our town still talks about the serial killer who targeted little girls 30 years ago.

  3. #3
    Member JHC's Avatar
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    I grew up in a small rural Wisconsin town that hadn't had a murder in so many decades, nobody knew if there ever had been one. A burglary or two a year was more like it. I'd say it was safe. That was in the '60's.

    Now I live in a small "low crime" town north of ATL. We had the nutjob sovereign citizen shoot up our county courthouse a couple years ago and get LITERALLY shot to ribbons for his trouble. (you might recall our well outfitted and trained SWAT team was all loaded up and headed to the range within a block at the commencement of festivities. The loser really had bad timing and had ND'd a bullet into his leg earlier that morning as he was loading up for his attack.)

    And we had a security guard at a local Ingles murdered with his own pistol a few years ago just a couple miles from my house.

    But my friends who are muti-generational here tell stories of the old days that didn't seem all that different. As in an uncle that had done time for stabbing a guy to death over a card game etc.

    Apologies in advance but it seems even back in the day it was a more violent culture round heeyah. But it's more interesting. I like it a great deal as I liked Texas that was also a bit rougher.

    But the meth/opiod/alchohol abuse proliferation in Mayberry has probably changed everything for the worse.

    And Florida? Magnet as it seems to be for "Florida man"?
    Last edited by JHC; 07-07-2017 at 06:30 AM.
    “Remember, being healthy is basically just dying as slowly as possible,” Ricky Gervais

  4. #4
    Four String Fumbler Joe in PNG's Avatar
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    Reminds me of this scene from "No Country for Old Men":
    "You win 100% of the fights you avoid. If you're not there when it happens, you don't lose." - William Aprill
    "I've owned a guitar for 31 years and that sure hasn't made me a musician, let alone an expert. It's made me a guy who owns a guitar."- BBI

  5. #5
    Member JHC's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Joe in PNG View Post
    Reminds me of this scene from "No Country for Old Men":
    Great choice of clips!
    “Remember, being healthy is basically just dying as slowly as possible,” Ricky Gervais

  6. #6
    "Safe" is a construction we create in our minds. We are never 100% safe. "Safety" is a continuum.

    Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

  7. #7
    banana republican blues's Avatar
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    The lesson: there are no longer “safe places”, except where you make yourself safe through vigilance, commitment and skill. Carry your damn gun. Accept that violence can occur suddenly, anywhere. Be mentally prepared. Someone in a setting much like my town once asked John Farnam, “How many times do people get killed around here, anyway?”. John’s classic response was, “Just once, just like every where else.”
    35,000? That's a teeming metropolis compared to the town of 7,000 I live a few miles outside of.

    That said, a few years ago we had a couple murdered by a serial killer while out for a local hike in the national forest.

    This past week a local woman pled guilty to murdering her husband.

    A recent kidnapping of an adult / pregnant woman. (Safely and successfully concluded.)

    And a variety of other such events over the 14 years I've lived up here.

    So, though I live closer to the fictional town of Mayberry, (and even in the right state),...I very much concur with your point and lesson.

    Thank you for keeping us ever mindful.
    Last edited by blues; 07-07-2017 at 08:08 AM.
    There's nothing civil about this war.

    Read: Harrison Bergeron

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by Joe in PNG View Post
    Reminds me of this scene from "No Country for Old Men":

    That amount of truth portrayed there is way above the ability and comfort level of lots of folks. Beautifully played movie of West Texas folks, with the sayings and accents down perfectly.
    Regional Government Sales Manager for Aimpoint, Inc. USA
    Co-owner Hardwired Tactical Shooting (HiTS)

  9. #9
    You just need to move to one of the liberal colleges that provide "safe spaces".

  10. #10
    banana republican blues's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by beenalongtime View Post
    You just need to move to one of the liberal colleges that provide "safe spaces".
    That gives me an idea...maybe instead of hanging mistletoe during the holidays, a new tradition of hanging snowflakes should be adopted, providing safe spaces for all those in need.

    Disclaimer: By "snowflakes" I mean the things dropping from the clouds as opposed to the spineless souls requiring sanctuary.
    There's nothing civil about this war.

    Read: Harrison Bergeron

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