This may have already been asked, so if it has please delete if it has. If y2k would have happened, or if worse comes to worse in the near future, would you defend yourselves and your family and your supplies to the death? Would you kill someone in authority-cop/soldiers, a bad guy/wman, or a hungry crazed citizen if they tried to take your stuff or you family or your life?

-- Cindy (S.E.IN) (atilrthehony@countrylife.net), November 09, 2001

Answers

While I am sure some macho folks will say "hell yes", and someone more timid will say "no", I doubt anyone is going to answer that till it happens.

-- Gary (gws@redbird.net), November 09, 2001.

Don't think I could honestly answer that until I was in that situation. I would like to think that I would do whatever was right.

-- Eric in TN (ems@nac.net), November 09, 2001.

If they tried to hurt my children, I believe I would. Like others, I don't know until it happens but my gut instinct is if it were for my children I would do whatever I had to.

-- Deena in GA (dsmj55@aol.com), November 09, 2001.

We were ready for Y2K and had all plans implemented, all supplies laid in for the long haul. We were ready to defend against (eliminate) anyone who threatened our lives. We had agreed as a group (our family) to share what we had with others if it was in any way possible.

Having to defend yourself is not something most people would look forward to and I am glad I never had to make the decision. Hope I never have to. We are stocking up again though, just in case.

-- Bob in WI (bjwick@hotmail.com), November 09, 2001.

I can only hope & pray that I never have to put my finger on the trigger for those reason's.................

-- Jim-mi (hartalteng@voyager.net), November 09, 2001.

I spose this is one of those situational ethics situations so for me it would depend on the circumstances however here's a true story that happened a few years ago---a tragic story.

This retired guy was preparing his commercial, pick your own, strawberry patch for the summer. One of the annual chores was blowing out the irrigation lines with compressed air to remove the dirt etc that might have accumulated. As he was pumping up his air storage pressure tank the relief valve didn't work and the tank exploded, blasting a hole thru the garage wall.

His weeder geese were in a pen attached to the garage and were freaking out. The walls were smoking with the likelyhood of an electrical fire and he was up to his ass in alligators trying to get the situation under control.

His wife called 911 and it so happened a county sheriff was nearby. The cop pulls into his yard and sez "I wanna talk to you and find out what happened." The guy sez "later, I'm pretty busy." The cop gets insistant and the guy sez "Look, if you're not here to help at least stay out of the way untill I get this under control", a perfectly reasonable request IMO. The cop over reacts and pulls a gun. The guy ducks into his garage, pulls out the 22 he used for keeping the rabbits out of the garden and shoots the cop dead.

Till now the guy was a peacable quiet citizen, minding his own business, content to tinker around his place.

Now he's in prison serving life.

Fault can be found with both parties actions and yet they're both at least understandable.

The guy might have handled things differently but he was concerned about his place burning to the ground and there were things that needed his urgent attention that wouldn't be getting it if he did as the cop wanted.

The cop walked into a situation that he knew nothing about and was understandably concerned but he too overeacted. Truly a sad situation all around.

-- john (natlivent@pcpros.net), November 09, 2001.

I would hope that I would be able to listen to the Holy Spirit and do whatever was right. I have a hard time thinking of killing anyone, but in the case of self defense, I know I could....just pray that I don't have to make that decision!

-- Doreen (bisquit@here.com), November 10, 2001.

Hello Cindy, I do not like violence, I am a pacifest but, I am well armed. Sincerely, Ernest

-- http://communities.msn.com/livingoffthelandintheozarks (espresso42@hotmail.com), November 10, 2001.

I probably would, but I pray that it will never come to that.

-- Nexae (Arax7@mvn.net), November 10, 2001.

I agree with Doreen about listening to the Holy Spirit for instructions in specific incidences. There are many methods of neutralizing a threat without killing. Analyzing threat conditions and reacting with just enough force would be a valuable skill. Over reaction gets labeled "murder."

When my folks gave me my first self protection handgun, the rule my mother gave me was, "Make sure it is worth washing the blood and guts off the walls, because nobody else will clean it up for you." Now there is a concept that makes you think!

-- Laura (LadybugWrangler@hotmail.com), November 10, 2001.

Good Question Cindy. I asked a similar question some time back. It's a catch 22 situation just when do you start defending. (a) when they enter the yard? (b) Come on the porch? (c) or after they attack you or your kids? During y2k we were fortunate all our neighbors had agreed to baricade our community off from the general public if things seemed to be going bad. Now we hardly talk to each other. Everyones to busy trying to survive.

-- Kenneth in N.C. (wizardsplace13@hotmail.com), November 13, 2001.

If I believed that someone's actions were about to endanger my family's or my own life. . . yes.

Getting evicted off your own property by the authorities makes you a refugee, one of the worst situations to be in. Where do you stay? Where would you get food? Where can you be safe? Too indefinite for me; would rather die on my own place, than die wandering the world.

Would stealing crops or food from my land constitute one of these scenarios. Depends on situation. If I see a single person taking what they can in their arms, I would just order them to drop it and leave. If it were several people loading a pickup / van with the same, time to get p.o.'d. At least, that is my thoughts now. Very hard question to answer, if you honestly think about it.

-- j.r. guerra (jrguerra@boultinghousesimpson.com), November 14, 2001.

My honey and I talked this over with others at Y2K preparedness groups. Most everyone said they'd shoot first, and ask questions later, and that there was no way they would let anyone "get" their stored food. We, however, along with four or five other couples, all decided that we would share our food with anyone who needed it. So we stored a lot extra, for those who could not, or did not, store their own.

On the other hand, if a gang of bullies came an tried to forcefully steal our stuff, so sorry, bang.

What would god tell us to do? Turn the other cheek seems to resonate with my childhood memories of church. (hard to believe, but I actually was raised to be a christian!)

JOJ

-- joj (jump@off.c), November 14, 2001.

JOJ, you closet Christian you. You are soooooooo sweet. hugs

-- diane (gardiacaprines@yahoo.com), November 14, 2001.

Diane, you're sweet, too. What do you mean "closet christian"?

JOJ

-- joj (jump@off.c), November 14, 2001.

Well Joe, IMHO there are all sorts of people that call themselves Christians but lack the loving heart of Christ, and then there are those who are so turned off by what they see BECAUSE they have the heart of Christ. Those are the people I call closet Christians. :>)

-- diane (gardiacaprines@yahoo.com), November 14, 2001.

That was an extremely nice thing to say,Diane. I don't think I have the "heart of Christ", but I try to follow the golden rule, at least. And MOST of the ten commandments...

JOJ

-- joj (jump@off.c), November 15, 2001.

I grew up in on a very secluded farm in north-central Ontario. Many times there were knocks on the door in the middle of the night -- generally people lost on the road and looking for directions out -- but my Dad ALWAYS had a loaded gun behind the door as he answered it. Why? Because he had kids and a wife to defend -- and you never know. Dad was always prepared for anything -- and that included someone shoving a gun in HIS face thinking that a dirt-farming family in the middle of nowhere was easy pickings.

Would I kill if necessary? If it meant the life or well-being of my children or husband -- absolutely, without a doubt.

-- Tracy (trimmer31@hotmail.com), November 15, 2001.