Originally Posted By CarolinaDisneyDad Maybe they were gonna bag a deer on the way home. They are all over the sides of the interstates in Florida
Originally Posted By CarolinaDisneyDad I grew up around guns. My father collected them. But even I can't figure why you would take a rifle to WDW. By the way, while I do own guns, I am not a hunter. I went a couple of times when I was young but I just didn't get any enjoyment out of killing animals. I prefer skeet or targets.
Originally Posted By RoadTrip I like target shooting too, though for me laser guns at WDW or BB guns at the State Fair always worked just fine. If someone wants to use a "modern sporting rifle" (gun-enthusiast speak for semi-automatic rifles) to shoot at targets that is fine too. But do you really need high capacity magazines to do it?
Originally Posted By SuperDry << But even I can't figure why you would take a rifle to WDW. >> I think we already have a plausible explanation. Perhaps it was a hunting rifle, and the family was on a road trip vacation that included both hunting and a visit to WDW. Although not a high percentage of visitors, I'm sure it happens all the time at WDW.
Originally Posted By RoadTrip I'm sure it does. Watching Bambi and then killing Bambi completes the Circle of Life. "It's the Circle of Life And it moves us all Through despair and hope Through faith and love Till we find our place On the path unwinding In the Circle The Circle of Life"
Originally Posted By fkurucz <i>I'm work in retail in a nice area of Charlotte and my first week on the job the store was robbed at gunpoint.</i> Hmmm... I wonder ... is this mostly a problem in the south? I ask because my college daughter works P/T in retail and the large outdoor shopping center where she works has never had a robbery in the 3 year she's worked there. In fact, it's never has a robbery. Also, once when I visited the Dallas area I stopped by a walmart to pick up some stuff. On the way out, the greeters were checking everybody's bags vs. receipts. They don't do this at the Walmart where I live, so again, I wonder, is the south different?
Originally Posted By fkurucz >>I think we already have a plausible explanation. Perhaps it was a hunting rifle, and the family was on a road trip vacation that included both hunting and a visit to WDW.<< I'm not a hunter, but do people really take small children on hunting trips? I know a few guys who hunt and while they might take their teens hunting, I've never heard of one who would take small children hunting.
Originally Posted By SuperDry ^^^ Maybe they were visiting family, and the kids stayed behind with relatives on hunting day. Who knows. My point is, there are plenty of legitimate reasons for someone to have a rifle in their car trunk at WDW, other than just being a gun nut. And with the number of visitors, there are likely at least a handful of these per day, in addition to those that are acting irresponsibly.
Originally Posted By gurgitoy2 "Yea and have you ever noticed that car alarms go off and nobody thinks anything about it. Once my keys got wet at a water park so I couldn't turn the alarm off. I had to drive all the way home with my alarm going off. A policeman even passed me but no one did anything. When I got home I told my wife and she said " I guess alarms aren't much good"" I think this has to do with the amount of times alarms go off for no good reason, vs actual break-ins. Unfortunately because of the multitude of false alarms, I think people ignore it. I would say that 95% of the time a car alarm goes off, it's not a break-in. "Also, once when I visited the Dallas area I stopped by a walmart to pick up some stuff. On the way out, the greeters were checking everybody's bags vs. receipts. They don't do this at the Walmart where I live, so again, I wonder, is the south different?" Well, they do it up North too, in NJ, NY, and PA...at least to the Walmarts I go to in those states. They check to make sure you've paid for everything in your cart.
Originally Posted By Blufusion12 About the car alarms going off. I lived in Bowie MD and my apt complex was right next to the baseball stadium for the Bowie Baysox . The monor league team of the Orioles. Every Thurs and Sat. night of the season they would have a fireworks show and it was so funny to hear all the alarms going off all the time do to this. Most people would just go to there bedroom or living room window and turn them off.
Originally Posted By CarolinaDisneyDad Down here big box stores get robbed just like everyone else but the real problems are in the parking lots. Also homes or businesses near hwys get hit often because there is a quick escape route. My kids know if I say parking lot safety they get in the car as quickly as possible.
Originally Posted By fkurucz "My kids know if I say parking lot safety they get in the car as quickly as possible." I would refuse to live in such a nightmarish place and would move away, rather that cower in constant fear, clutching a gun. Why is the south so uncivilized?
Originally Posted By FerretAfros I lived in NC (about 90 minutes from Charlotte) for a decade an never had any issues. I don't think it's the entire south (or even a certain state) being uncivilized, I think it's a few bad eggs that get remembered/publicized. While crimes of all varieties happen all over the country, I never felt particularly unsafe when I lived there; if anything I felt much more safe than countless places I've visited/lived in the time since. Yes, bad things can happen anywhere, but I don't think that the south is especially prone to it. Side note: is it possible that the invasion of NC by people from the New York City area in the last 5-10 years is somehow involved in the crimes? I'm not saying that it is, but big cities are known for having bigger problems.
Originally Posted By standor All parts of the country are not safe. Too many people think they can get away with anything, and unfortuneatly the usually do.
Originally Posted By RoadTrip I don't mean this as a slam on any poster here, but in my experience those who look for trouble generally find it.
Originally Posted By Blufusion12 After getting beaten and robbed 4 years ago by 5 teenagers on bicycles that came upon us from behind. I still have a problem to this day during the day walking down the street. When I see teenagers in hoodies walking towards me I freak out. And when I walk now Im always looking behind me. I stay home more often now. But Im also not going to let them do it too me anymore. BTW I live in saint Petersburg Florida and everyday there are a lead 2 robberies reported in the Tampa and Saint Petersburg papers. And Orlando is even worse.
Originally Posted By SuperDry << those who look for trouble generally find it. >> Ask George Zimmerman what he thinks about that. << Down here big box stores get robbed just like everyone else but the real problems are in the parking lots. >> Same here. Whether it be a big box retailer, or even a small strip center with a couple of independent restaurants and a few other things, there's one of two conditions if it's located on a major street: 1) they hire a private security guard, usually armed, that patrols the parking lot constantly, or 2) cars get broken into all the time. Although armed robberies happen from time to time, the constant worry seems to be car burglaries. I wonder about this sometimes. It's probably not all that expensive compared to sales for a big box to hire this extra security, but for a small strip center that has maybe 8 shops in it to have to hire a security guard during all operating hours just so they don't get a bad reputation of always having their customers' cars broken into, it's got to be expensive, but considered a necessary cost. What does that say about society?
Originally Posted By CarolinaDisneyDad I think that there isa different dynamic going on today. There is less of a sense of society and belonging. Kids feel anonymous an by and large they are so they do things that we would never have done in the small town I grew up in.
Originally Posted By CarolinaDisneyDad Also I'm not cowering down in fear but I am prepared to defend myself. I may be totally wrong but at least I feel like I have done all I can to be safe although no one is completely safe. I also might have seen and heard of more incidences because I have lived in my house for 21 years so I know all my neighbors and most of the people who live in my community . My wife is also friends with the wife of the police chief so I hear about most everything that happens here.
Originally Posted By fkurucz >>Also I'm not cowering down in fear but I am prepared to defend myself.<< I disagree, by your own words you are constantly looking over your shoulder, looking out for bad guys, and have safety code words for your kids, rushing them into the car because you see a guy in a hoodie in the store parking lot. That is living in fear. And I wouldn't tolerate it. I would refuse to live in such a place.
