Apparently you don't know what the word "paranoid" means, so I'll give you a definition, from Wikipedia:Jub wrote:That's great for her, but it's still paranoid behavior.
Calling the police when a stranger knocks on your door during the night in an insistent way might seem like an overreaction depending on your perspective, and it might even be an overreaction, but it is not irrational and it is not delusional.Paranoia /ˌpærəˈnɔɪə/ (adjective: paranoid /ˈpærənɔɪd/) is a thought process believed to be heavily influenced by anxiety or fear, often to the point of irrationality and delusion. Paranoid thinking typically includes persecutory beliefs, or beliefs of conspiracy concerning a perceived threat towards oneself. (e.g. "Everyone is out to get me.")
If you have actual statistics, then by all means cite them, but don't pull a random number out of your ass. But by following your logic I guess I shouldn't bother to wear a seatbelt since in all my years of driving I've never been in a car accident, right? Wearing a seatbelt may prove unnecessary, but it is still a cautious and reasonable thing to do, offering minimal drawback. Likewise, calling the police in the door-knocking situation may also prove unnecessary, but it is also a cautious and reasonable thing to do, also offering minimal drawback. Especially in this case where the person was in a car accident, the only thing that would be accomplished by entering the house would be to ask the homeowner to call the police/ambulance anyway, unless the woman inside luckily happened to be a nurse or something.Jub wrote:Violent robbery happens what 1-in-1000 times when a stranger knocks on your door in the middle of the night?
The violent crime rate in Canada is 951 incidents per 100,000 population per year, and the break-and-enter rate is 768 per 100,000 per year. That's not fringe, especially given that in some neighbourhoods, the rate will be much larger than the national average. Given that the crime rate in the USA is even higher than Canada, then it's even more reasonable for the woman in the article to call the police than for Canadians.Jub wrote:People are so fucking scared of the fringe cases these days because it's the angle the media likes to play, but I don't buy it.
Yeah, because that's what I'm advocating, right? Um, no. But if you're a woman alone in a house and someone knocks on your door at night, especially if the person is acting irrationally (and he did, in fact, act irrationally at least with respect to the police), then it doesn't hurt anyone to be cautious and call 911. Just think about the situation as it unfolded. This guy, if the story is true, spontaneously charged the police for no reason. Is that the kind of person you think should be invited into the house of a solitary woman?Jub wrote:Should I have bought a gun, triple locked my doors, and been fearful for my life and property instead of going on living?
Yes, he could have been acting crazy as a result of the accident alone, in which case I don't see how that's any better than being on drugs as far as the woman's safety is concerned. But the reason why I thought of drugs/alcohol specifically was the way he immediately acting hostile to the police, perhaps because he knew they'd lock him up for DUI.Temjin wrote:Have you thought maybe he was just in an auto accident? It's very possible he suffered some sort of head injury and that could explain any weird behaviors he displayed? I've seen people with what looks like minor head injuries act quite oddly.