jahwarrior
Member
this actually happened to me in the beginning of the summer. just looking for some thoughts on this.
i was sitting in my house with my son, and i noticed some movement in my front winodw. i saw a man walking past my house in my front yard, and walk around the side, to my backyard. i ran through my living room and kitchen, and exited the backdoor. i was carrying handgun, openly, in a holster on my waist.
it turns out, it was my next door neighbor, George. we don't get along well. i've only ever spoken to him once, and he was rude in the extreme, and has been rude and vulgar to my girlfriend on several occasions. in fact, he's not well liked my many in our neighborhood, nor is his wife. they're exceedingly rude and inconsiderate to everyone they come across. he's called my landlord to complain about the fact that i open carry, and he's placed MWAG calls to the local police, as well as complaining about guests parking on the street in front of his house.
none of that matters to me, since i don't speak to George. i'm not looking to make any new friends, in any case. i don't do anything to provoke him, aside from being armed, and i don't plan on asking him for any favors. but, there he was, in my yard, with a weed whacker, trimming the lawn on my side of his fence. the fence is his; George built it after we moved in, because he didn't want us looking at his pool.
once i saw it was him, i relaxed, and waved my arms to get his attention. he stopped a moment, but let the whacker continue to run. i asked him why he was in my yard, doing his work. mind you, i really don't care if he does, because it just means i don't have to do it, i was just wondering why, and he began to bellow that the 6" from his fence was still his property, and he had every right to be there, and he ranted about how he didn't need my lousy permission to be there, and if i didn't like it, i could go and perfrom crude acts on myself, and so on, and so forth. at one point, i asked him if he would mind turning off the weed whacker. he smirked, held it in front of him, and asked, "why? why should i?" he waved it around a bit, at which point i took a few steps back, and replied, "because i don't want to have to yell over it, and because of that thing ends up taking a bit of my skin off, you're gonna have a big problem."
at this point George began walking away. as he did, i told him i didn't care if he was there doing what he was doing, but i'd appreciate it if he'd knock on the door, and let me know. he responded that he didn't have to, to which i responded that he still need to cross my yard to get to his "property", and that crossing my yard without permission would be trespassing, and that if he trespassed again, i'd call the police. he scoffed, then angrily dared me to do it right now. i said i wanted to check and make sure that the 6" was indeed his property, but until i did, i would call the police every time i saw him on the property. even if he was right, i'd let the police sort him out. it was no skin off my back; since i pay taxes that fund the police, i'd use their services freely.
he became even more irate, calling me a bunch of names that were meant to denigrate my ethnic background, my sexuality, and my cognitive abilities. again he waved his weedwhacker in front of him in my direction, and again, i warned him not to come any closer with it. his final words to me before leaving were: "i don't know who you think you are, and i don't care. i'm not gonna let you and your little ghetto family ruin this neighborhood anymore than you have. and let me tell you something, if you think you're intimidating me with that gun, you're not. i'm not scared of you, or that thing. you're just a lowlife bastard who likes to walk around looking like a tough guy. you're not tough, you're a punk. i've had it with you!" then he stomped off, and i could hear him throwing his weedwhacker into the back of his truck.
i haven't had any other encounters with him the rest of the summer. he approached my girlfriend while she was working in our yard, to complain about cats that he thought were ours; we have one cat and a dog, our other neighbors had at least 3 cats, who roamed the neighborhood. as usually, he was rude, and pushy, and was attempting to use his size to intimidate her; he's a very large man, at least 6', and built like a linebacker. she immediately snapped at him aggressively, informing him the cats weren't ours, and that if he had a problem, to go next door and let them know about it. she also informed him that if he ever approached any of us like that again, while we had our children with us, he'd be woefully sorry he did. he hasn't spoken to either of us, or entered our yard, since then. the police still drive by our house every once in awhile, though, and stare at me, but they've stopped knocking on our door about his complaints in regards to my open carry habit.
i've also found out that yes, the 6" does belong to him. he just decided to build his fence 6" short of his property line, for some reason, but still wants to maintain the part past his fence. again, i have no problem with him coming to maintain his property, but as he has to cross my property to get to it, a little courtesy would be nice. i occasionally throw barbecues, and the sight of a large, mean man with a weedwhacker would be unsettling.
so, here are some questions.
1. has anyone here ever been hit with a running weedwhacker? i would imagine they'd hurt like hell, but can they be really dangerous? could they cause a significant amount of damage, enough to justify using deadly force in self defense? i know it's not a lawn mower or a machete.
2. in PA, you can't us deadly force to defend property. is a dog considered property, or since it's a living being, is it somewhere inbetween? could i use force to protect a pet? i let my dog run around in our yard. he's a boxer puppy, so he needs to run around like an idiot for at least an hour to burn off that energy. i'm sure that if George were to enter the yard, my dog would run up to him and jump all over him, and i suspect George would hit him with anything he had on hand.
3. am i wrong to expect someone to show courtesy, and to let me know he's going to be standing on my property? to be clear, i rent this house, but in PA, as a renter, i have almost as many rights as the owner. i can put up No Trespassing signs, make additions to the house like security systems, and even build a fence, if i choose. so in effect, it is my property, until i decide to move.
this situation may sound a little odd, and slightly annoying, but i really am concerned about the weedwhacker thing. i think at one point he meant to strike me with it, but being visibly armed made him rethink his decision.
i was sitting in my house with my son, and i noticed some movement in my front winodw. i saw a man walking past my house in my front yard, and walk around the side, to my backyard. i ran through my living room and kitchen, and exited the backdoor. i was carrying handgun, openly, in a holster on my waist.
it turns out, it was my next door neighbor, George. we don't get along well. i've only ever spoken to him once, and he was rude in the extreme, and has been rude and vulgar to my girlfriend on several occasions. in fact, he's not well liked my many in our neighborhood, nor is his wife. they're exceedingly rude and inconsiderate to everyone they come across. he's called my landlord to complain about the fact that i open carry, and he's placed MWAG calls to the local police, as well as complaining about guests parking on the street in front of his house.
none of that matters to me, since i don't speak to George. i'm not looking to make any new friends, in any case. i don't do anything to provoke him, aside from being armed, and i don't plan on asking him for any favors. but, there he was, in my yard, with a weed whacker, trimming the lawn on my side of his fence. the fence is his; George built it after we moved in, because he didn't want us looking at his pool.
once i saw it was him, i relaxed, and waved my arms to get his attention. he stopped a moment, but let the whacker continue to run. i asked him why he was in my yard, doing his work. mind you, i really don't care if he does, because it just means i don't have to do it, i was just wondering why, and he began to bellow that the 6" from his fence was still his property, and he had every right to be there, and he ranted about how he didn't need my lousy permission to be there, and if i didn't like it, i could go and perfrom crude acts on myself, and so on, and so forth. at one point, i asked him if he would mind turning off the weed whacker. he smirked, held it in front of him, and asked, "why? why should i?" he waved it around a bit, at which point i took a few steps back, and replied, "because i don't want to have to yell over it, and because of that thing ends up taking a bit of my skin off, you're gonna have a big problem."
at this point George began walking away. as he did, i told him i didn't care if he was there doing what he was doing, but i'd appreciate it if he'd knock on the door, and let me know. he responded that he didn't have to, to which i responded that he still need to cross my yard to get to his "property", and that crossing my yard without permission would be trespassing, and that if he trespassed again, i'd call the police. he scoffed, then angrily dared me to do it right now. i said i wanted to check and make sure that the 6" was indeed his property, but until i did, i would call the police every time i saw him on the property. even if he was right, i'd let the police sort him out. it was no skin off my back; since i pay taxes that fund the police, i'd use their services freely.
he became even more irate, calling me a bunch of names that were meant to denigrate my ethnic background, my sexuality, and my cognitive abilities. again he waved his weedwhacker in front of him in my direction, and again, i warned him not to come any closer with it. his final words to me before leaving were: "i don't know who you think you are, and i don't care. i'm not gonna let you and your little ghetto family ruin this neighborhood anymore than you have. and let me tell you something, if you think you're intimidating me with that gun, you're not. i'm not scared of you, or that thing. you're just a lowlife bastard who likes to walk around looking like a tough guy. you're not tough, you're a punk. i've had it with you!" then he stomped off, and i could hear him throwing his weedwhacker into the back of his truck.
i haven't had any other encounters with him the rest of the summer. he approached my girlfriend while she was working in our yard, to complain about cats that he thought were ours; we have one cat and a dog, our other neighbors had at least 3 cats, who roamed the neighborhood. as usually, he was rude, and pushy, and was attempting to use his size to intimidate her; he's a very large man, at least 6', and built like a linebacker. she immediately snapped at him aggressively, informing him the cats weren't ours, and that if he had a problem, to go next door and let them know about it. she also informed him that if he ever approached any of us like that again, while we had our children with us, he'd be woefully sorry he did. he hasn't spoken to either of us, or entered our yard, since then. the police still drive by our house every once in awhile, though, and stare at me, but they've stopped knocking on our door about his complaints in regards to my open carry habit.
i've also found out that yes, the 6" does belong to him. he just decided to build his fence 6" short of his property line, for some reason, but still wants to maintain the part past his fence. again, i have no problem with him coming to maintain his property, but as he has to cross my property to get to it, a little courtesy would be nice. i occasionally throw barbecues, and the sight of a large, mean man with a weedwhacker would be unsettling.
so, here are some questions.
1. has anyone here ever been hit with a running weedwhacker? i would imagine they'd hurt like hell, but can they be really dangerous? could they cause a significant amount of damage, enough to justify using deadly force in self defense? i know it's not a lawn mower or a machete.
2. in PA, you can't us deadly force to defend property. is a dog considered property, or since it's a living being, is it somewhere inbetween? could i use force to protect a pet? i let my dog run around in our yard. he's a boxer puppy, so he needs to run around like an idiot for at least an hour to burn off that energy. i'm sure that if George were to enter the yard, my dog would run up to him and jump all over him, and i suspect George would hit him with anything he had on hand.
3. am i wrong to expect someone to show courtesy, and to let me know he's going to be standing on my property? to be clear, i rent this house, but in PA, as a renter, i have almost as many rights as the owner. i can put up No Trespassing signs, make additions to the house like security systems, and even build a fence, if i choose. so in effect, it is my property, until i decide to move.
this situation may sound a little odd, and slightly annoying, but i really am concerned about the weedwhacker thing. i think at one point he meant to strike me with it, but being visibly armed made him rethink his decision.
