Tuesday, August 11, 2015

It Could Have Been Me. . .

I spent the weekend of the 8-9th, and part of the 7th, at my Sisters house in Butler County.  I was there for a Pirates baseball game and a concert featuring the band O.A.R.  I had a great time playing with my Nephew, annoying my Sister, and even made a rare appearance at a family reunion.

What I did not expect was the ballgame itself to take nearly 4 hours!  I had to abandon the post-game concert as I did not like the idea of driving the country roads that it takes to get to Sister's home late at night.  I did manage to get a bit lost and ended up in a neighbor's driveway.  The neighborhood, which is well-armed, was already on edge as a criminal was on the loose.

The next day, while doing an on-line course, I realized how close I may have come to being a Renisha McBride, the African-American woman who was shot on a front porch after being in an accident.  Pennsylvania, you see, has a "Castle Doctrine" law.  I am not sure a driveway is considered part of the house, but the owner could have, without asking any questions, shot at me.  A strange car pulling into a driveway at night, especially in light of what had transpired, may have been seen as a threat.

The on-line course got me to thinking about something else.  The N.R.A and their allies like to trumpet the murder rates in large cities,but ignore the accidental shootings, etc that happen in so many of the rural areas that make up their base.  About the only person I know who keeps track of this is progressive radio host David Waldman.  Of course, to the N.R.A, it seems that any gun death, accidental or otherwise, is a "price of freedom".

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