How important is it to take a class like this and how important is it to have a gun for protection if you live in the hills? From WA state, future retiree to Panama or Costa Rica. Thank you for an honest opinion on this sensitive matter. Debra My response: In the five years that I have lived in Panama, both as a journalist for The Panama Star newspaper and as The Retirement Detecitive, I have investigated less than a handful of violent crimes against foreigners. That is little comfort if you are the one that got hurt. Panama is safer than any other Latin American country according to Pinkerton's Security, and safer than most large US or Canadian cites. My wife and I drove to Panama from Canada, all through Central America - and I can tell you - it even feels safer here. I was robbed when I first moved into my new house in Panama. My realtor (who owned the house) explaned that there were no bars on the windows because this area was so safe, and that in fact we could leave the front and back windows open and the breeze would blow through the house - and it did - and it took my laprtop, camera, wallet and binnoculars. The next day I hired a welder to put bars on the wndows and doors and bought myself a paintball gun. You see, we are Canadians (not a beer commercial - I really am Canuk). And as most Canadians, we are against handguns, and guns in general. However - NHN is comprised of people from many nations, and there has been a strong request for this seminar. 1 / 5
This seminar is on personal safety as well as home safety - not just guns. If you can, come to it - hear about how to protect yourself and your home - prevention is ALWAYS better than violence. It is FREE and open to all. On the gun issue: My feeling is if you are going to own a gun - learn to handle it safely. Don't shoot yourself while protecting your house. I could go on about the fact that more times than not, a gun gets used against the owner - etc - but this is a personal decision. Could you look some teenager in the eyes and pull the trigger? Could you kill someone because they were trying to steal your TV? Self defense and life and death situations are easy decisions. If anyone threatens my wife or my dogs - I will fight to the death. Simple as that. But what about someone stealing your lawn mower? What about your cellphone - which is what they usually want along with your laptop, wallet, cameras, etc - things they can easily sell. Could you really kill someone over a cell phone? If you hesitated even for a second - you should reconsider owning a gun. That the way I see it anyhow. Here are my lines of defense in Panama WITHOUT A GUN: FIRST LINE - 2 large dogs I keep INSIDE my house at night (so they can not be won over by a steak or 2 / 5
poisoned) - metal bars on all windows and doors, (locked every night), - nothing valuable left within a fishing pole distance of a window, - a light left on inside all night, - a safe with all valuables put away automatically every night - a paintball gun beside my bed with paintballs kept in the fridge (take out when you retire for the night) NOT in the freezer - those can kill) Caution: Paintballs shot into the ass of a fleeing robber can, and will, splatter all over your kitchen and living room. However the satisfaction of hearing his screams as the paintballs slammed into his butt was more than worth the clean-up. We have not had another break-in in almost five years) SECOND LINE - An 18 million watt flashlight (blinding), - a 5 foot walnut club beside the bed, - 6 security cameras with memory to ID afterwards, - motion-detector lights on all four sides of my house, 3 / 5
- floodlights on the far corners of the property where a burglar came in 4 years ago. THIRD LINE - Speed dial the local police number on your cell phone, - car keys with a panic button beside the bed, - an air horn to deafen the intruder and alert neighbors, - meet your neighbors and local cops, - give a map of the area to the cops with everybodies name and house on it so they know where to come when you call BEST LINE OF DEFENSE Join Neighbors Helping Neighbors - (or other comunity safety group) - Have members numbers on speed dial so you can call in an emergency - (all they have to do is shine flashlights or car headlights in your direction and most criminals will run away) This is your BEST line of defense. These are just some of the ideas you will get at the personal safety seminar, Saturday Oct 20th, 11:00 A.M. at XS Memories, just north of the highway in Santa Clara. 4 / 5
Hope this helps. Rob Brown, Founder NHN 5 / 5