False Sense of Security in the Country

I suppose that's part of the hazard of dealing or even buying drugs. Comes with the territory. Personally, the idea of the country being 'safe' was challenged for me first when I read the book, In Cold Blood several years ago. If something like that could happen back in the '50s, imagine what the sub-humans are capable of now!

Those meth scum are something to keep an eye on. That's probably why dogs, guns, mercury lights and suspicion of strangers are common commodities in the country. Well, at least where the true 'hillbillys' live, maybe not so much on the edge of town where folks try to stay just a bit outside of urban sprawl.

Dave

That is why if there is trouble in my neck of the woods, you defend yourself and property with malice. Anyone who drives by my place slowly is greeted with a shotgun fired into the air...it gets their attention and lets them know I know, and I'm not afraid.

Actually, I DO worry less. This area has a very low crime rate: not all areas do.

Even so, when DH is away it has been a comfort to have a dog, because human nature does NOT change, and I DO have neighbors. My kids stay in our yard at night, the door is locked while we sleep, yadda yadda yadda.

I worry less, but I watch my back, as always. City or country, humans are humans.

I never let my gaurd down when it comes to folks I do not know in the country. If I do not know them then I approach every situation with caution, a loaded weapon is at hand. There is only random cell reception at our place and even if you could place a call help would take at least 15 mins to get there. A loaded weapon at hand is a good deterent. You learn who belongs and who does not, when some one appears that does not belong one needs to be ready, it is a sad fact of life.

There's another "false sense of security" in rural areas. Many think that when they move to a rural area things will be cheaper in the country. Even if at the time they purchase the property it may seem cheaper it usually won't be for long and many other things cost more especially transportation and it's not just your personal transportation with ebergy costs rising. Even if you buy your land cheap the rapidly rising prices and other rising costs including rising rural crime is driving rural taxes higher and higher. Combine that with relocating people demanding more services and increased gov't regs in everything.

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"Education is the ability to listen to almost anything without losing your temper or your self confidence"
Robert Frost

Right here in beautiful downtown Farmington Missouri last Friday at 12:30 in the afternoon a young woman held up an armoured security truck while it was filling up with gas. She just strolled up to the guard and shoved a pistol in his face. The other guard was inside the gas station. Since nothing like that had ever happened around here, I guess the guards just didn't anticipate it..oh well.

She hopped into the truck and took off, followed by a car..now here's the good part..apparently some farmer had been troubled by the sounds of "bumps in the night" on his gravel drive and had installed a few cameras in the trees..these cameras only went on when they sensed "motion" on the gravel road. So here comes the gal driving the stolen security truck + her little buddy in the car up the farmer's gravel drive.."click, click" camera on..then along comes two other vehicles.."click click" cameras filming as the crew changes vehicles and drives off.
The FBI, the county sheriff and the local police find the truck + the car by 1m..
the farmer strolls out of his homestead and says "Hey, y'all want to see my cameras? "
By Saturday morning, everybody is sitting in a jail cell. SWEET.
But back to the point..Everybody around here is slack-jawed over this..ARMED robbery in broad daylight on the busiest street in town? WHAT?
Just doesn't happen here..well, it did. Go figure. Hope those crooks enjoy their 25 years in a Fed prison.
Also last week, some fellow robbed a bank two towns over. It's a crime wave around here !! Guess the bad guys thought podunk Missouri was easy pickin's but they thought wrong.

A farmer with cameras in the trees? Either he's hiding something or he's afraid of something.

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"Education is the ability to listen to almost anything without losing your temper or your self confidence"
Robert Frost

And what about the sort of thing that just happened to Sancraft, if you've been keeping up with that thread? It seems to me I've seen a lot of reports here lately of people's animals being tortured/killed by neighbors with some sort of a grudge. In the country, it seems that it matters a lot more who your neighbors are, because you're a lot more vulnerable to being victimized by your neighbors--you can't necessarily protect your animals, your crops, your land, your equipment at all times. We were just looking at a piece of land to buy near here, gorgeous, great price, but the neighbor came along and snatched it out from under us by intimidating the elderly seller and coming to a deal with him that was highly unothodox and in violation of the seller's mortgage on the property. Now, what the neighbor did was underhanded to us, but it was downright abusive of this old guy, basically stealing his land, which was his only piece of security in this world. We could've gone and tattled to the mortgage company, and gotten the land ourselves for a fair price, but of course then we'd have to live next door to this guy, and I wouldn't put it past him one bit to poison our dogs or whatever other animals we would get in the future. It just wasn't worth it to us.

Also, a friend of mine in a rural area here was hosting some pagans on his land for a weekend get-together (he's not pagan himself, but they were nice people and paid him good money), and the very "Christian" locals didn't like it very much, told him he and his kids were going to hell, etc. He ignored it, but in the night, two local guys came by and sprayed the pagans' tents (filled with sleeping men, women, and children) and cars with bullets. Nobody was hit, but the good neighbors heard about it on their scanners and came to stand with them for protection for the rest of the night. Somebody could've been killed! The police didn't seem to care too much. Hearing that story really changed my perception of the country around here--I thought it was so nice and peaceful, but there are horrible people everywhere, and it just so happens that those horrible people have guns at the ready and aren't afraid to use them against sleeping unarmed women and children.

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And the wolf shall dwell with the lamb.. And the lion shall eat straw like the ox.. They shall not hurt nor destroy In all my holy mountain For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord.

Missouri has a long and colorful history of outlaws - think James Gang, the Youngers, and the notorist Baldnobbers. And then there was the shoot-out near Reed Springs (Donsgal's neighborhood) with Bonnie and Clyde...nope I won't relocate to Missiouri if I were you. And I'm going to stay right here 10 miles from it's southern border where it's safe.

Hugs,
marlene

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It is the one with persistence and determination that brings great ideas into being.

I reckon I have a somewhat cynical viewpoint. Sure, there may be "only" one or two serial killers in a rural remote area as opposed to some cities.

Thing is... in a rural remote area, there are also fewer potential victims!

And yes, I DO live in a rural remote area, by choice.

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"Those who hammer their guns into plowshares will plow for those who do not."
Thomas Jefferson

I guess all of that killing is stressful!

is the second name on the property abstract that I own, Probably the one John Wesley Hardin was named after, my great great grandad was the first to ever have a deed on it, 1850's.
A mass murderer of drug dealers can't be a totally bad thing..good tradeoff IMHO...:-}

The Joy of living in a small rural community, is that you quickly learn most folks personalities, and can quickly determine which folks are to be avoided.

I know all of the good, bad, and ugly around here. They all know me, and they all have differing opinions of ME! The good know me as good, the bad know me as bad, and the ugly, well, they're still wondering who's the ugliest...

Last year, I met a new fella, a friend of a friend, and he was sorta leery... after a while, he admitted that he thought I was one of the 'bad hombres' who lived in the community..... seems he'd got his information from one of the truly bad dudes, who's got a long rap sheet at the local law offices... had to explain to the new guy that if a bad guy calls you bad, that that usually means you're probably good...

Cause nothing is more evil to a bad man than a good man...



Rather live in the country, so I have an idea of where all the bad folks live, than in a city, where there's no way to know all of the evildoers...

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Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity. Seneca
Learning is not compulsory... neither is survival. W. Edwards Deming

LOL, I hadn't thought of it that way!

Good point texican! I'm not going to let it discourage me from being where I want to be. My first comment to my DH when we saw it on the news was "Well, I bet that property sells cheap!"

I guess this is where cougars, rabid coyotes, poison oak, a few reclusive vietnam vet neighbors(kindly meant) and miles of potholed gravel come in handy....

well, I guess it should be safe to buy that land now, I mean, what are the chances of TWO of them hanging out in the same area?

"You look at these scattered houses, and you are impressed by their beauty. I look at them, and the only thought which comes to me is a feeling of their isolation and of the impunity with which crime may be committed there.. . . They always fill me with a certain horror. It is my belief, Watson, founded upon my experience, that the lowest and vilest alleys in London do not present a more dreadful record of sin than does the smiling and beautiful countryside. . . .The reason is obvious. The pressure of public opinion can do in the town what the law cannot accomplish. There is no lane so vile that the scream of a tortured child, or the thud of a drunkard's blow, does not beget sympathy and indignation among the neighbors, and then the whole machinery of justice is ever so close that a word of complaint can set it going, and there is but a step between the crime and the dock. But look at these lonely houses, each in its own fields, filled for the most part with poor ignorant folk who know little of the law. Think of the deeds of hellish cruelty, the hidden wickedness which may go on, year in, year out, in such places, and none the wiser." Sherlock Holmes to Dr. Watson , The Copper Beeches

That being said, there arent many places in this world where you wont find some crime or horror. Dont let it ruin you love of the countryside or its beauty. Just be aware of your surroundings and be safe out there.

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FolioMark

Mus uni non fidit antro. ~ A mouse does not rely on just one hole.----Plautus

Those of us located in rural areas might want to remember a couple of facts. We are a highly mobil society and that society includes the thieves and killers. Slow response time for rural law enforcment coupled with the fact that country homes are often screened from view is tempting a growing number of home intruders to travel outside their city base. I have trained myself to be more aware of everything going on around me, all the time and have well thought out reaction plans. Not paranoid, just intend to keep my stuff and my life safe....Glen

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The more a man travels, acquires wisdom and learns about life, the more likely he is to marry a Country Girl.

We live an hour north of KC MO, and love it. The prices for land are much more affordable, and the area is not growing as fast as south of KC. We can only see two houses from our farm. If you have any questions about the area I would be very happy to talk to you.

Cindy