You don't need a gun if...

Let's consider your neighborhood. Do you live in a 'good neighborhood' or 'bad neighborhood'? Chances are you said 'good' but in the event you said 'bad', you're already well aware of the surroundings and are very cautious and take extra steps knowing this fact.

If you said 'good, I live in an excellent area'! Maybe even a gated community perhaps? That's great but... are your really as aware as the person in the 'bad neighborhood'?

I had a gentleman recently say to me, "hanging out in the right neighborhood means you don't need a weapon". This wasn't the first time I've heard this and similarly you might have heard this as well. It makes me think, does this man not understand crime and criminals or is he just naive?

The problem is the good neighborhoods are where the bad guys want to be. The bad guys already know what they want isn't in their neighborhood. Perhaps they want the latest, state of the art. large screen TV, the latest tech gadget, their coming to your good neighborhood to find it. The good neighborhood can be a playground for criminals.

Recently there was a shooting at an affluent Coral Gables Mall. It's clear bad things are not restricted to bad neighborhoods. And when a bad thing happens in a good neighborhood people say "can you believe this happened here?" It's like there is some line between the good and bad neighborhoods and the criminals are not to cross the line. In reality we cross paths with bad guys all the time. Do you buy gas at the gas pump, frequent the grocery store, shop at the mall? Guess what, so do criminals. And really, do you really know who is standing in line behind you?

As I was told by a person in law enforcement, the bad guys don't get up and go to work. They don't make out a to-do list and go about their business. The bad guys get up in the morning and go to bed at night thinking about ways to get what they want/need from you.

Is there such a thing as a 'safe neighborhood'? Maybe it's just a neighborhood that hasn't yet experienced a bad thing.