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Bad Headline: 'Homeowner Holds Burglar Hostage'

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Cam Edwards giggled as he shared his "Headline of the Week" with his audience Friday night at NRANews.com. It comes from Indianapolis: "Homeowner Holds Burglar Hostage."

Understandably, while that headline remains on Google, WXIN (Fox 59) has changed the headline now to the more appropriate "Homeowner holds burglar until police arrive." The lesson is a gun owner beats a burglar with a screwdriver:

22 year-old Jorge Barrera now faces burglary charges.

According to police, Barrera entered the home on the southwest side of Indianapolis late last night armed with a screw driver.

When Barrera began looking around the house with a flashlight the homeowner grabbed his gun and fired a shot, striking a glass door.

When police arrived, they found the homeowner holding Barrerra at gunpoint.

He wasn't a hostage. He was simply caught red-handed.

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"Homeowner Holds Burglar Hostage"

Doesn't bother me.  "Gunowner Homeowner Holds Burglar Hostage" I would have liked even better.

I like it much better when the burglar winds up DRT.

Saves the tax payers piles o' money, it does, and probably saves a few innocent lives further down the road, too.

-Dave

Our elected representatives have failed us.  

Finally, someone they have

Finally, someone they have no qualms about labeling as a terrorist.

When asked if he went to war with Iraq  to derail the impeachment vote:  “I don’t think any serious person would believe that any President would do such a thing." - President Clinton (Dec 1998).

Awww, poor burglar. Did the

Awww, poor burglar. Did the homeowner consider the burglar's feelings before he held him hostage?

I'm pretty sure the burglar won't go to that house again.

Bang! Bang!

I love living in small town/rural Kentucky. A couple of years ago a homeowner shot and killed an intruder as he was breaking into his house. The victim was a 15 year old middle school student (you do the math).

 Police investigated. The Commonwealth's Attorney refused to file charges because the man was protecting himself and his home, which is legal in Kentucky. In other words, you can drop the perp on your porch and the state won't prosecute.

Plus, the prosecutor knew that he could never put together a jury to convict the homeowner.

Needless to say, breaking and entering is not a big problem outside of some of Kentucky's cities. 

Asses

Same across the river in Southern Indiana. The bad guys know they are in real danger of getting killed. The morons on both coasts need to learn how bad guys think. They are scared of getting their asses shot off.

"The morons on both coasts

"The morons on both coasts need to learn how bad guys think."

I think they know full well. Chaos & disorder is an important part of destroying & taking possession of a nation.

___________________________________________________________
Graphical conservative commentary - animations & pictures for posting on forums: http://ubama.org/anicommentary/

I'm not sure what the point

I'm not sure what the point is here.  Is it that the station was somehow trying to portray the homeowner as the bad guy and the intruder as the "victim"?  If so, that's not the impression I got--at all.

Jer

Jer

The bad guy (intruder) in the headline is labeled a "hostage", and you.... uhh..... don't get the impression "--at all" of the intruder as the victim??

 

Shy

uhh...no.

Jer

Help me out here. They put

Help me out here. They put the label of "hostage" on the burglar who broke into a home.

What is your definition of "victim"?

 

A "victim"?  A homeowner

A "victim"?  A homeowner who has had his home invaded by a scumbag intent on burglarizing it would certainly qualify;  as well as being a "hero" for holding said scumbag at gunpoint until the police arrived.  And that is how anyone with a shred of common sense would view the scenario whether or not a newswriter clumsily used the term "hostage" or not.  And I say 'clumsisly' because there is no newswriter in America who would deliberately try to cultivate sympathy for the scumbag intruder under those circumstances.

Jer

"And I say 'clumsisly'

"And I say 'clumsisly' because there is no newswriter in America who would deliberately try to cultivate sympathy for the scumbag intruderunder those circumstances."

And how long have you been reading Newsbusters? 

You trying to say Jesus Christ can't hit a curveball?

dvdaughtry

Exactly.

I like people who argue/debate honestly. Jer and "honest" are mutually exclusive. Jer's smarmy, is what he is.

 

dvdaughtry...

And how long have you been reading Newsbusters? 

About three years.

Once again, note that I said "under those circumstances".  There are situations where I would concede a "reporter" may try to generate sympathy for a perpetrator, but this is not one of them.

Jer

Jer

Under what circumstances? I'm still confused.

Do you mean, the circumstances of the type of unlawful act this was? (a burglary?) -- would, in your eyes, be no reason for a journalist to ever knowingly use a certain word/adjective to help transfer some of the guilt onto the real victim?

 

Jer

A "victim"?  A homeowner who has had his home invaded by a scumbag intent on burglarizing it would certainly qualify;  as well as being a "hero" for holding said scumbag at gunpoint until the police arrived.... And I say 'clumsisly' because there is no newswriter in America who would deliberately try to cultivate sympathy for the scumbag intruder under those circumstances.

Okay, okay, we're sold. You're a complete, full-on, the-bad-guy-is-never-a-victim conservative.

Your embarrassing over-compensation to drive the point home with your use of labeling the intruder "scumbag" as many times as possible has been noted.

 

Shy...

And you have made your point crystal clear that you consider me dishonest.  Inasmuch as you would [presumably] rather not debate someone who is dishonest, why not just avoid me altogether?

Jer

Jer

...why not just avoid me altogether?

Because you are a fellow member of my beloved NewsBusters, and as NB calls out people and organizations on dishonesty in news reporting, so should its members... on both the MSM and those that come on here and fudge or twist things.

That was a silly question. But.... honestly.... I think you asked it to play the victim again.

 

Shy...

No, it was a recommendation in the form of a question.

If I am dishonest, and my arguments are dishonest, and any of my statements which "sound" fair minded are actually intended to deceive--all of which you have claimed to be the case--then the point of a dialogue or debate between us escapes me.

And if you believe other members need to be continually reminded, just create a forum and post a general warning about me.

Jer

Jer

No, it was a recommendation in the form of a question.

Oh, I see, of course. Your question wasn't a question. It was a recommendation in the form of a question.

You asked a question, I answered the question, and then you revised history with, "No, I didn't really ask you a question....".

Do you see a pattern here?

 

I hope he was using his

I hope he was using his 'Joe Horn Model' shotgun on this dirtbag.

Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum

What is it with Indian newspapers???

What is it with Indian newspapers???

Earlier this week in an OT I linked to an Indians story about a homeowner who wrestled a gun away from a home invader and shot him.

The reporter writing the story lamented another crime and another death inside the city limits   as if killing an armed attacker is the equivalent of cold-blooded murder.

it is

If your religion is liberalism.

There was a case here in the northwest where a guy called the cops because he saw someone snooping outside his home.  The cops came didn't find anyone.  Hours later, the homeowner saw the guy outside of his house again, and called the cops again.  Once again the cops can't find the guy.

 From memory I believe this happened three times.  The next morning they found a dead body in a nearby gutter with stolen goods from the guys house.

Now the homeowner is being charged with potential murder for protecting his property and family.

http://clearthehaze.blogspot.com

mb... Oh lordy...doesn't

mb...

Oh lordy...doesn't it just figure, now he has to hire a lawyer and defend himself with our own system, may cost him tons of money, let alone his own freedom...everything is bassakwards...just about everything.

'Doubling down on stupid is not a particularly good idea'~Breitbart

What in the world does an

What in the world does an item on the website of an Indianapolis Fox network affiliate have to do with an Indian newspaper or a story about Indians?

Jer

 Jer,      I believe

 Jer,

     I believe that motherbelt simply mistyped Indiana twice.  However, coupled with your refusal to wonder at the motive behind using an inaccurate term to describe the situation (and Ciampino even provided the definition for you below so you didn't have to look it up), one must marvel at your refusal to stretch your mind at all beyond that little walnut shell in which it's enclosed.

"Deduce" is not the number two. 

Without recognizing the ordinances of Heaven, it is impossible to be a superior man. - Confucious

I've been reading

I've been reading her comments for over two years.  Motherbelt never makes two different typos regarding the same word in a brief post--particularly typos which may affect the interpretation of her remarks.  But, there's always a first time for everything. 

Moving forward, I always consider the various inferences which may be fairly drawn from a given set of facts.  Generally, simply employing common sense is the optimal form of analysis.  You might give it a try some time.  It's not all that hard and can be very rewarding.  But you have to clear your mind of those pesky biases, Joe Bob.  You seem to be having some difficulty in that regard.

Jer

Okay, I admit I'm jumping in the middle here

But Jer, do you consider the burglar as being held hostage or not? 

My guess is that MB doesn't know the demonym for indianapolitans. I didn't before I looked it up. You will forgive her this oversight, correct? 

(BTW, the demonym for Indiana is Hoosier. I wouldn't of thunk that either. :))

 

"If the man, with the power, can't keep it under control...some heads are gonna roll." -Judas Priest

A "hostage"?  No.  Maybe

A "hostage"?  No.  Maybe if you really stretch the definition and embellish the circumstances.  "I'll give the police ten minutes to get here, or I'm blowing his brains out."  Even then, very questionable.

It was clearly but simply inartful wording by whoever wrote the original news copy.  No way this creep/burglar was intended to be portrayed as a hapless victim.  Now if it had been a ten-year-old neighborhood kid whom the homeowner had hogtied, pistol-whipped, forced to watch Lawrence Welk reruns, and then had six slugs pumped into the back of the head, the "intruder as victim" angle might have had more currency.

Jer

" It was clearly but

" It was clearly but simply inartful wording by whoever wrote the original news copy" with the clear intent of making the criminal (the burglar) out to be a victim (a "hostage").  A hostage is a victim of a crime, i.e. kidnapping.  If you don't make this connection, try taking someone hostage and see what criminal charge(s) is/are brought against you.  At the very least, it would be kidnapping and wrongful imprisonment, both felonies.  So, by the wording of the headline, the real victim in this case, the homeowner is presented as a felon, while the felon is presented as a victim.  The homeowner did not hold the burglar hostage, he (the homeowner)held him(the criminal) at bay, at gunpoint until the police arrived to arrest the criminal.  If the burglar were a hostage, the homeowner would have been arrested.  That reporter and his organization have a clear anti-gun bias.

The only issue I have with the homeowner is: two to the center of mass, and one to the head.  Don't let squeemishness stop you from relieving the world of a goblin.  He was armed with a weapon, it was at night, you were in fear of your life, boom-boom-boom.  You just saved your tax dollars for something important.

"A communist is someone who reads Marx.  An anti-communist is someone who understands Marx."  Ronald Reagan

Hostage

from the Free Dictionary

1. a person given to or held by a person,
organization, etc., as a security or pledge or for ransom, release,
exchange for prisoners, etc.

2. the state of being held as a hostage

3. any security or pledge

Holding a burglar at gunpoint until the cops arrive is not holding the person hostage, more likely it's a citizen's arrest.

 

ridiculous headline

But, deeper context that I find interesting:

"Jorge Barrera"

Any bets on the legal resident status of this guy?

http://clearthehaze.blogspot.com

Just like

an idiot bringing a screw driver to a gun fight.  Reckon this fellow is an illegal?

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