Friend has a no-good son who sneaks onto their property at night and steals stuff.  They have since added a driveway motion detector that beeps in the house when a car enters the drive but last night she couldn't wake up the husband to investigate when it went off.  Add to that she couldn't find a working flashlight. 

I suggested one of the super-bright spotlights that are capable of landing the space shuttle.  That way she wouldn't even have to leave the porch.  Even in the son's drug induced haze, I think that would be deterrant enough to send him back to the house he crawled out from under.

Thoughts? 

Tass

I suggest a rechargeable, 10 million candlepower spotlight.  You can find them at academy or walmart for fairly affordable prices.  Those would deter the druggy.

This...

http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/lights/cd85

Be sure to watch the video at the bottom.  A fitting demonstration given the topic at hand, eh?




-T.

I don't know.  My father-in-law emailed the link to me a few days ago.


-T.

Does that flashlight come with an Ove-Glove?

they won't call the police and have him arrested

Well, it is far more loving to let someone die after ruining his life with meth, and damaging as many other lives as possible.    Think of all the lives he will touch, all the stuff he will touch.  Getting him arrested and maybe a chance at help to start sobriety would be unkind.   And when his parents get the call some morning to please ID the body, they will know they supported him and his decisions.  Leaving him on the street also allows others the chance to excercise forgiveness, over and over and over for all the damage a single meth-head will do. 

The only way photons will make him stop is if they come from a 40kW laser.

Cold words from me are not dispassionate.  Meth addicted cousin injured and exploited my grandmother as she succumbed to Alzheimers, assaulted my mother, threatened the family.  Dear friend's cousin is wanted in several states for meth related mischief, stole from family, harmed family.  Wife's highschool friend managed to get clean after years under the weight of meth addiction--it is possible to surface.  My job was robbed for meth production (used to work with anyhydrous ammonia).  My work truck was broken into one block from police station by meth heads.  I have repaired damage to buildings and vehicles damaged in pattern consistent with meth heads.  I watched friends, top members of my high school class succumb to the temptation of an easy boost when meth was new in my area. 

If they love him, the best thing they can do is help him come to terms with the consequences of his actions.  Hate the sin, love the sinner, hate the crime, love the criminal.  There is a world full of forgiveness for a man who wants to turn his life around, and works to do it.  Whether the change in direction comes from the clear quiet voice of God whispering to his conscience or the hammer of the law, everyone will be grateful when he turns away from the spiral of destruction and begins to rebuild the life that drugs are destroying.  Love which lets a man continue his plunge is no less real, but will not save him.  And if he cannot be saved, there is no reason to let him harm any more people than he already has.

I hope I never have a friend who is addicted to meth, or anything. I suspect that I'll take the same attitude towards them as I do now. I've been touched by tragedy just like anyone else, but I tend not to get terribly emotional about it. My grandmother was killed in a car accident because she refused to wear a seatbelt. I still advocate against seatbelt laws, and say anyone stupid enough to not wear one deserves what they get. A kid I went to school with was killed by another child with an improperly stored gun. His mother became one of the leaders of the Million Mom March; I, obviously am still very pro-2a. If a friend or loved one were to get hooked on meth and get into the criminal behavior associated with it, I would definitely call the cops, kick him out of my life, and guard my stuff even more than normal. Unlike a stranger on meth, I would probably do everything possible to avoid use of lethal force on a friend, but that's the only mercy they would get from me.