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When we start winking at an old man for shooting a 13 year old kid because he believes the kid stole his stuff, we have indeed gone into the dark side of lawlessness which is the favored realm of thugs and criminals, and perhaps Mr. Spooner’s neighbors. Who knows? If he caught someone inside robbing him, well that’s a whole

I have personal experience with good neighborhoods going bad. My neighbors were old.....twice my age, and the homes were brick, well kept and owned by mostly veterans or their widows. NICE homes. After 8 years in that community, the writing was on the wall, section 8 apartments, sleazy duplexes, and very scary people walking the streets at night. We had been surrounded in the fields that I used to walk my dog in..... I sold that house for a $30,000 loss, just to get out. That was 10 years ago.....now driving through that neighborhood....well, it's dangerous. Some people believe their home is their castle....others belieive it's easy pickings....

I am familiar with that scenario of good neighborhoods being destroyed by riffraff, and people having to sell their homes at huge losses and move just to retain their feeling of security and sanity! Some peeps dont understand, but I can see how this man finally had enough.

That happened to a neighborhood where I owned a home in St. Petersburg in the 70's. It was a pleasant working class neighborhood. My family and the old widower next door were the only whites for several blocks around. All the homes in our block were family owned. We were all neighbors in the best sense, babysat for each others' kids, gave each other rides to work and to shop, visited in each others' homes. There was no crime, no break-ins. The other side of our street was an empty field.

Then the dozers came and leveled it out for a bunch of new "235" houses to be thrown up.

A bunch of drug dealers and users were moved in there from Tampa. The first murder happened immediately. The street was filled all night every night with customers to the dealers and partiers. I fended off a break-in in my house with an old sword. Most of the neighbors suffered worse and one family, at least, sent their kids immediately to stay with an aunt. The neighbors all had "For Sale" signs up shortly. I sold our house and broke even and went to Michigan.