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I'm not sure where this post is going to end up, but here goes:
I think we're talking past each other a little bit here, and I think I know why. We're sort of at the end of the process, and should probably back up a few steps. I certainly value myself more than a burglar, too, but let's leave the two of us (the burglar and me) in murderous opposition for the moment, except to say that I don't think I could live with myself if I directly caused another person's death.
I live alone, and there's really only one good way into my house, and that's through the front door. I live alone and sleep rather lightly. Unusual noises snap me awake. I would of course dial 9-1-1 immediately upon ascertaining that someone else was in the house, and leave the connection open. I have a couple of softball bats in the bedroom, and as a pretty big guy, I can look real threatening in the dark.
I am making some assumptions here: The burglar isn't interested in a confrontation -- he just wants to take some of my stuff with a minimum of hassle and get out. Coming out of the bedroom at the back of the house, with the bat, I'm going to yell at the intruder that he's got a very few seconds to get the hell out the way he came in. If my presumptions are correct, he'll skedaddle and I can pick up the extension in the living room and give the 9-1-1 operator my best description of the intruder, and which way he left.
But if he doesn't skedaddle? He's probably not in his right mind, and I have to size up whether I want to tangle with him. I won't have much time, and I may not even get a look at him before we are physically engaged. My first choice is to corner him and wait for the police to show up and take him away. Other scenarios suggest themselves, of course, and we can deal with those if you want, but this is getting a bit longer than I thought it would. In any event, my principle is to avoid violence if I can, and engage in a bare minimum of violence if the situation calls for it.
I will close by saying that if the burglar is really desperate and has come armed, the most likely outcome is me expiring on my own floor in a pool of blood. I consider this extremely unlikely.
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