Men Are Wimps, According To Home Security Commercial
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Men are wimps.
Or at least that is the message that came across to me when I saw a recent home security commercial.
After searching YouTube for the commercial and coming up empty, you’ll have to make due with a textual description.
The commercial shows a man in his home at the top of the staircase, looking down towards the front door. An intruder breaks the front door open and the man scurries to his bedroom, slams the door, and is on the phone with the security center.
I could be wrong but the man may have even squealed, lol.
Maybe it is just me but when I saw this commercial, I immediately thought that the home owner came across as a big wuss.
My home is my domain, well really it is my wife’s but she entertains me with the notion that I am king of the castle. If someone is threatening the safety of my home and my family, they better be prepared for the fight of their life.
Maybe I was in a beer-chugging, chest-thumping, groin-scratching mood when I saw this commercial but I envisioned my response as being completely different.
The first reaction that I see (after my wife beating me to wake me from my slumber) would be to get my children and wife into a safe place in the home. Once that was accomplished, I would instruct my wife to call 911 while I investigated and/or tried to deter the intruder.
Obviously that could spell trouble if the intruder has a gun, however I am a pretty big guy and have had my share of scrapes over the years - so I just don’t see myself hiding out in my bedroom while someone ransacks my house.
Would I react that way in a real-life situation?
Well, to be honest, I sincerely hope that I never have to find out.
Often times we don’t react in the manner in which we believe we will. For all I know, I could be just like the guy in the commercial and scurry off to my room. It is easy to be macho on paper, or the Interweb, but it is not always so easy when the chips are on the table.
Hopefully none of you have been in this position, or ever will be, either.
But if you were, how do you imagine you would react?
Photo credit: greggoconnell
The Man Page is your home to get career advice, parenting tips, or just kick back and escape from the pressure of being a man. Join Derek Semmler - a working husband and father to two young boys, as we tackle the issues facing men today and have a good deal of fun in the process. He also blogs at 
Ohhh Derek, humor me while I roll my eyes.
You remind me of my hubs. I can’t stand CANNOT STAND the he-man sentiments.
We had a break in in our car, which my husband happened to witness in the middle of the night and he did the exact same thing- went all he-man. Ugh.
I’d rather have a hiding out alive husband than a he-man dead one….
I’d have to agree with the first commenter. Nowadays you have no idea if someone is insane enough to be packing a gun/etc.
Get the family (the ENTIRE family to safety) would be my first priority. That being said, I can certainly understand the desire to defend one’s family…I’m insanely protective about my family.
Data points,
Barbara
Barbara Lings last blog post..15 Reasons To Just Freakin’ Do It…Stop The Complaining and Take Command! Make the Pitch Your Friend
pre kids my first husband and I managed a 6 flat - one of our tenants stole from us after we got married - what creeped me out the most is he had to know the pattern of our lives in order to pull it off - to me the methodical planning of a job for some of these guys is a huge invasion of my privacy - like being stalked. It had me really looking over my shoulder for a very long time. had we broken the pattern, walked in on the burglary? We could have definitely been in harms way. The idea of which was frightening to both of us.
Mother Earths last blog post..Moms Know Best
Let’s hope none of us have to find out what we’d really do. Like you, though, I’m pretty confident that the intruder would be in for a rude awakening. It’s funny, the town I grew up in (in Georgia) had a law on the books that every household must have a gun, which was obviously not enforced. Nevertheless, my home is still protected to this day by more than just me and a security company.
Jeremy (Discovering Dad)s last blog post..Jammy Panty Party - Mother’s Day ‘08
@Allena :: You make a very good point but guys don’t always think that way. You need to share more details about what happened with your husband and the car burglar!
@Barbara :: Very true, and not just with break-ins. It seems like every day you hear a story about a road rage incident where someone had a weapon or something, you never know what you will encounter.
@Mother Earth :: Wow, that is very scary but a good thing you didn’t break the pattern. When I was a kid, there was a tragedy in our area as a girl was home sick from school during a home invasion. I can only imagine how long it took to get over the violation of being a burglary victim, thankfully you were safe.
@Jeremy :: I’m sure a law like that could be a pretty good deterrent to potential thieves. Even for those that don’t agree in guns in the home, there are other weapons of choice to keep handy.
Derek, this is too funny and it brought back memories of a home burglary that happened to us when we were newlyweds. It’s funny now, but my wife was quite unimpressed with my bravado at the time. After reading your story I just had to blog about it, too. You got some link props. Thank for the trip down memory lane man.
Kevin S.s last blog post..“Men are Wimps†Redux
I’ve thought this out before (it’s good to have a plan, even if chances are it all goes out the window when the time comes) and my first priority is to protect my family. I know where the “choke points” are in our house and where I need to be depending on where the rest of my family is located. I have certain, um, tools useful in close quarters as well and you will find me standing in the gap between my family and any intruder. I won’t go after him (or them) - all my stuff is insured and/or replaceable; our lives are insured, but not replaceable. If the bad guys want to leave on their own that’s fine by me. All I have to do is do my best to keep them away from my family until the police arrive (we have phones in just about every room).
Night Writers last blog post..55 mpg and 120 mph top speed
This is a tough one! I like to think that I would go “save the day” and hold down the perp until the cops arrived.
I’ve been known to get out of bed and wander through the house at 2 AM after my wife and I heard strange noises. Would I have swung the bat? Who knows… Probably only if my family or I was physically threatened.
Jareds last blog post..Do Crocodiles Actually Cry Big Crocodile Tears?
Originally I saw the commercial it was the first version. The husband’s role is unmistakably passive. It must have made someone at the company cringe because I have yet to see that version again. Since then the edited versions do not make the husband look quite as timid. I am a father of four and yes faced with an intruder I only hope I can make the right decision. In the commercial the husband doesn’t even shout at him to get out. He turns, slams the door and runs to see if he has left. Wouldn’t you at least find something to protect your wife if the intruder intends to come upstairs? How about something to protect yourself? How quickly could the police arrive at the best of times? I think, right or wrong, that most men would not run and cower even if they thought the police were on the way. They may not advance on the intruder but nor would they turn tail and shiver. I have heard horror stories of men confronting burglars but not so many that I do not believe we can’t at least stand for our home, our families safety and the safety of ourselves. We must remember that no matter how anesthetized our culture and media makes us ultimately we are still responsible for our families and our selves.