You sleep with a machete next to your bed? I can see you are from SA, and (following this case) I came to understand how dangerous your country is, and the constant state of fear people apparently have to live in. And I really would like to take this into the consideration, as I do believe it is important to have in mind when thinking about this case.
But the degree of this constant fear, and consequent paranoia, is still a little had for me to comprehend. Is it really that dangerous and scary, in day to day life?
It's a bit difficult for me to estimate how much of it is just Oscar's exaggerating in order to build his defense, and how much of it is really present in ordinary people's lives, so to speak? Because I live in a (small) country with very little crime, certainly nothing comparable with having to sleep with a machete next to your bed! Where I live (Croatia; Patagonia is just a ''nickname''
![Smile :) :)](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
), something like that is totally unimaginable. We live basically without any fear of that kind whatsoever. Fear for one's safety is not at all present in a daily life. Our cars don't get hijacked, nor do our homes get robbed, on a daily bases. Especially the homes we live in (that are not empty). And there is practically no fear of that at all. And when there is a murder, then it will be all over the front pages of every newspaper in the country.
As far as the guns go, it is extremely difficult (almost impossible) to get the license for it over here, if you are a civilian. (You can get it only in special circumstances.) So there is really no way someone could claim he was living in fear of the intruders and use it as a defense in a case like this.
//Respectfully snipped