# Shining a bright flashlight into people's houses? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 15, 2012, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shining-a-bright-flashlight-into-peoples-houses/631600 "2012-08-15T20:20:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2012, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shining-a-bright-flashlight-into-peoples-houses/631600/61 "2012-08-16T17:36:33Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > I think they should stand at opposite ends of a dark field at night and throw rocks toward each other. First one to hear a scream (or at least a loud cracking sound followed by a thud) wins. Wasn’t there a South Park that featured that? The _rockchambeau_? ---
**Author:** ![cjepson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9adbd/32.png) [@cjepson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cjepson)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2012, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shining-a-bright-flashlight-into-peoples-houses/631600/62 "2012-08-16T18:29:44Z")
> [@Diamonds02](#): > > Potential funny things that could happen > > -As someone mentioned up thread, some stoner/druggie could panic and flush their stash down the toilet. LOL > -Some über-paranoid person may believe the FBI or whatever is after them. Person would probably go around telling everyone about it, also. LOL > -He would like piss off several people severely. Watching people throw tantrums can be quite funny. LOL > -Some people may believe thieves are casing their house. It would be humorous if you returned to the same house and notice that all their valuables have been moved out of sight, or security cameras have been installed. LOL > -The possibility that my friend may get his ass whooped. LOL > -The general chaos that could arise, all because of a flashlight. LOL Hell, this is just scratching the surface. How about if your friend shone his flashlight in my neighbor’s window? She has terminal cancer. What if she were just managing to drop off to sleep after a day of racking pain and your friend woke her up? What a laugh riot! ---
**Author:** ![Missy2U](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3bc359/32.png) [@Missy2U](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Missy2U)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2012, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shining-a-bright-flashlight-into-peoples-houses/631600/63 "2012-08-16T18:59:34Z")
I wonder how long it’s going to be before we have a thread from you know who asking for donations for a good friend who needs bail money. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2012, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shining-a-bright-flashlight-into-peoples-houses/631600/64 "2012-08-16T19:08:13Z")
This little light o’ mine **I’m gonna let it shine** ---
**Author:** ![Giraffe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giraffe/32/129_2.png) [@Giraffe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giraffe)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2012, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shining-a-bright-flashlight-into-peoples-houses/631600/65 "2012-08-16T19:09:30Z")
> [@cjepson](#): > > Hell, this is just scratching the surface. How about if your friend shone his flashlight in my neighbor’s window? She has terminal cancer. What if she were just managing to drop off to sleep after a day of racking pain and your friend woke her up? What a laugh riot! Terminal cancer? LOL ---
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2012, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shining-a-bright-flashlight-into-peoples-houses/631600/66 "2012-08-16T19:10:43Z")
> [@elbows](#): > > Well, my first thought is that you are just as big a dick, as your friend. No surprise there, you’ve gone to great lengths to make that abundantly clear. Let us please draw back from calling people dicks, OK? No name-calling; them’s the rules. ---
**Author:** ![President\_T\_Toilet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c5a1d2/32.png) [@President\_T\_Toilet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/President_T_Toilet)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2012, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shining-a-bright-flashlight-into-peoples-houses/631600/67 "2012-08-16T19:19:04Z")
Shining a light into someones house as a prank is juvenile at best. Now secretly paying someones electric bill for them. That’s a prank that would be talked about for years. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2012, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shining-a-bright-flashlight-into-peoples-houses/631600/68 "2012-08-16T19:27:53Z")
> [@bup](#): > > I can imagine seeing a Coast Guard boat in your yard would be a surprise. Well, not if you live on a houseboat. ---
**Author:** ![GreenElf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@GreenElf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenElf)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2012, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shining-a-bright-flashlight-into-peoples-houses/631600/69 "2012-08-16T19:53:32Z")
Some pizza delivery drivers use a flashlight at night to locate a house by address number, and they may inadvertently shine the flashlight into a window in the process. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2012, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shining-a-bright-flashlight-into-peoples-houses/631600/70 "2012-08-16T20:23:45Z")
> [@Diamonds02](#): > > Potential funny things that could happen > > -As someone mentioned up thread, some stoner/druggie could panic and flush their stash down the toilet. LOL > -Some über-paranoid person may believe the FBI or whatever is after them. Person would probably go around telling everyone about it, also. LOL > -He would like piss off several people severely. Watching people throw tantrums can be quite funny. LOL > -Some people may believe thieves are casing their house. It would be humorous if you returned to the same house and notice that all their valuables have been moved out of sight, or security cameras have been installed. LOL > -The possibility that my friend may get his ass whooped. LOL > -The general chaos that could arise, all because of a flashlight. LOL Stay out of the boonies. A guy I know had deer spotters goofing around lighting up his house. He walked out on to the porch in his BVDs and emptied his .38 at the car. Hundred to one he’d hit anyone, but he scared the crap out of them. Also, depending on timing, shining a light at deer is illegal (at least in PA). ---
**Author:** ![Furious\_Marmot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dfb087/32.png) [@Furious\_Marmot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Furious_Marmot)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2012, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shining-a-bright-flashlight-into-peoples-houses/631600/71 "2012-08-16T20:30:00Z")
> [@Diamonds02](#): > > Potential funny things that could happen > > -As someone mentioned up thread, some stoner/druggie could panic and flush their stash down the toilet. LOL > -Some über-paranoid person may believe the FBI or whatever is after them. Person would probably go around telling everyone about it, also. LOL > -He would like piss off several people severely. Watching people throw tantrums can be quite funny. LOL > -Some people may believe thieves are casing their house. It would be humorous if you returned to the same house and notice that all their valuables have been moved out of sight, or security cameras have been installed. LOL > -The possibility that my friend may get his ass whooped. LOL > -The general chaos that could arise, all because of a flashlight. LOL Presumably, a person as monumentally stupid and/or socially inept as your “friend” is also dumb enough to tell the cops that his intended result was one of the above. What kind of charges could a (sufficiently irritated and motivated) prosecutor bring to bear against a malicious man-child who admits that he was trying to “cause general chaos” or “piss off several people severely”? Disturbing the peace? Disorderly conduct? Douchebagging without a license? Results will vary by jurisdiction, but there’s only one way to find out for sure… I suggest a trailer park in west Texas or central Florida for your friend’s first experimental run. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2012, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shining-a-bright-flashlight-into-peoples-houses/631600/72 "2012-08-16T20:37:32Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > Well, not if you live on a houseboat. Houseboat? LOL I bet you believe in flying cars too LOL. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2012, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shining-a-bright-flashlight-into-peoples-houses/631600/73 "2012-08-16T22:00:38Z")
> [@bup](#): > > Houseboat? LOL > > I bet you believe in flying cars too LOL. Houseboats are real! Quincy had one! Well, actually, it was a small yacht. ---
**Author:** ![boytyperanma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4491bb/32.png) [@boytyperanma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boytyperanma)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2012, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shining-a-bright-flashlight-into-peoples-houses/631600/74 "2012-08-16T22:32:12Z")
> [@Diamonds02](#): > > Ummm…isn’t this illegal? > > Someone who shall remain nameless (can you guess, I posted about him/her before) got this new 500 lumen spotlight for camping. This person also drives around at night, for work. He told me it would be funny if he went around shining that light into people’s houses. As a prank. > > It would be funny, but I don’t think it would be very smart. I am trying to convince him that. > > What are your thoughts on this? Among the other laws and reasons for not doing this people have mentioned, if you were ‘driving around’ doing this it would also be a moving violation. Even if you found some place in the country with no laws on the books to handle this situation the police aren’t going to look kindly on this and you could find yourself in jail overnight till they have time to confirm they have nothing to prosecute you on. ---
**Author:** ![chacoguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/50afbb/32.png) [@chacoguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chacoguy)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2012, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shining-a-bright-flashlight-into-peoples-houses/631600/75 "2012-08-17T01:21:37Z")
You think too small, get a really powerful laser pointer and aim it into the cockpits of planes trying to land. What a zany laff riot! ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2012, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shining-a-bright-flashlight-into-peoples-houses/631600/76 "2012-08-17T01:27:49Z")
> [@chacoguy](#): > > You think too small, get a really powerful laser pointer and aim it into the cockpits of planes trying to land. What a zany laff riot! That’s the spirit!! Me personally, I like to surprise my friends when they are driving (and I’m in the passenger seat) by slipping a plastic grocery bag over their heads! Man, good times! I love my friends!! ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2012, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shining-a-bright-flashlight-into-peoples-houses/631600/77 "2012-08-17T01:36:14Z")
> [@Ellen\_Cherry](#): > > Let us please draw back from calling people dicks, OK? No name-calling; them’s the rules. But what if their name is Richard? Can I call them Dick then? ---
**Author:** ![chacoguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/50afbb/32.png) [@chacoguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chacoguy)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2012, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shining-a-bright-flashlight-into-peoples-houses/631600/78 "2012-08-17T01:39:52Z")
What about Knut? ---
**Author:** ![Cheshire\_Human](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Cheshire\_Human](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheshire_Human)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2012, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shining-a-bright-flashlight-into-peoples-houses/631600/79 "2012-08-17T01:41:11Z")
> [@elbows](#): > > Well, my first thought is that you are just as big a dick, as your friend. No surprise there, you’ve gone to great lengths to make that abundantly clear. My thoughts, also. > [@](#): > > Is it legal? It’s probably not specifically illegal, but probably qualifies under nuisance/harassment laws, and the like. Will he get caught and pursued through legal channels? While it’s possible, unless he’s targeting the same neighbourhoods, again and again, it seems unlikely to me. In New York State, it would be an easy conviction for “Disorderly Conduct” at the very least. A case can easily be made by any competent prosecutor for more severe charges, which I will leave as an exercise for the reader. But, as you say, to get _caught_, it would require doing it repeatedly, in the same place and time, “to get caught.” _ **Or** _, as you point out here: > [@](#): > > But then you never know when you might be shining into a cop’s house, or a judge’s house, or a sensitive gun owner’s house. He could, just as easily, find himself with a world of troubles, it seems to me. … pulling “the prank” _once_, in the wrong place, at the wrong time. Time to start contemplating ducking bullets, here, **Diamonds**. In my misspent youth, I found out the hard way that people _will_ shoot at you. They shot illegally. I still had to duck, because a bullet in your head _still_ kills you, regardless of it’s legality, but that would _not_ have saved me from the results of a bullet in my head. Pissing people off can get you _killed_, and you’re just as dead, even if the shooting was illegal, just as you would be if it was legal. > [@](#): > > All for the sake of the wickedly humorous prank, of shining a bright light, into the homes of strangers in the night. I can’t imagine even a 6yr old would find it amusing, so it’s hard to picture you both bursting into hysterical laughter at the hijinks. But if, ‘it’s funny’, is what you need to tell yourself, go for it. … and God help you, because, God knows, no one _else_ will. Let alone the cop who has to respond to the complaints. Continuing from the post I’m quoting: > [@](#): > > You need to consider what you’re friend is really after. He keeps pulling the same kind of passive aggressive, bullshit harassment [_ **I’d call it “batshit” at this point, but give Dipshit her due, if you feel compelled to.** _] of innocents, calling them ‘pranks’ just for shits and giggles. If he’s not looking for confrontation and conflict then what the hell is he doing? > > Now please answer the questions you were asked. Do you find it funny? Do you laugh? What is funny about it? You ain’t gonna see a reasonable response, because you ain’t dealing with a reasonable person. **Diamonds** is an idiot. No “reason” is involved in any of her thinking. Oh well… ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2012, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shining-a-bright-flashlight-into-peoples-houses/631600/80 "2012-08-17T01:46:29Z")
> [@Diamonds02](#): > > Ummm…isn’t this illegal? > > Someone who shall remain nameless (can you guess, I posted about him/her before) got this new 500 lumen spotlight for camping. This person also drives around at night, for work. He told me it would be funny if he went around shining that light into people’s houses. As a prank. > > It would be funny, but I don’t think it would be very smart. I am trying to convince him that. > > What are your thoughts on this? You know what would be the ULTIMATE prank? If he drove around at night, pulling in to people’s driveways, shining the light into their houses _and_ honking his horn. Ehh? Funny _ **and** _ smart. Problem solved. Brilliant, if I don’t mind saying. **Diamonds** , just being near you has rubbed off on me. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shining-a-bright-flashlight-into-peoples-houses/631600.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shining-a-bright-flashlight-into-peoples-houses/631600.md?page=5)