With such a long thread I’m too lazy to go back and quote the original sources directly, so please forgive the paraphrasing!
One poster stated that he would not run if confronted by a bad guy. I’ve been fortunate enough to train with some of the leading international self-defense and hand-to-hand combat instructors in the world and they have drilled into our heads to “use the Nike defense.” If there is an opportunity to escape, or defend yourself and then quickly escape, take it. I’m confident in my ability to defend myself after 14+ years of training but I would gladly run or hand over my wallet/spyder keys, etc. instead of getting into a combat situation with someone who may have nothing to lose—or has friends with him (out of view) carrying weapons. I’ve spoken with my family about what to do if we are held up or carjacked so that we have a clear plan of action. I don’t walk around expecting or fearing violence, but I am aware and prepared.
One poster cited Lt. Co. Grossman and his analogy about sheeps and wolves. Grossman has done some cutting-edge research on violence, and he is a good man to boot. It is worth reading his book ‘On Combat” to see what is being learned about violent video games/movies and the brains of young people. It is also worth noting who wrote the intro to this book—Gavin de Becker (‘The Gift of Fear’). de Becker and his organization work to prevent the most violent criminals from achieving their goals, and his perspective on carrying guns might surprise some of you.
Many of the violent examples in this thread focus on horrific stranger assaults—these are certainly real and frightening. However, in this country, people are far more likely to be assaulted or killed with a gun by someone they know. This, unfortunately, is a fact. One of friends and colleagues was sadly shot and killed by her husband last year--per usual, he then turned the gun on himself. We see these stories almost nightly on the news. In my line of research (sexual assault prevention), the survivor knows the perp. 85-90% of the time yet stranger assaults take the headlines because they tend to be more dramatic.