Controversial Topic Warning!! Is owning a gun for SD/HD similar to...

Sometimes it's not about the odds, it's about the consequences/payout.

People buy lottery tickets even though the odds are ridiculously small because the potential payout can be huge.

People concern themselves with self defense even though the odds that they'll need it are pretty low because the potential consequences can be unthinkable.
 
Sometimes it's not about the odds, it's about the consequences/payout.
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My sentiments exactly.

We turn our local news on everyday and everyday see the there has been victims of violent crime. There may have been one, there may have been many.
There are a couple things for certain that the selected victim/victims of that day would tell us if we asked them:

1)If we asked them "did you plan on being a victim today when you got up this morning and left your house? Answer would be 'no'.

2)If we asked them "if they currently cared about the low violent crime statistics in the area in which their crime happened or if those current low violent crime statistics will help their wounds to heal "? Answer would be 'no'.

While they may be fun to look at and play with, all the statistics in the world did not help that particular 'vicim of the day'.
 
RBid - nice job with the stats. This makes it indeed rational to ccw. I totally buy into your general argumentation line.

Moreover, people who feel the safest and the most comfortable, tend to relax the most and tend to lose situation awareness more the other people, which makes them more attractive targets and thus increases likelihood of them being attacked. In other words, even if objective conditions say "I'm relatively safe", this leads to psychological and behavioral changes within the person, which then lead to objective conditions changing to "I'm more susceptible to an attack, and no longer relatively safe." Interesting paradox.

I do agree with most folks who suggested that an attack can come unexpectedly even in the safest area to people who do their best to stay out of trouble. The stakes are indeed very high.
 
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You will probably never need to defend yourself if you get into the habit of constantly being aware of what's going on around you and who's near you.
In time you will be automatically doing quick spot checks.

I used to teach martial arts and told my students when out and about, to play a game called Who's watching me". No matter where you go there's somebody that see's you. Can you spot them?
 
JERRYS. said:
guns, seat belts, fire extinguishers, door locks at home.... its only foolish to not try to prepare for those crimes/accidents which happen everyday.
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I've never had an accident, fire, break in, been attacked, gotten cancer, or died. I do have protections in place, however, should those situations arise.
 
I have a perfect example of why I am a gun owner and why I am usually armed.

I was up at my families place in Wisconsin this past weekend to do some final prep before winter, get the equipment ready, shoot and relax. I decided to lay down around 11AM for a little nap before working some more in the afternoon.
Usually I OC either a PPQ or P226 while working up there; this weekend I had my PPQ locked and loaded resting on the night stand next to my bed while I took a nap.

Let me preface this little story with a few things; firstly this property is not that remote but the police are at best 20 mins away. I can count on one hand the number of times people have just wandered down our driveway over the years. Also I had the police out there earlier in the day because someone had broken into one of our outbuildings though nothing was stolen.
My car was parked in an obvious spot and it was impossible to miss; out buildings were open it was obvious someone was home.

So there I am, laying in bed, trying to doze off when I begin to hear voices.At first I think maybe I am just imagining it , after about five seconds I realize that I am not, there are at least two people outside somewhere from what I can hear. My heart is racing; did the outbuilding thieves come back? Did the Local PD decide to come back? I am up in a flash, grab my PPQ, after another 10 seconds I realize no one is breaking in yet so I put glasses, pants and holster back on in that order. I stuff two extra magazines in my back pocket and take up a defensive position in the corner of the bedroom. This bedroom also has an exterior door that leads to our deck as well as clear line of sight to the front door.

Another 10-15 seconds; I hear the voices getting louder; coming around the side of the building, I assess that I do not have time to go for my AR-15 which is in the next room, encased and unloaded so I stand my ground there. Suddenly I hear a jiggling at the door that leads from the deck to the bedroom I am in and the voices are right there. I remind myself; identify your targets and calmly I walk towards the door; my PPQ is drawn but at my right side and as walk towards the door "Karate" style, exposing as little area as possible to attack while also concealing the firearm.

With my left hand I slowly pull back the shades and out there are two guys; one of them has a baby in a carrier on his chest..I figure no way in hell bad guys bring a baby to a crime right?

I holster my gun and go out to talk to them. Turns out they are a couple of painters my father had hired to do some work on my families house up there who decided to drop by unannounced and look over the building to plan for the next week.

It ended up being nothing; a couple of painters who made a bad call in not knocking on the front door to let me know they were there to look things over in preparation for working on the property over the next week.

I was VERY glad to be armed through the whole thing though because had I not been armed and they had been bad guys no way in hell the police would ever get there in time to do anything but collect evidence. That is why I am an armed citizen, I take responsibility for my own safety. I don't cower in a closet with a cell phone and hope the police arrive in time to save my bacon.



I have never been attacked, never had a house fire, never been in a plane crash. My wife has been in two car crashes now, I had a friend whos house burned down and my fathers girlfriend was violently robbed/assaulted on her way home from work a few years ago in Gary Indiana. None of the bad stuff has happened to me but if it does I would rather be ready that looking for outside intervention to save my ass.
 
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It's not the odds but the stakes...
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Actually, it's mostly a matter of your area of interest.

As I've said very many times before, a 5-pt racing harness and a roll cage in your car are several factors of 10 more likely to save your life than is carrying a gun.

If it's "the stakes not the odds", the stakes in a severe car crash are the same.... your life... and the odds are much, much higher. Why do we not have roll cages and 5-pt harnesses?

Guess what? A fair number of "car guys" DO have those things and they'll tell you, with the same fervency that "gun guys" use for carrying guns, how crazy we are for not having them in our car also.

It's not the stakes or the odds. It's a matter of interest.
 
I don't own gun for self-protection, or home defense. I own guns. I happen to like guns. I can use them for self-protection or home defense if I want/need to, but that's not why I own them.

I carry a gun for the same reason. I like guns. I like to carry one with me. I don't really seriously expect to ever need it for self-defense, but I can use it for that purpose if the need ever arises.
 
much already has been said rightly and in context

I'll just add that there is a wide shades of gray line between prepared and paranoid. if more than one person close to you postulates that you are the later, give it serious thought. otherwise, carry on (npi).
 
I think the paranoia question is pretty easy to address. If you're thinking in terms of what COULD happen, you're doing OK. If somebody is actively trying to get you, you should talk to someone who can help. Note: porcelain cats can't help.
 
I grew up with guns, hunting and shooting, lived in the country. Guns were just part of life in Texas where I lived. I joined the Army and for all those years keeping guns with me was just too much trouble and I almost always lived on a base so security was pretty decent so I left my guns in Texas.

But after I retired and started a new career, one that has me changing jobs and locations at times, my wife and I have had at least one serious close call that I can say we avoided by the skin of our teeth. Since then I have retrieved my guns from Texas and acquired many more. I carry when I walk in the mornings as it is not unusual to come across coyotes, skunks, rattlers and such, where I live. I have never had to shoot any of them yet, but I am prepared if I must.

As the saying goes, it's like carrying a condom. I would rather have one and not need it, then need one and not have it :D
 
I have a gun simply because I like guns. A gun has several primary uses in my opinion. The first is target shooting. The second is hunting. Self defense in most cases is likely a secondary reason to own a gun.
 
Fire extinguisher analogy is perfect. Think about what COULD happen.

Like a condom, I'd rather have it and not need, than need it and not have it.
 
Here on the farm, the odds of ever being attacked are pretty remote. A gun is just another tool for me. I use a plow to turn the soil into crops. I raise the crops to feed livestock and the gun to protect the livestock. I'd look pretty silly trying to run over a coyote with my tractor, but on that tractor may be a rifle. It's not about shooting someone. It's a way of life.
 
... never flying airplanes because they rarely crash, but when they do crash, chances are everyone dies?

Or, is it similar to regularly buying lottery tickets while knowing that the odds of winning are 1 in 1,000,000?
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Sounds like you have been surrounded by Antis and they have attemtped a brain washing session. Thier first job is to deprive sleep. So get some rest, theclouds will clear in the morning!:D

Oh, and don't allow yourself to be taken hostage again. :eek:
 
The airplane analogy is a poor one...

80% of aircraft accidents have no fatalities and the survival rate in crashes with fatalities is 24%.
 
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