Drive a car. If you trust the statistics, this is risky.
Eat high fat foods occasionally at fast food joints (you can practically hear your arteries clog)
In the summer I do custom hay work. You would be surprised how many folks get hurt by bailing/cutting equipment each year. Having your arm ripped off is not a good idea.
Work my ranch. In general, agriculture is not on the top of the safest professions list.
Several times a week I work cattle from horse back. The statistics on horse related injuries indicate there are safer things to do then get on a 1,100 lb animal with a small brain and a highly developed flight reaction. That’s not to mention what a mad bull can do to you in the confined spaces of a sorting pen.
My point is, all those represent statistically risky behavior, and none of them will be alleviated by carrying my firearm, taking self defense courses, or carrying my folder. In other words they don’t require me to protect myself against bad guys.
For me, I don’t consider picking up an elderly guy whose car broke down any more risky then the actions listed above, probably less. It’s the same for stopping and helping someone change their flat tire. Sure things could go wrong. The old guy could be mentally deranged, the flat tire person could jack you car. But 2 years ago my wife broke her back when an irate horse bucked her off and she landed wrong…a friend of ours daughter barely escaped death in a car accident…and several years ago a local teenager got caught in a baler and died.
Life is full of risks, and you are going to lose. As far as I can tell, no ones made it out alive yet, and I doubt any of us will be the first.
What I can do is balance risk against living my life. To me, that’s taking reasonable precautions that don’t have unacceptable impacts on my lifestyle and who I am. I err on the side of living my life, not on the side of avoiding my life.
And what’s on the top of my risky list? Joking with my wife when she’s in a bad mood...I never should have taught her how to shoot
