The Annoyed Man wrote:Justin CHL wrote:To make a long story short, pulling the trigger should always be the LAST resort.
That's the bottom line, right there. And, in keeping with that old chestnut about nothing good happening at 2 a.m. (which of course has exceptions for those for whom 2 a.m. corresponds to everybody else's 2 p.m.), if one is going to take the responsibility of carrying a gun around, then wisdom dictates circumscribing one's behavior to some degree,
if possible, so as to avoid putting one's self into situations where there is a higher probability of needing the gun. Of course, one can't necessarily help it if they live or work in a higher crime area. They
have to go there. So the question becomes, "do I really
have to be in X place or do Y thing?" And lest anybody get their back up about that, I am
not suggesting that you no longer have the freedom to come and go as you please, nor a moral obligation to restrict your movements. I am merely saying that someone who carries a gun has an extra measure of responsibility to act with wisdom.
I used to work in an ER. There is no doubt whatsoever that the number of gunshot patients brought to emergency rooms increases with the lateness of the evening. That's just a fact. Yes, we saw gunshot patients at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m., but those represented a small fraction of the total numbers.
Most happen late at night. Those are facts. And by the way, ditto for stabbings and savage beatings.
Life is a game of statistical probabilities. Will I ever confront the situation described in the OP at 2 in the afternoon? It
could happen, but the
odds of it happening are lower because people are generally out and about doing whatever it is they do during the daytime, instead of out drinking, or cruising around looking for trouble or victims. There are too many possible witnesses.
Hence the wisdom that "nothing good happens at 2 a.m." It may not be universally true, but it is good general advice.
