WeirdGoesPro

I have not had that experience.

Now, back to what we were talking about: do you have any evidence for the things you were saying earlier?

Yes. Usually with the phrase “where can I learn more about this?” or “what kind of evidence do they have for that?” I remember doing exactly that in my 5th grade history class and had fun reading the autobiography of Benjamin Franklin when the teacher directed me there for a primary source where I could learn more. They seemed excited that a student was engaging critical thinking and seeking additional learning. If you’re comparing yourself to a teacher, maybe you could find it in yourself to see it the same way.

So, I ask you…what kind of evidence do you have for your assertions, and where can I learn more about those events you say happened?

Got a link to support this data?

Actually, yes, I do. Teachers teach documents—usually primary sources if possible. If a teacher was telling me a bunch of stuff that they couldn’t show me any evidence of, I would be a little suspicious.

It is scientifically accurate to say that someone with self defense equipment is more likely to save themselves during a criminal altercation than someone without self defense equipment. If that wasn’t true, there would be no reason for ladies to carry pepper spray when they go out at night.

I don’t deny science, but using overall gun death statistics is misleading. If a victim has to shoot someone in a self defense situation, it still generates one gun injury that could apply to those statistics.

You can look up hundreds of security cam recordings on YouTube of people who successfully defended themselves. Those people would have been in a worse position if they had not been prepared.

My story was in the US. I was talking about two different US states.

Got an article about this alleged event?

I mean, it’s hard to get denser than manhattan, but I personally chalk it up to being poor and bad luck with neighborhoods declining after I move to them.

Is it common amongst your peers to say you were born a rapist? ‘Cause I’ve never heard a single person say that in my entire life.

I just replied to another commenter about this same thing. My decision was not motivated by gun death statistics, but rather the odds of my own death or injury (and that of my loved ones) due to the changing circumstances of my neighborhood and prior life experience. I wrote about that in a response to another user in this thread also, and hopefully it sheds some light on why I chose to buy a firearm.

You are correct, the US approach to gun control is insane, but if you live here, these are the conditions that have been set for us so far. Either you bring your fists to a gun fight, or you have a gun. There are more guns than people in this country—the odds are slim that a robber is coming in empty handed. However you choose or don’t choose to prepare for that possibility is a personal decision, and circumstances got bad enough in my neighborhood that I felt it was necessary right now.

If we enter an age of peace and understanding, I’ll happily give up my pistol. Hope for the best, prepare for the worst, as they say.

The overall number of gun deaths was not a factor in my decision, the prevention of my own death and injury of my loved ones was. I responded to another poster in this thread explaining the events that led me to choose to buy a firearm—maybe that will at least explain why I made that decision. I researched calibers and bullet types to make sure that I had the smallest chance of sending a bullet through the wall into the neighbors apartment. I practice on a regular basis to build safe habits into muscle memory. I’ve taken classes to learn from professionals and to be legally compliant. I keep everything locked up or on my body in a safely designed holster 100% of the time.

If you think that makes me a nut, then whatever, man. I’ve tried to be as safe as possible and make responsible decisions based on my life experience and the changing circumstances of the area I live in.

The strict self defense laws were when I lived in Manhattan. After the sun went down, things got crazy on a regular basis. I’m not an aggressive looking dude—skinny hippy type. I never started anything, but in the two years that I lived there, I was rushed head on by meth addicts twice, nearly mugged by a man in a ski mask, stalked in a park, and aggressively confronted by drunks at the subway platform many times.

I can’t explain it. I guess I just look like someone to bully if you are a specific kind of jerk.

I now live in a different state, but the worsening conditions in the country have caused my neighborhood to explode with the homeless and addicted. People have set off the fire alarm three times in the last year and tried to break into apartments when people open the door to evacuate. One of the people robbed was my next door neighbor—that is when I decided to buy a firearm. My apartment has only one exit, so if someone gets through my front door, I am essentially blocked in with no way to retreat.

It wasn’t a decision I made lightly or even desired, but life taught me that I needed to be ready to defend myself.