I almost shot a young man on Friday night (long)

[Buzz]

Ron, there's nothing remotely cowardly about avoiding the areas frequented by scumbags; it's just plain common sense, ol' Buddy.

Paul, you raise an interesting point - the superhero syndrome that supposedly makes people with guns feel somehow invulnerable and encourages them to be more assertive, aggressive and less cautious about avoiding trouble than they would be when unarmed. In reality, it's generally the opposite.

One often finds that the sort of person who may exhibit that tendency is one with self-esteem and fear-based aggression problems to begin with and they tend to act out and "power trip" whenever they can and in many different ways.

Normal, mostly well-adjusted and grounded people do not seek enhancement and gratification from inanimate objects and tend to be painfully aware of the grave seriousness involved in using a gun in any non-recreational/practice scenario.

The car example is a good one, though, but putting any type of performance machine through its paces is one thing - recklessness is a whole 'nother thing altogether. Which would you be more cautious and alert driving through town in - a $200000.00 Lamborghini or a beat-up ol' Probe?