the police angle seems like a thread detour but it's really not. a common anti-gun response is that we should trust the police to protect us. and the response to that is important. i believe the reason that doesn't work is not just because they're not capable of being everywhere at once, but for many many other reasons, including the ones i quickly listed above.
there's a big difference in being pro-law enforcement (as I am), and supporting the police (as I do) and trusting the police (which I most certainly do not) despite being friends with many of them in my small town
Most people that mistrust law enforcement are criminals or people that don’t really know someone in law enforcement.
i agree because EVERY adult in the entire nation has broken laws. most of us (highly moral and ethical people) break them every day. it's impossible not to. and sometimes we break them because they're unjust laws. we're not advocating that here, but fear of being prosecuted for breaking an unknown or unjust law is probably pretty common reason for people not to go to the police to seek protection. fear of being hassled certainly is.
also, ask any competent lawyer why you shouldn't trust the police and you'll probably get an answer like this:
https://larryformanlaw.com/why-you-should-never-talk-to-the-police-period/
also, SCROTUS ruled the police do not have a duty to protect you from harm ("even a woman who had obtained a court-issued protective order against a violent husband making an arrest mandatory for a violation")
https://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/28/...ot-have-a-constitutional-duty-to-protect.html
also, they occasionally become disinclined to help. e.g. baltimore
also, the 2A is about resisting tyranny, and while a lot of police are pro-2A, it seems most unwise to rely on them to protect us from their employer who controls their pensions, etc
also, as i mentioned earlier, they can confiscate your stuff, for no good reason. just google "civil asset forfeiture abuse" for thousands of stories like this
https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/12/1/16686014/phillip-parhamovich-civil-forfeiture and this
https://www.aclu.org/blog/criminal-...nessee-legally-steal-veterans-car-because-his
i could go on for pages listing reasons reasonable "innocent" people should not trust the police, and therefore, should take responsibility for their own safety, but let's PLEASE not turn this into a cop bashing thread. that's certainly not my intent.