If someone is so desperate in life they need to rob me for my old trashed up and broken yard tools I will likely just give it to them.
Most people would. Unfortunately it's quite unlikely that's what they want. They'd probably be much happier with your car keys and your wallet. If you don't have them on you, I'm sure they will be happy to accompany you into the house so you can retrieve them. Who knows, they might see something else they want while they're inside.
Odds are decent that they wouldn't beat you up or harm your family if you comply. But no guarantees.
I was thinking about 9/11 yesterday and thought that it was interesting that U.S. hijacking policy was basically written in such a way as to make the hijacker's particular strategy quite easy. That was because the people making the policy had never envisioned someone using a commercial airliner as a guided cruise missile.
When you realize that the possibility of something happening exists, then you can plan for it. The plan might be good or maybe you don't have the resources to make a good plan, so you make plan that isn't so great. But you still have a plan even if it's really basic. The path to a real debacle is to never even envision the possibility that something could take place--it robs you of any chance of preparation, however basic. Like thinking that if you are braced by a criminal in your yard, the only possible thing they might want was garden tools.
A lot of people live their lives expecting nothing bad to happen, coming up with arguments why they are safe, why they won't ever be attacked, why only other people are victims. A lot of them are right, but the ones that aren't have put themselves in a pretty terrible situation, because they will waste the first few seconds of the event trying to convince themselves it's actually happening instead of acting constructively. Think how many times you've seen a victim interviewed on the news saying something like: "I couldn't believe what was happening." That's a mindset, but it's one that is not that difficult to change.
I've heard people say that they don't want to spend their lives constantly expecting danger, and I agree. That's no way to live. Fortunately it's not necessary. We shouldn't go through life constantly expecting that bad things CAN'T happen to us; we also shouldn't go through life constantly expecting that bad things WILL happen to us. The proper mindset is to go through life understanding that there's always the possibility that bad things COULD happen to us. That allows us to plan in advance, to prepare if we wish, and helps avoid wasting time convincing ourselves that reality is really real in the middle of an emergency.
I would feel less free, if I felt I had to carry in my own garden.
I carry any time I can, not because I feel I have to but so it will be handy if I were to need it. So far I've only needed it once. It was nice to not have to go retrieve it from home on that occasion since that would have been decidedly inconvenient.
Im normally armed when Im out with the kids but they are very polite to adults and most people are nice back when you are nice to them.
That's very true. It turns out that violent crime is generally committed by a very small percentage of the population. One study found that 1% of the population committed over 60% of the violent crime. If the only thing one considers is how "most people" act, it never makes sense to carry. Most people are not going to ever commit a violent crime.
If you are willing to focus exclusively on the odds, carrying rarely makes sense. It's only when one considers the stakes that things change. It's why people play the lottery. It's not that they have a good chance of winning--the odds are terrible--it's that if they do, the payoff is going to be amazing. Carrying is the same thing, but kind of in reverse. It's not that you have a good chance of needing the gun--the odds are quite good you won't. But if you do and don't have it, the outcome could be very much like the exact opposite of winning the lottery.
