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Old July 24, 2009, 10:48 PM   #41
Frank Ettin
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Join Date: November 23, 2005
Location: California - San Francisco
Posts: 9,471
Quote:
Originally Posted by Eskimo
...Having a pistol on your hip every time you go out because you think something bad may happen at some random point in your life is delusional...
Nonsense.

It is true that the odds of actually ever needing your weapon are vanishingly small. The vast majority of humans, especially in the United States, will go quietly to their deaths in bed without ever having to defend themselves in a violent encounter.

BUT there are still people who were carrying a gun when they faced an emergency and who were able to prevail in that emergency and survive because they had a gun on their person. Do you say to them that they were delusional to have been carrying a gun? That they should have left their guns at home and embraced their fate?

The rub is that there is no way you can know, as you leave the house in the morning, exactly what will happen. The odds are that your day will go along normally and safely. But every day things don't work out quite as well for one or more people. And you have no way, as you start your day, of knowing when or if you will be one of the unlucky very few.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Eskimo
...I would say "life isn't much without taking risks", but not carrying a pistol isn't much of a risk at all...
And if you wish to assume that risk, do so by all means. That is your choice. Don't carry a gun. But do not presume to tell me what risks I will assume in my life. That is my business and my choice and not yours. You are entitled to your opinion, but I am entitled to conclude that your opinion is uniformed and not worthy of my attention.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Eskimo
...Carrying a pistol on your hip to make you .000001% safer from the one BILLION things that could happen to you at any given time....
I suspect that you made those numbers up. If you did, they are meaningless. If you did not, cite your source.

But let's take a look at long odds. Just because the odds of losing are long doesn't make something a good bet.

I will offer you a bet. You must put up $1.00, and 999,999 times out of 1,000,000 tries, you will win. And if you win, you will receive a nice, bright shiny new dime. But if you lose, you must give me absolutely everything you have, including the clothes on your back.

So you have 999,999 chances out of 1,000,000 to walk away with a grand total of $1.10, i.e., a net profit of $0.10. But you have 1 chance in 1,000,000 of walking off naked and utterly destitute. How much do you really like that bet, even though your odds of winning are extraordinary?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Eskimo
...If you don't sense danger, there's no sense in bringing it with you.
How do you sense danger? Are you clairvoyant? Do you always know exactly what's going to happen? Haven't you ever been surprised?
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