Nope, I am not misinterpreting what they say. I am 66 years old, been shooting and hunting since I was 11 years old. Mostly in California. Large caliber addicts are stuck on the larger the better. If you hit someone(or a game animal)in the right place then caliber becomes less important, also if you hit someone(or a game animal) in a non lethal spot a large caliber is not going to kill any better than a small caliber.
Large is good to a point, but teaching large is the only choice is not good.
I carry(legally)small caliber firearms that I can shoot very well. I also carry large caliber weapons when I can hide them well, but you can't always do that, so learn to shoot and you will not worry to much about what caliber you are using. Also, learn to think and then you won't jump on someone who knows what the he** they are talking about based on years of experience and actually combat usage.
Wow.
Well, this is where you reveal that you absolutely do not understand the problem, or the solution... Stopping power IS NOT about immediately killing your target. It's about stopping him or stunning him long enough to get another shot at him, before he gets another shot (or stab) at you.
BTW, it's very presumptuous of you to think you've been shooting longer than anyone else on this website, or that you can think better. I've been shooting almost as long as you have and have an advanced degree in mathematics. I didn't get it by sloppy thinking such as you've displayed here... SHEESH!