“That was an incredibly stupid thing to do.”
It is incredibly stupid to initiate any sort of confrontation with anyone. I carry concealed. Even when people shout and shoot the finger over something I unintentionally did while driving, I smile and try to deescalate if possible. I am not going to let someone hurt me and I definitely do not want to shoot someone.
Besides not wanting to shoot anyone, I refuse to let someone else cause my blood pressure to go up. If you get mad back at someone it ends in nothing good for you even if you “win.” (Whatever “win” means in this context.)
Double stupid when you are an MD, and could lose employment that you payed a lot of money in schooling to obtain.
This reminds me of my reasoning for why I believe Trayvon Martin started the fight: Two guys confront each other. One is active in a “fight club”. The other is a pudgy guy wearing a concealed hand gun. Who throws the first punch?
Hint, not the guy with the gun.
Agreed completely. If one is going to carry (and I do) I believe one has additional responsibility to avoid, de escalate and withdraw from any potential confrontation. In situations where I would be justified in standing my ground and arguing back when I am unarmed, I just walk away without saying anything if I am armed. I want to avoid adding to any situation which could escalate to the point where I have to use a gun. Too many people stoke the fire in such situations where they feel they are in the right and invincible because they are remedy.
“An armed society is a polite society. Manners are good when one may have to back up his acts with his life.”
― Robert A. Heinlein, Beyond This Horizon