I generally agree with you, but even in my humdrum life, there have been multiple events where I’ve been surprised by threatening events that I should have been aware of as they were unfolding. My wife and I accosted by some “brothers” in a parking lot in Palo Alto at night; another “brother” shaking us down for money in Palo Alto; two “brothers” walking the opposite direction on a downtown Columbus, OH sidewalk intentionally shouldering my friend and I hard as we passed; getting “knock-out game” slugged by a “brother” in Ithaca, NY when I was 13. Luckily none of these turned real violent or life-threatening, but there were serious enough to make me a LOT more aware of my situation and surroundings, especially when near urban “bruthas.”
When I hung out with dope fiends and criminals I’d run into that. But not since I got out of that world.
The two events you described were extremely rare in those days. Certainly, there would be fewer such events today if there were meaningful consequences. Times are a changing and, frankly, not without a noticeable cost.