If you or one of your family were one of the victims of a plane crash or a car crash...you would probably wish that additional safety measures were taken to ensure their survival. You might, for example,wish that parachutes and training were provided for everyone who travelled by plane.Joe West said:
You might also argue, if you or none of your relatives had ever died in plane crashes, that the cost of providing it was unacceptable. Equally, you could argue that as it was so unlikely that many people would die in plane crashes, the social (as opposed to the financial) costs were too high. After all...who wants to get on a plane when most of the passengers are so frightened of crashing that they are wearing parachutes...even though it is unlikely that the plane will crash and it's unlikely that a parachute will save them?
What is the actual probability that you will need and be able to use a handgun to defend yourself against a potentially lethal attack?
Usually, when the USA's high murder rate, and the high murder rate with handguns, is mentioned...the pro-gun lobby jumps in and says that these are mostly drug dealers shooting each other and that the murder rate of the USA is otherwise comparable to that of other Western countries.
That being the case ...why then would citizens of the USA have a greater need than any other comparable country to own handguns for self defence against a threat that is no greater than that in comparable countries?
What is the likelihood that such a weapon will end up being used in either a criminal or otherwise irresponsible manner?
FTR Joe, I was born in Australia and I'm still an Australian citizen...but I spent most of my childhood in a country where there was a real war against terrorism and where the armed forces and police confiscated weapons daily from some of our neighbours. You think you need a gun in suburban Arizona? You think Arizona is so much more dangerous than Aceh, or Zamboanga or Rabaul or Honiara or the Malay/Thai border or Borneo or the Straits of Malacca or the Sulu Sea? Save your pennies and get out a bit. The world just isn't as dangerous as you obviously believe it to be. It's a sad thing that you either believe that you are likely to be attacked or that you feel so unconfident about life in general that you feel the need to carry a weapon.
Relax,chances are it won't happen and if you can't accept that a certain amount of risk of dying is inherent in the enjoyment of life....then don't ride a bike, if you ever did.
It's a pretty scary business ,riding a bike.You might fall off, you might get hit by a vehicle and you might die. But it's pretty unlikely. Most of the time we enjoy it, and we enjoy it so much that we discount the risks. We think that enjoyment of life is more important than fearing it
Sell the Jeep. Get a bike. You just might be a little less scared of the world if you have a little taste of fear every day, and like the rest of us...learn to overcome it.
