Originally posted by: Atheus
This is logic:
1 - Fear of death is rational.
2 - A man carrying a weapon has more chance of killing someone, should he want to, than a man not carrying a weapon.
3 - Carrying a weapon does not change a person's personality and will not cause them to want to kill someone any more or less than they usually would.
4 - One's chances of dying are increased in the presence of armed men. (from 2 and 3)
5 - Fear of armed men is rational. (from 1 and 4)
That's the last time I'll make the point. I'm bored of it.
It doesn't mean I am personally sitting here shaking in my boots, or even that I am in any way uncomfortable with guns themselves, but if someone knocks on my door and they have a gun I am going to be a damn sight more worried than if they don't. That is all.
Wow, that was almost sad.
1. Fear of death is rational, therefore a person who fears death is rational.
2. Death is always possible, but many different circumstances increase that chance.
3. It is not rational to always be afraid, but it is rational to be afraid when the chance increases to a certain threshold, therefore a rational person is afraid when he has reason to believe that a certain threshold of threat is reached.
I believe this is more the case you are trying to make in a logical format, not a strictly formal format, but I am lazy.
However, you wish to add a bit more
4. Other people being armed increases the chance of death.
And (here is the problematic part)
5. Other people being armed and in your presence is enough of an increase in the threat to make fear rational.
What you don't realize is that everyone around you is armed, just not as well as if they had a gun.
Now, you may be a big person, so this may not apply to you, but just for a moment, imagine that you are a 21 year old girl, you weigh about 110 pounds, and are about 5.5 feet tall. A large man you have never seen before is preventing you from getting to your car, and he is not armed, but he weighs around 250 pounds and is 6 foot tall.
This example should generate fear in the woman, its natural, and I would personally hate to experience anything like it. This fear is rational, but the fear of a man just because he is armed is not, and the reason is, intent. This man who is preventing her from reaching her car is demonstrating several very bad indications of a desire to do harm, and to control her.
For this hypothetical woman, if she were in the presence of the exact same man, but instead of trying to prevent her from reaching her car, he held the door open for her she would have no reason to be afraid.
In both of these examples the man IS ARMED, he is completely capable of inflicting lethal harm to our hypothetical woman. Women and men who are of small physical stature who lack any defense training live every day of their lives surrounded by men (and some scary women) who could kill them if they wished, it is not as fast and reliable as a gun, but it doesnt have to be. You may not realize this, but when everyone is unarmed it is the weak who are not safe, I assume from your comments that you have military training so you may not realize this but you most likely feel safer with everyone else being unarmed because you know you can win most unarmed fights.
Take a step back and realize that almost anyone is capable of killing someone else, without weapons it is just the strong who have that ability.