An armed society is not a polite society!

[TheKentuckian]

18. "Polite" is an odd way to put it but determent/mutually assured destruction

can act as a lid on a boiling pot.

When everyone thinks everyone will potentially blast on them, efforts to avoid rocking the next boat may well go up.

I tend not to carry but I usually function under the assumption that anyone I encounter may be and encourage especially the loudmouths and tempermental to think the same and usually they settle down instead of acting an ass over some perceived slight or in response to roadrage.

I've seen "you never know who is going to blast in a country with more guns than people" shake a little discretion into folks to think the expression is without an element of truth.