I'm sorry that you consider responding to your original post and comments "badgering." When I make a post, I hope for comments. And I don't consider rational replies to points being made to be some form of harassment.

I have observed in my life that bullies -- and violent criminals are but bullies writ large -- attack those they consider weak, not those they consider strong. Hence my default assumption is that violent criminals are less likely to persist in attacking someone whom they discover to be armed, even if the weapon is not actually used upon them. I could be wrong, but you haven't given me any arguments against this theory, other than "you don't have statistics to support it."