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nitrogen,

Mazel Tov, I've got the same - proclivity to over-analyze and so forth.

I was thinking something on the order of, "Hey, you kick the fire ant mound, I ain't gonna stick around and pick them off ya!" - or something to that effect. You are absolutely right, confirming you are carrying is a bad idea - but misdirection works sometimes. Failing to deny you are carrying could be construed as an affirmation... did you say something about over analyzing things?

Anyway, I keep remembering a saying about not going to stupid places, not doing stupid things, and not hanging around with stupid people - as a good way to stay out of trouble.

There has got to be a tactful way of saying, "Even if I were packing, which I will neither confirm or deny, I would not involve myself in a fight that you precipitated by your rude behavior. You pick it, you finish it, leave me out!" I don't have the chutzpa to say it quite that directly though. Maybe that's being less than honest...

Have a great rest-of-the-weekend.

Regards,
Andrew

nitrogen,

Just out of curiosity, did you tell them that? When someone said they "had" you, and you must have a gun stashed somewhere, did you point out that you would not shoot someone to protect the loudmouth?

Your tale is one of the nightmares I have thought of... my wife knows I carry, but very few other people know. If someone I'm with gets into an altercation, especially if it is their fault in the sense that they escalated / failed to walk away - I feel no responsibility to save their bacon.

So far this has not come up, partly because I'm real picky about whose company I keep. Still, if an "acquaintance" gets into a potentially serious jam, I hope to be calm enough to let that person take his lumps and not interfere / intervene - putting myself between the rock and hard place.

Regards,
Andrew