Before I left I was asked by several people, all of whom are in the training industry to one degree or another, why I was going someplace where I couldn't carry a firearm — the implication, of course, being that I couldn't possibly be safe without a handgun.
...My answer was simple, and though I didn't realize it at the time it contained the germ of this conceptual approach to travel safety: I was going because had an opportunity to do some good and to have a great experience, and by managing my risk exposure I'd be able to achieve both.
In other words, the value of that activity (teaching life-saving skills to a bunch of great people) greatly exceeded (because I took precautions appropriate to the situation) the known or perceived risks I faced (traveling in an area where I couldn't be armed with a lethal weapon).
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