This thread reminds me of a story (not an urban legend) - My wife is/was friends with some of the parties involved. This is the reader's digest version and some of the exact details may not be correct but the end result can not be disputed.
In Austin Tx. some time ago a guy was sitting down in a restaurant having a cup of coffee, possibly some breakfast. Out in the parking lot was his truck that had a 20' extension ladder in the back. He was keeping half an eye on it while he ate. I am sure we've all been in a similar situation at one time or another in our lives.
Well, before he knows it, he looks up and there's another truck near his, some guy is just about done loading the ladder into his truck. Before the owner can get up and stop the guy, he's speeding off with the ladder in the back of his truck. The rightful owner of the ladder gets in his truck and follows the thief. Somewhere down the road the owner catches up with the thief and an altercation ensues. Long story short, the thief ends up killing the guy who was just trying to get his ladder back. The thief is now in some TX. lockup and the owner of the ladder now has a wife and two daughters without a dad.
This is a sobering story but one that my wife reminds me of constantly when I get pissed off by some menial act of stupidity or some act of discourtesy. Is it really worth it?
The story of the gang members and the disc golfers, and previous threads about confronting litterbugs/disc thieves, etc. sparked the memory. Moral of the story is you don't take a bag full of plastic to a knife or gun fight. One or two dodges of your sharpest/fastest plastic thrown in duress and you're staring at the barrel of a gun held by someone carefree enough to use it.
