Street takeovers...
Yet get bottom dweller behaviour like this because everyone to scared to do anything due to worrying if they carrying. The cops do nothing as know they out numbered and will be turned on
Not to pick on the Aussie or bust your chops, but I disagree.
In the places where this sort of thing happens, the local government (not necessarily the larger state government, but the local, municipal, government) is very forgiving to some people, much less so to others. Because of this, the "average" person is afraid that is s/he defends him or herself, s/he will be on the receiving end of the legal system, with no mercy shown.
It's not being afraid that the other person is armed (maybe they are, maybe not), but that taking action that would be considered legal in most places will get your life ruined by the law, because, while the cops are nowhere to be seen during this event, if you should defend yourself by running someone over or pulling out a gun, all of a sudden the cops will show up and you will be the bad guy.
I will admit that I live in the Northeast, and so my experience may be different, but where I am, none of this crap happens, and I don't know anyone who's worried about getting shot by anyone else, and I can say for certain that plenty of people carry guns, and that where I live, the crime rate is extremely low, because everyone knows that if you break into a house, and somebody's home, there's a good chance that you'll be carried out feet first. In some of the nearby small cities, however, there's crime everywhere, partly because of a preponderance of "In this house, we believe" signs, and partly because it is not clear whose side the police will be on in the event of a problem.
And, to address my Swiss friend, the OP, I personally believe that we have a real problem in this country, that we are actually falling apart as a nation. Certainly, there are plenty of smaller areas where everyone gets along fine, but as an entire country, we are having trouble staying together, agreeing on simple things, trusting each other, and trusting institutions and the government itself. I say this not as a member of any political party or an adherent to any side (because they're all nuts), but I believe that both political sides agree on this, though they may express it differently. You in Switzerland don't really have anything like this, because you have general agreement on what everybody wants and needs, and you believe that your government is working for you. This may be somewhat less true in a number of other countries, such as France, Germany, and Sweden, where there is a growing gap in perception between certain people (such as recent immigrants) and the rest of the country. In Switzerland, though, where, in order for a new person to become a citizen, his entire village has to vote on it, you have avoided all of this, and I admire you for it.
– Eric