I don't think that maintaining situational awareness is being "paranoid", you know? It's a great world out there, and I love being out in it - but there are still a number of folks that don't, in fact, have my best interests at heart! Quite the opposite, as a matter of fact. I'm a former biker (of the motorcycle sort) and went for all but two or three of 18 years without having a car or truck, putting around 500,000 miles on motorcycles during that time. Almost all of it riding solo, or nomad (but not affiliated with any club). I'm also an ex-police detective/private murder defense investigator. I know that there are a lot of unpleasant sorts out there - they're the minority, but they're out there just the same. I don't go around armed - don't see the need to do that. But neither do I go around oblivious. I think our safety is a personal responsibility and paying friendly attention to what's going on around me is nothing more than due diligence.