Oh, it is most certainly about fear, as well as safety and responsibility. I can't see how those concepts are mutually exclusive; they are highly related and rightly so. You make it sound like a bad thing. Read "The Gift of Fear" by Gavin DeBecker. It's an excellent book about how fear helps us to protect ourselves and avoid (when we can) violent confrontations, i.e. situational awareness. Can't you imagine being in an unexpectedly bad situation, and being fearful, yet confident because you know you have the means to protect yourself if (God forbid) you were forced to?