ok. I'm half buzzed; so bear with me here.
But....
WE'RE NOT GETTING INTO THIS DISCUSSION AGAIN.
There are many ways to protect one's livelihood, life, and property. What you ultimately decide to do Spliff is up to you.
With that said, understand that although each person has their own means and abilities to protect their property, adding a threatening weapon into your list may likely get you killed.
Any time that a weapon is brought into a dispute, you have escalated the severity of the situation. When you do this, the other party is rightfully allowed to escalate in retaliation. The higher you escalate (ie, the more deadly the weapon) the faster and more serious their response can be)
I'll say this ONLY once.
THE ONLY TRUE SAFE DEFENSE IF YOU WANT TO AVOID HARM AND PROPERTY LOSS IS RETREAT
Did you get that? go back, read it again.
Any time you do ANYTHING other than retreat, you open yourself up to a conflict. Pride or not. Right or wrong. If you pull a baton on someone, because of 'property' infringement (possible damage to your possessions) you WILL be in the wrong.
Property infringement, as retarded, immature, and ethically wrong as it is, does NOT permit you to beat down a person. If you attempt to, you are now questionably applying possible lethal force. How do they know your intent? Intent requires psychic abilities, and that's not forseeably accessible to the average person. if you approach someone with a collapsible baton, and they are carrying they may draw on you, out of stupidity. If they are truly paniced, they may even fire. Last time I checked, a baton was no match for a pistol or revolver.
I'm not going to tell you what to do, but refer to this thread, (<a href="http://209.58.199.225/vbb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=47988&highlight=carry">here</a>) if you want to be surprised by what unreal amounts of pain you can get yourself into if you step into a fight based on 'pride' just because of possible property damage. (many many people remarked how they hadn't realized how many MATURE, SENSIBLE 3S member carry LEGALLY. Think about how many IMMATURE, MORONIC idiots carry ILLEGALLY on Street night at illegal drag races....)
When there is no imminent danger, ALWAYS retreat.
When danger can be avoided, ALWAYS retreat.
When you you ignore these rules ALWAYS expect to be in the wrong, and in deep sh!t.
that's my $.02 take it for what it's worth.
Elton