First allow me to welcome you to our Site. Good to have another new member who is already a CCW holder!
As for "carrying your house on your back" . . . we are now "PFCs" and our first option is no longer swift aggression but cautionary discretion. You carry enough to get you (and yours) out of harms way. Standing your ground and turning into the threat is your last choice after exhausting all other options. You are not retreating, you are advancing in another direction.