It seems to me that everyone has to be a bit leery and practice the basics of physical security when out and among the population and certainly when attempting to help people.

It won't help anyone, and may encourage victimizers, to be made a victim.

That said I think there is lot to say for helping anyone you can if it can be done in relative safety. In part because it helps maintain a society that is open and helpful. You assist someone and it makes you feel good. It also demonstrates that most people can be trusted on most things and most are willing to help others as long as doing so doesn't involve slitting their own throats or putting their loved ones at great risk.

A bunker mentality where nobody trusts or helps anyone is exactly the type of societal structure I would like to avoid.

I'm reminded of a story about a group of rough looking but well intentioned bikers coming across a car that had stopped running on a dark, lonely road before cell phones were common. The driver was alone and a young female.

They realized that no good can come of a lady all alone on a remote road on a cold night. But they also realize that if they rode up and try to help directly they were going to scare the fudge out of her. She might even panic and run into the surrounding woods.

How do you help if your large and rough looking? How do you ask for help if your large and rough looking? How do you help without getting hurt? I don't know that there are any easy answers. I do know that if we don't want become a bunch of bitter and angry people we have to go out of our way to help people and to assure them that they can trust us on the big issues.