Shooting, killings and violent crime has gone down in the past 30 years. I'm pretty sure that hearing about so many more shootings and murders is more related to the media and what they choose to show and how they choose to portray it.
There is definitely something to be said about your disposition towards other people. If you are constantly on guard and very closed, it will be quite hard to actually connect with others. People tend to decide whether or not they trust you within seconds of meeting you. If you have an inward disposition, are awkward and guarded then people aren't going to feel like they can communicate with you or feel comfortable themselves. I find it incredibly hard to be comfortable and open, often only able to mutter words with a straight disaffected face with a really terrible nervous laughter. It feels like I just can't open up and be stimulated by conversation or inspired to converse and connect with people unless I have known them for quite awhile. Drugs used to help me get past that and just not care and now when I am trying to quit them it's been an insane struggle but I will get it at some point. Drug use can hinder social development, as can isolation.
Many times people can get a gut feeling or sense an "energy" and be wrong. Sometimes when someone is unsure of themselves or closed off and guarded it can be a defense mechanism and they can be struggling and it comes from fear and not necessarily ill intentions but it can come off as that and people often have no choice but to percieve you as at the very least "off". Many times I have encountered really social, personable human beings and they seem to be friendly and trustworthy but these are the people who have been the most damaging to me. I think they sense desperation and lonliness, weakness and they exploit it. I have completely trusted the wrong people many times and it's made it really hard to try to move forward. I have also been in positions where people trusted me and I let them down and I guess the important part of this is to embrace empathy and not let it ruin you, not to let it make you embittered and unable to make new friends or enjoy life.
