One thing that has always puzzled me...

I've seen so many movies, where gangsters do whatever they want, to whomever they want. I suppose this makes sense, if you live in a place where you're not allowed to buy a gun, so that only the criminals have guns. But my understanding is that most people in America are eligible to buy guns. So, if gangsters are after you, buy a gun, and practice with it until you're quicker on the draw and a more accurate shooter than they are. That way, they can't just come along and cut your fingers off, just because they feel like it.

These people are, after all, not invincible/untouchable. One of my favorite films is "The Outfit", where Robert Duvall and Joe Don Baker go after a mobster who owes them money, and they settle his hash.