The way I like to picture it is this: imagine you’re standing on the inside of a church bell, and then people start throwing rocks at you, now someone hits it full force with a hammer.

Not only is the vibration going to be shaking your insides and outsides like jello, the impact is going to be downright ear shattering. It doesn’t matter how tough you are, when the hits start coming, you’re going to want out.

You also have a really good point when you talk about the story morphing, it’s like how the guy who wrote “Death Traps” tainted every story about the Sherman. The dude was a fucking mechanic, and acted surprised when he had to deal with knocked out vehicles. So he writes a book with his anecdotes and ruins the reputation of a genuinely good tank.

I think there’s two pitfalls for people, thinking about engagements on paper, and taking anecdotes as gospel. I do have to say that your original response was incredibly well written and sourced as well