I love target shooting! My dad had a 357 Magnum and I've shot both 9mm pistols and an AR-15. We grew up with weapons, as they're so baked into American culture. I never considered owning a pistol myself until we found ourselves at the epicenter of the George Floyd riots. We had mobs of angry people roaming the streets, robbing, looting, and lighting things on fire. I remember the horrible feeling of vulnerability at the thought of how I wouldn't be able to defend my loved ones if our door was breached. I would only ever use a firearm to defend my loved ones. My brother has a concealed-carry permit but I haven't gone that route.
There's the culture difference, for sure. Thankfully, I don't have this experience. While I like to think of myself as peaceful and moral and whatnot, I do realize that goes as far as living in peaceful times. I doubt I (or many of us, for that matter) would afford such qualms if there were vicious mobs coming for us in the street...
What stopped you from getting one?
As for target shooting, I think it's a matter of what you associate it with, as I was saying to someone else here. For us over here, guns would be heavily associated with news stories of gang shootouts, school shootings and of course, gangster or other such outlaw movies. For myself, I tried to channel my best Samuel L Jackson, but somehow couldn't hold it. :D