It used to be that people would run away but with drugs and emboldened criminals (not organized pararmilitary), I don't want to rely on brandishing a weapons to protect my family.
30+ years ago I did brandish a weapon (sort of), that deterred someone...kind of a funny story. I was home on leave and went shooting with a buddy. I did not have a CCW and so I had my guns unloaded and packed in a bag on the passanger's side floor of one of my pickup truck. I was on the highway in the right lane with my cruise control on when a car came racing up the on-ramp next to me. There were several cars in the left lane so I could not move over and the on-ramp had a yield sign so I just maintained my pace. The on-ramp car was really in a hurry and I guess he thought I should yield to him. Once he got on the highway he came racing up behind me, there were a couple of guys in the car and they were honking and waving their arms in the air. He became increasingly more aggressive so I reached over to the gun bag and the first weapon I put my hand on was a .44 Magnum revolver, I dropped a speed loader in and laid the gun on my lap. The dude followed me off the highway and I could see I was going to get stuck at a traffic light so I move the left lane. The dude pulled right up to me screaming and got out of his car, my window was down because the AC was out and in a flash he was trying to come through the passenger side window screaming at me. In one motion I pulled the .44 up, pulled the hammer back and forcefully poked him in the forehead with the end of the barrel. I was .69 seconds away from canoeing the dude and he just froze, hands inside my truck with the gun between his eyes...he stopped screaming and slowly backed out with his hands up. I will never forgot the look on his face and I will never forget seeing a red circle in the middle of his forehead, I poked him so hard it left a little red ring. The light changed green and I never saw the dude again.