Your right on this one, I am a lot more nervous walking the streets of Atlanta than any place in North GA. All the bears I have ran across will split when they notice a human. I still carry a gun for the reason of warning shots and the two leggeds. Kodiak island and a big brown bear is a different story all together.LOL people talking about momma bear with cubs being dangerous obviously haven't spent any time around black bears. Here's how momma bear protects her cubs. She runs away but not too far. The cubs go up a tree. When the danger (me or you or whomever) leaves, she comes back and retrieves her babies. There has never been a recorded case of a human killed by a momma black bear protecting her cubs. Black bear attacks are almost exclusively cases of bears being fed by people (tourists usually) and then associating people with food...same goes for gators.
A black bear that does not run away (1 in a million) may have intent to eat you or may not...probably not but still, for the sake of argument, let's say it wants to eat you. Shoot it and wound but not kill it, you just sealed your fate. A wounded bear is every bit as ferocious as you probably thought a momma black bear with cubs would be x 10. A warning shot is your best first shot if you want things to end peacefully. I just yell HEY! and stomp at them...then laugh as they mow down the underbrush hauling ass.