From reading the thread it sounds like you're talking more about the stuff you see in movies than anything else, but I can offer some insight into some real people. I do not for profit volunteer work with drug users which means that I come in contact with a lot of drug dealers. You should understand that a lot of drug dealers got into it because they were using it and either they had to in order to keep up with their habit or because they knew so many users that it was too easy and convenient not to. They didn't get into it because they're tough (frequently it's just the opposite) they aren't athletes and they don't have any special training. The thing is that they have a lot of cash (and valuable product) around at all times and they can't settle disputes with lawyers the way people in legal businesses do. That means violence is always a possibility and some times (but not always) becomes a fact of life. Most of them avoid conflict as much as possible because those that don't wind up in bad trouble very quickly, but if $1000+ in cash is on the line you'd better believe that things can get rough. What I'm trying to say is that these aren't people that worked hard to attain skills so that they could excel at their profession; usually they're just people who wound up in a dangerous business by taking the path of least resistance. Sometimes (much less often than you might think) they have to do desperate and violent things but they aren't the urban comandos that they're made out to be in rap songs and movies. They don't have many skills, they aren't glamorous, and if you take a close look at them they aren't really scary because for the most part they're only dangrous to themselves and each other. Sure there are a few exceptions but the overwhelming majority are really very mundane once you get past the shock of the fact that they're breaking the law.
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