I think you'll find that some people in the US who have been shot with a .380 take it seriously, too. Many of those that don't, can't, because they are dead.
I never sure if the comments about calibers less powerful than 9mm are always serious. However, I can guarantee that all the critics would decline my request that they prove their point by letting me shoot at them with an "underpowered" weapon.
I was just a few feet away when a guy shot himself with a
.380 back in the early 80s. It was at the Indy 1500 gun show
and one of the dealers violated the rules by loading a gun
inside the building. The doofus (dealer) was trying to show
a potential buyer how a semi auto could be prevented from
firing by pushing back on the muzzle, unlocking the action
on locked breech autos. The doofus chambered a round and
put the muzzle against his palm and pushed and pulled the
trigger. Problem for stupid was that the gun was a 1934
Beretta, a simple blowback .380. Bang! Luckily the fool had
the gun pointed down so he didn't shoot anyone else. He
jumped up and ran a short distance to the concession area
and got help. He was behind the counter with his hand in
a bucket of ice and a towel around his arm to stem the flow
of blood. Since I was close I got to gawk before security
taped the scene off. His hand was swelling and turning
purple and his face was white as a sheet. Looked like he
was going into shock. He definitely was taking the .380
seriously and this was one round through the hand. He was
permanently banned from that show I heard later. I don't
think anyone who got a close look at his hand would ever
take the .380 as anything less than serious.
