In summary: People are afraid to open carry because people are afraid the police will revoke their "privilege" to carry.
This is why when (not if) MD becomes shall issue I plan to OC all the time to normalize the sight. Not an AR15, probably more like a gentlemans SW 586 with leather holster or an FDE CZ.
It’s not simply a matter of having it revoked. It’s also dealing with A-hole store owner/employees asking you to leave. Dealing with police interactions. Etc.
In central maryland at least, there is a good chance if you OC for a bit, you will have a negative interaction. I wish culture was different, but we are where we are. IMHO I don’t need that crap in my life and frankly I don’t want to scare people or further a negative outlook on gun owners. In a rural area if I could, I’d sure probably OC a handgun. Especially hiking, backpacking and camping. But I’d just like to be able to conceal carry something.
So reality is, for much of the US, OCing in an urban or suburban area is going to eventually lead to hassle for you. Some of the US is a-cultured to it. In which case, rock out. But we moved away from it, especially on the west coast and NE.
If I can conceal carry something and not end up with such negative interactions which are going to cause me to have a bad day, or a real bad day, I might as well.