No, not making a statement and I am different in that no one will know I carry on the rare occasions that I do, thus I will receive no psychological or sociological benefit from the reaction of others.   I mostly carry on my hiking adventures, since the day I came face-to-face with a cougar on Spencer Butte, or late night visits to the ATM in dark parking lots.  

I have also seen too many open carry people seemingly enjoying the attention they receive from anxious bystanders--then there is the occasional "Dodge City Swagger..." as they walk through a crowd--much like you see in a B-movie western when the "stranger" walks into the saloon.

I also see many open carry males that seem to be comparatively small in stature... but that is my empirical observation.  I have no scientific date to support that conclusion.