Yes, that was quite the post.
Luckily, Nature comes to the rescue and can inform us that brown bear attacks are more common in Europe than the US, even when counting Russia (and some other regions) as a separate entity.
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-44341-w. The article was actually pretty interesting.
Some research also revealed that black bears are generally regarded as less dangerous to humans than brown bears, but I’m no expert and can’t verify it, so take that with a grain of salt.
As a European, I can also inform that weapons for hunting are not that problematic to get. Though I’m sure it is easier in many places in the US.
According to an article in The Guardian, the brown bear has been extinct in British wilds since the middle ages, but apparently there is a program now to re-introduce them.
If nothing else, I learned something new.