Raise your hand if you ever told someone that you didn't have jumper cables just so you wouldn't have to help them? Now raise your hand if you ever told someone that you didn't have jumper cables just because you were scared that neither of you would know how to do it? Either is pretty common. The truth is that it's very simple and easy. The hardest part is arranging the cars, to be honest. When you have a car stalled out on a one-lane road with no room to park, you're guaranteed to piss a bunch of people off.
The last time I had to jump a car, the cables I was using were very questionable. That was the only difficult part. The rubber had corroded off the cables, revealing exposed wires. I was terrified, but I still did it.