Quote:
Originally Posted by Daniel_
The point that I though SF was making in the section you excerpted was that in the eyes of the law, an insult is not grounds for a beating.
On a personal level, we all feel it ought to be at times, but the law says you must react in proportion to the damage to you, and rude names do not merit a thumping.
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fair enough, but what i'm talking about is the law that the general public enforces when officials of the law, namely cops, don't happen to be around. regardless of country or culture, there are certain things that make it "go-time" if you say them to someone else's face. maybe it's dangerous, and maybe you could be sued or tried by the law after the fact, but i personally take those chances over hating myself for half a year and cringing every time i remember him calling me a fat shit or saying something about my mom, etc....
i would be fine with our society if we didn't learn the "law of the fist" in the schoolyard and have it translate directly into adulthood and we were instead all "star trek" about our quibbles, but that's not the reality we live in.