I remember the male testosterone in middle school. On the bus going to and from school.... "Hey could you beat him up? What about him. Oh I could easily take on Mikey...."
Then they'd go to me.. "Hey Joe, Think you could take on Keith?
Me: "Why?"
Them: "I dunno, but do you think you could take him?"
Me: "I have no reason to, he's my friend.. I see no reason why I'd ever have to hit him, so why bother think about it?"
I still think that way. Violence isn't the answer. Defense might be, but violence in its most basic form should be avoided. You can talk your way out of it. Tell a REALLY funny joke, or even say something so confusing, that they lose track of why they wanted to hit you in the first place.
I haven't gotton into a fight, and I hope I don't have to. I'm not the biggest guy, but if someone I know needs defending, I'll have the determination to stand up for them. And that falls into my category... Bluffing. I'll give threats... but they are a bluff... Sort of. I'll say it.. and its mostly to scare you off, but if you push... and you push hard enough.. I'll follow through. I bluff whenever needed... My friend (though I never hit them or anything) know the same thing. They know I wouldn't harm them unless they were trying to kill me.. but they also know not to push me.
I think thats kind of how it all works really. I may not look like the biggest guy out there. In fact I KNOW I'm not the biggest guy out there. But my idle threats are stated with determination. And that determination speaks through me. If people catch on that you won't 'wuss out'.. they tend to think again.
Example: On a camp, I was bunked with 6 or 7 guys.. all of which could take me... alone. They pissed me off to where I stood up and pointed out how foolish and immature they were acting & then pointed out that if they had any objections that they could talk it up to me Face to Face. Thing is... I knew they could take me.. no question about it... but they also listened and heard it through me. I wasn't asking for a fight mind you... even though through my words... I certainly impllied it. They heard what I said and how I said it... Things shaped up for the better, not for the worse.
Also, I find that being nice to people tends to avoid having to do anything in the first place... 20 years of life and not a single fight has to account for something.
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RoboBlaster:
Welcome to the club! Not that I'm in the club. And there really isn'a a club in the first place. But if there was a club and if I was in it, I would definitely welcome you to it.
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