Yesterday was a bit weird and raised some questions about what to do during incidents in public. The first incident - I was sitting on the overland train and it was fairly empty. In from another carriage storms a young girl soon followed by her boyfriend. Clearly they were having a serious tiff and the lad was cussing with intense venom. She responded with all of her limited vocabulary to wind him up even further. He resorted to slapping at her possessions, grabbing her hands and calling all sorts of names, the physical aggression was beginning to escalate. I sat there, observing, weighing up the pros and cons of stepping in. But, in the end, I did nothing. Shameful non-action on my behalf? Yes I did size him up but if he started beating her, would I have intervened? I didn’t get to find out as we all got off the next stop and their bickering subsided.
The second incident on the same day – I was jogging late in the evening round my local back roads when I saw up ahead a gang of about a dozen youths ranging in age from tiny pipsqueaks to young men. They were throwing rocks and kicking in a parked car. My running path was heading straight towards them. Several thoughts entered my head – should I intervene? Should I cross the road to run on the other side? Should I do nothing? With nothing on me but my home keys and no mobile I felt strangely helpless to do anything. My dilemma ended when a bunch of guys ran over and shouted ‘Oi!’ and the kids scattered.
These incidents have left me feeling a bit deflated. Mainly because they highlight the amount of nastiness in the world, but also about my inability to do anything about them. Martial arts are supposed to give you the skills and abilities to fight and defend yourself. But they don’t offer much in the way of moral guidance about using them in real incidents. Taking an imaginary path in the two incidents above, I suspect any intervention on my behalf would have been met with a violent response with little to gain on my part.
I don’t think there is an easy answer to these nagging questions. You can only react as you see fit at that moment in time. There have been incidents in the past where I have stepped in to aid a member of the public. I don’t actually recall why I helped on those occasions but there must have been a subconscious assessment going on about the risks involved.
I make no conclusions from these incidents other than to say that there are plenty of idiots, scrotes and scumbags in the world, but why do half of them have to live near me?
The second incident on the same day – I was jogging late in the evening round my local back roads when I saw up ahead a gang of about a dozen youths ranging in age from tiny pipsqueaks to young men. They were throwing rocks and kicking in a parked car. My running path was heading straight towards them. Several thoughts entered my head – should I intervene? Should I cross the road to run on the other side? Should I do nothing? With nothing on me but my home keys and no mobile I felt strangely helpless to do anything. My dilemma ended when a bunch of guys ran over and shouted ‘Oi!’ and the kids scattered.
These incidents have left me feeling a bit deflated. Mainly because they highlight the amount of nastiness in the world, but also about my inability to do anything about them. Martial arts are supposed to give you the skills and abilities to fight and defend yourself. But they don’t offer much in the way of moral guidance about using them in real incidents. Taking an imaginary path in the two incidents above, I suspect any intervention on my behalf would have been met with a violent response with little to gain on my part.
I don’t think there is an easy answer to these nagging questions. You can only react as you see fit at that moment in time. There have been incidents in the past where I have stepped in to aid a member of the public. I don’t actually recall why I helped on those occasions but there must have been a subconscious assessment going on about the risks involved.
I make no conclusions from these incidents other than to say that there are plenty of idiots, scrotes and scumbags in the world, but why do half of them have to live near me?
byMeerkatsu
in
March 27, 2008
Sitting Zen - Citizen
Yesterday was a bit weird and raised some questions about what to do during incidents in public. The first incident - I was sitting on the o...
