From: shane@psych.psy.uq.oz.au (Shane Brown)
Newsgroups: rec.martial-arts
Subject: Re: Rats and Stuff (dogs too)
Date: 22 Aug 92 04:19:29 GMT
Followup-To: rec.martial-arts
Organization: University of Queensland. Oz.

In article <1992Aug21.143822.3270@sei.cmu.edu>, psc@sei.cmu.edu (Peter
Capell) wrote:
> 
>(snips)
> 
> Case and point with humans:  Once upon a time when I had near zero training, I
> was sitting on the hopper in my parents bathroom when I heard a tremendous
> disturbance outside.  I looked down from the second floor window to see what 
> was going on.  To my horror and surprise, there was Mr. Vestal, our
> 75-year-old neighbor, standing in the middle of a gang of 5 guys, one of whom
> just threw a full can of beer at full force, smacking Mr. V. square in the
> back between the shoulder blades.  Clearly this was trouble and clearly I had
> to intervene in whatever way I could.  Needless to say, I was terrified and
> without solutions.
> 
>(snips of the sensible non-violent response on Peter's part)  
> 
> Anyway, here is the dilemma.  I think I did the right thing probably.  No
> question about helping Mr. Vestal, but I mean I think *not* fighting was
> probably the best possible scenario.  The problem is that with my MA training,
> I think I would have behaved differently.  I'd have pasted that asshole.
> Frankly I would have enjoyed it.  I would have enjoyed slicing his head off in
> front of his friends and making them eat his ears--sorry, this is how I feel.
> My anger at their behavior is profound.   Now that I am trained, my instincts
> have degraded in other words.  I feel that I must return to an old mental
> state, where I place the highest priority on peace.  Actually I think I still
> honor that value, but I sometimes fear that my ego will get the better of me
> in a similar situation one day, and that I won't do as well.  On the other
> hand, perhaps I was just acting in the flow of the tao, and perhaps my actions
> were at the time fully appropriate, and perhaps I will be able to do the same
> in the future if only I am able to reign in my ego and tune into tao.  One
> thing I am sure of, my "Ghengis Khanian" reaction is inappropriate in any case
> I believe.  
> 
> Life is so weird.


Acronym definition : SFOL "Sad fact of life".

SFOL #1 ...some people are scum. Of course, there are people who
dedicate their lives to finding out why some people are scum, and
who try to intervene before some people become scum. However, some
people are still scum.

SFOL #2 ...some of the people who are scum, will NOT abandon their
predatory behaviour unless they have a good reason to.

SFOL #3 ...many people will not come to the aid of a person being
victimized. Often, this is because to do so would mean putting their
own life at risk. However, some people will not display altruism, even
if their life is no danger whatsoever. I remember back to my social
psychological days, and the wonderful experiments on altruism I studied.
One experiment involved having an actor fake a coronary in the street.
I find it hard to believe that many people just walked on by, even 
though at the time NO-ONE was helping the (albeit acting) sufferer.
Hard to believe, but true. The Kitty Genovese (sp?) story is another
case in point, where a man stabbed a woman and left her for dead, only
to come back later and finish the job because none of the people (who
could not have missed hearing her screams) in her apartment building
had (1) gone to her aid, or (2) even called the police, while she was 
bleeding to death.

SFOL #4 ...put the other three together, and you get the picture.

Peter, I just hope that in a similar situation I would have the
courage to do what you did. To go down with fists and feet flying
might have meant a stay in the hospital or worse. To remain within
the comfort of your home might have meant hospital or worse for
Mr. V, or Tom and his fiancee.

I know that I study a MA, to ensure that I at least have options
if a situation gets out of hand, and I can't talk my way out of it.
The acid test has yet to come.
An ego is a good thing to have, but as they say "sticks and stones...".
Of course, this begs the question; doesn't it just reinforce predatory
behaviour, if you placate such a person with words and actions,
rather than bouncing them off the concrete ? Still, I tend to think
that using violence might simply reinforce the use of violence as
a means to an end. Then it's just a case of the predator making sure
that they are better prepared next time (fist->knife->gun).

...Yep, universal peace and love would be a wonderful thing, but
I'm not going to start holding my breath just yet.

(o  ) (o  )      ( o ) ( o )      (  o) (  o)  -------------------~
...AND KIDS, FEEL FREE TO       Shane's Opinion: Guaranteed to be ~
   TRY THIS AT HOME !!          worthless or you pay DOUBLE !     ~
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