I'll take the middle ground; I don't think he went there to physically start a fight, but you're correct that stirring up shit can get you hurt or killed out of nowhere, no matter how capable you are. That guy who got brained by Bike Lock Dude comes to mind. Thankfully he was alright, as far as I know, but head injuries can take you out permanently, pretty damn quick.
But, in this video when it did get physical, he kept things going, which I'm not impressed with. It was hilarious that he said something like 'martial artists don't start fights,' when he was obviously itching to go. Personally I would have liked to see a bit of a shove before the collar grab, then go ham if he keeps advancing on you. Getting slapped, slapping in return, and then into immediately pulling and grappling isn't super classy. At least give him a chance to think better of it and walk away, even if he was the initial aggressor.
I'll take the middle ground; I don't think he went there to physically start a fight, but you're correct that stirring up shit can get you hurt or killed out of nowhere, no matter how capable you are. That guy who got brained by Bike Lock Dude comes to mind. Thankfully he was alright, as far as I know, but head injuries can take you out permanently, pretty damn quick.
And that's without a knife or gun.
My dad always taught me to avoid confrontation with strangers at all costs because, he said, you never know who has a knife with him. And you're simply not winning anything by doing it. (Of course, this does lead to social decay, because no one is confronting people who should be confronted, but that is a wider phenomenon. It's not up to me to solve all the world's ills. Like Philip II's secretary said when reproaching him for taking on too much: "Your Majesty, if God wanted you to solve all the world's problems, he would have given you the means by which to do so.")
I used to think that he was paranoid, but... like with many things 'dad' says, it takes time for the wisdom to become apparent.
Avoid confrontation for sure, but if an angry garden gnome slaps you, you gotta respond. I guess if you bitch out your odds of living do increase from 99.9% to 100%, but at what cost? In what sorry worm-like state are you going to enjoy your absolute safety?
Yeah, you're right. I think more out of instinct than anything else. Not gonna calculate the pros and cons in such a situation. But if he's just insulting, I wouldn't try to escalate further (except maybe again out of instinct), as that serves no purpose.
This is funny and all, but going there with the intention to start a fight is just stupid. You never know how far people will go, or who is armed.
I'll take the middle ground; I don't think he went there to physically start a fight, but you're correct that stirring up shit can get you hurt or killed out of nowhere, no matter how capable you are. That guy who got brained by Bike Lock Dude comes to mind. Thankfully he was alright, as far as I know, but head injuries can take you out permanently, pretty damn quick.
But, in this video when it did get physical, he kept things going, which I'm not impressed with. It was hilarious that he said something like 'martial artists don't start fights,' when he was obviously itching to go. Personally I would have liked to see a bit of a shove before the collar grab, then go ham if he keeps advancing on you. Getting slapped, slapping in return, and then into immediately pulling and grappling isn't super classy. At least give him a chance to think better of it and walk away, even if he was the initial aggressor.
And that's without a knife or gun.
My dad always taught me to avoid confrontation with strangers at all costs because, he said, you never know who has a knife with him. And you're simply not winning anything by doing it. (Of course, this does lead to social decay, because no one is confronting people who should be confronted, but that is a wider phenomenon. It's not up to me to solve all the world's ills. Like Philip II's secretary said when reproaching him for taking on too much: "Your Majesty, if God wanted you to solve all the world's problems, he would have given you the means by which to do so.")
I used to think that he was paranoid, but... like with many things 'dad' says, it takes time for the wisdom to become apparent.
Avoid confrontation for sure, but if an angry garden gnome slaps you, you gotta respond. I guess if you bitch out your odds of living do increase from 99.9% to 100%, but at what cost? In what sorry worm-like state are you going to enjoy your absolute safety?
Yeah, you're right. I think more out of instinct than anything else. Not gonna calculate the pros and cons in such a situation. But if he's just insulting, I wouldn't try to escalate further (except maybe again out of instinct), as that serves no purpose.