First of all, I am very thankful that I can express myself honestly in the blog. It relieves me and it helps me develop my writing skills which I believe still need a lot of improvement. So tonight I was on my way to the gym right after my class. While I was walking, I notice a woman punching at a guy... I do not know where is this anger coming from. I am not sure whether or not the woman started the fight. I do not know what happened. What I saw is that the guy kept pulling on her hair so he could get a hold of her. I saw another girl walking by me and I was like: "He probably did not hurt her that bad so maybe he's cool." Then she reply: "No, he actually punched her!" She probably was more attentive to the details than I was so I agreed with her. Suddenly, I felt a rage coming inside me; I wanted to just jump at the guy and make him pay for what he has done. But then again, I was starting to think twice... He probably was not alone. There probably were about three men with him. I am starting to wonder how I could handle this situation if I attacked him. What if they jump at me with knives? What if they have guns? So, I move away and go to the gym...
Now, I am not feeling guilty about anything but I am still wondering why I did not fight. Is it because of my ego? Is it because I am not confident enough to take on them? Or is it because it was the right thing to do? Yes, I was not in good shape tonight since I caught a cold but still why did I run away from it? Maybe I am thinking too much about it. One day, I hope to handle such situation a better way. As human beings, we can always grow. We can always improve. Sometimes, it is good to question one's behavior. That's the only way one can know about oneself. If you can think of anything to help me out, I would appreciate it. Thank you.
If I was in your sitation I doubt I'd jump in as well. Personally, I don't have the confidence to feel I would be able to take a man down. Like you said, he can just pull out a gun or knife & I'd be done. Why would I jump into a situation knowing I'd get killed. Now if it were me being attacked, ofcourse I would fight for my life, because I have no choice...but fighting for a stranger? I understand how you feel & trust me, it's not just you!
ReplyDeleteThe most that I'd do in this sitation is report it to the police. I know that may seem pointless, but it would take a heavy conscious off my back knowing I made some sort of effort, rather than ignoring what happend.
I'm torn between this situation, because their are many dynamics that this can take. As in...what if it were 2 men fighting, would you still find guilt? Is it because you saw a woman that you were inclined to fight? hmmm... sorry, I may not be much help, but you definetly gave me something to reflect on today.
I look forward to what others have to say!...
I think you made a good point about reporting it to the police. In that area, police hang out there a lot. I think you were a good help. Now I regret that I acted just like everybody else: ignoring the whole situation and move on. I felt like I did not care about neither of them now.
DeleteYou are also asking a good question: what if it was two men fighting? In society, women seem to have more special treatment. Many people would have enjoyed watching two men fight but when it comes to a man and a woman fight, they would empathize more with the woman. Whether the woman is wrong or not, she will get away from the situation. But in reality, a woman can be just a bully as a man can be. Therefore, I would not glorify men fighting each other, women fighting each other, nor men and women fighting each other. If your life is in danger, I would understand but I would not enjoy it. It also would be better to report it to the police as well if there were two men or two women fighting too. Thanks Todai Ai. I am glad you could help. I look forward to see you in the Red Rank one day! :D
I do agree. Women can definetly be the bully in this situation, but ofcourse they can so easily play the victim card. (& most likely get away with it) I tried hard to stir away from gender, but I think that's the sociologist in me from college. I took many gender & sexuality classes in my undergrad.
DeleteAnd I'm glad I could help & Thank You! I feel so close, I'm literally like a pull- up away! ahhhh... but patience.
& Good Luck to you as well, it'll be great to see any one the online todai earn red!
Taking sociology class. That's pretty good. Thanks though. I want to earn the Red this year. I am trying my hardest to reach it. This week is not my best since I caught a cold. I cannot push myself as hard.
DeleteI think it's a tough one because you didn't actually see all that went on. If the man just assaulted her and she was hitting him in self defense, it would have been good for someone to step in, but it could have been a domestic fight and maybe she got mad and started hitting him just because she was angry.
ReplyDeleteIt would suck if you got yourself killed trying to protect a woman who got herself into trouble because she couldn't control her anger, but if she was innocent and being abused, then it would be good for someone to help. I guess if you were a badass, you could help her either way because a man shouldn't assault a woman anyway, but since you didn't see what exactly happened, I can also see why you didn't do anything.
I agree with Ai that I would consider calling the police if I saw that. I personally wouldn't feel confident enough to step in myself. I'd probably just get beat up too.
Lol. Unfortunately, I am not a badass at all! I am not Batman/Bruce Wayne; otherwise, I could have took everyone down in a second. But instead of resorting to violence, I believe calling the police would be a better choice. In that way, you would not hurt yourself nor anyone else. I may hurt their records but that would be their fault, not mine. And no, I am not too confident about fighting multiple opponents like these guys yet. Even if I did...it depends. Like you said, I do not know how she got herself hurt but it would be a shame to die for someone who got reckless. Thanks for the heads up Todai Lian. You girls are the best!
DeleteSpeaking of Batman, did you see on the news where the man wearing a Batman costume brought a burglary suspect into the police the other day? I think it was in England. If you have to start rescuing people at the gym, maybe you should invest in a super hero costume too!
DeleteLol. Oh yeah I saw it. The police probably will never know who he is ever again. Haha. That's kind of surprising. Maybe I should get the Dark Knight Rises costume. Haha.
DeleteKang, I have actually taken both kinds of approaches to such situations, the hero and the guy who looks the other way. I was lucky the times I've taken the badass approach, that I didn't get my badass kicked. There was never any fight, but there was always threat of one. What I found though was that after making a display and warning me to mind my own business, the guys being bullies would back down. On one occasion, a guy even started crying to me afterward, trying to explain why he was being that way to a woman. During these occasions when I interfered, I was younger, and more stupid. These days, I don't know. It's been a while since I came across a guy actually 'man-handling' a woman in public. I do have a neighbor that I think beats his wife and kids though, and I've yet to phone the police. Part of the reason for my hesitancy to interfere is because the guy is a firefighter, and so is known in those circles. His buddies might just look the other way, and tell him who's stirring shit for him. Next thing you know, me or my family are being harassed. In general, I agree with Todai Ai, that you should call the cops. They're the ones outfitted with armour, weaponry, and a licence to interfere. But if there was a woman being hurt, like right now, bad, I hope I'd have the guts to be a man and get directly involved, even if it didn't look like the odds would be in my favour
ReplyDeleteThank you very much. Getting your badass kicked?! It's hard for me to imagaine. Haha. You have been training for a very long time even before FMK and I think you would have done just fine. I saw the video Hannibal For Sellout. Clearly, that's what he has become. I thought he develop himself naturally but this video showed me how fake he has become. Was he even real to begin with?? My God, where is the fitness industry heading to?
DeleteYeah, I was surprised at that video, because it seems to be sending all kinds of messages that are completely opposite of what I thought he and the BarStar types were supposed to be standing for. As for the future of the fitness industry, I've had this conversation with my brother, who's right in the thick of it, and totally disagrees with me... but what I see is that the trending fitness is moving away from the industry and toward various forms of free, natural development. You look at real martial arts, parkour, barefoot running, calisthenics, tricking, all of the kind of stuff people are moving toward and posting their own video demonstrations of, none of it requires special training gear. It's all about exploring the natural movement of the human body. So faced with this, what does the fitness industry do? They try to find an in. For instance, they develop shoes that have toes, so they might tap into the wallets of the barefoot runners. Or, in the case of this Hannibal commercial, they try to pitch supplements as though they're drugs, hoping to appeal to the urban kids who idolize the Bar Starz. The industry has no ethics. They're just about money. They'll happily sell you a treadmill for a couple grand, knowing full well that you could just walk out your front door and go for a run for free
DeleteI think I'll write a new post topic about this issue with the industry. There's lots to talk about
DeleteYou definitely should. I can't wait.
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