Getting Involved

Discussion in 'Self Defence' started by Barnacles, Jul 15, 2015.

  1. HachiKuma

    HachiKuma Valued Member

    I think if it looked as though two girls were about to start fighting, I'd be looking for an arena full of mud to push them into.
     
  2. Van Zandt

    Van Zandt Mr. High Kick

    Or tactifool?

    The quoted text in the OP makes the author sound like a cross between a wannabe Batman and Jeffrey Dahmer.

    Carrying a chunky blade in public makes you a bigger risk (to y'self and the greater public) than a perceived unarmed thug who wants to punch you on the nose.

    Heck, I don't blame him for wanting to punch you if you carry a knife in public. It's stupid and I think it's an attempt to compensate for a lack of knowledge or confidence. Two chicks about to throw down in Macky D's? Approach 'em with palms up, a big bright smile and say, "Ladies? Let me buy ya some chicken nuggets and we can work this thing out."

    Right charmer, me.
     
  3. Janno

    Janno Valued Member

    Mate, you could well be right. Fairer to let him respond though eh? I reckon more investigation is needed.
     
  4. Janno

    Janno Valued Member

    That is the single most chilling statement i've ever heard in my life, and i can't wait to use it the next time i have to exercise my conflict de-escalation skills. The thought of me standing there, cheesy grin from ear-to-ear, saying that line wearing nothing but a chicken nugget loincloth? It fills me with tingly joy.

    Mine's a 20-box. x2...
     
  5. David Harrison

    David Harrison MAPper without portfolio

    Ah, I thought you were specifically talking about cultures where face-off knife fights are how men sort out their differences.

    Avoiding bad blood is common to most "old school" cultures, and indeed is the genesis of more elaborate justice systems.

    Again, it's about knowing your locale. The places I've been where REAL wildlife abounds do not have locals carrying fighting knives. A knife will not do you much good against a wild boar or a bear.

    A knife also doesn't do you much good against ambush either. It's the people that are doing the ambushing that carry knives, and those who are the targets can do nothing but bleed out in the dirt.
     
  6. philosoraptor

    philosoraptor carnivore in a top hat Supporter

    Hell I was in the backwoods of Africa and when we encountered wildlife it was mostly just the entire village killing it with sticks or rocks.
     
  7. David Harrison

    David Harrison MAPper without portfolio

    Never underestimate a group of humans with sticks and rocks!

    I can't even begin to imagine how much big game, as well as other humans, have been killed by sticks and rocks.

    In Eastern Europe they have rifles though...
     
  8. Robinhood

    Robinhood Banned Banned

    Bring your movie camera instead of knife !
     
  9. Johnno

    Johnno Valued Member

    That is actually a good point.

    Nowadays it seems that as soon as anything kicks off anywhere, someone will be whipping out their mobile phone and filming it. If two lasses start walloping each other in MacDonalds then you can be sure that it'll be available to the whole world via YouTube before their chips have gone cold.

    I foresee a time when YouTube will be one of the main planks of our justice system.
     
  10. philosoraptor

    philosoraptor carnivore in a top hat Supporter

    No I'm talking about a more imminent threat, like you stop to help an 80 year old out in a knife fight and then, BAM, just like that it's Hitler and you've helped start World War 3. You monster.
     
  11. David Harrison

    David Harrison MAPper without portfolio

    Very true.

    Given the ratio of monsters to nice people in humans, odds are you're better off not helping anyone.

    I now feel much better about walking straight past that granny being mugged this morning. Thanks for the pep talk! :p
     
  12. Smitfire

    Smitfire Cactus Schlong

    Get with it Grandad. They are called fries. :)
     
  13. Johnno

    Johnno Valued Member

    Bah! It's all gone downhill since we went decimal....
     
  14. Barnacles

    Barnacles New Member

    I thought my trolling skills were pretty par for the course. I forgot this place is run mostly by Brits... blimey!

    Firstly please make no mistake about this. I posted this thread for discussion, not because I needed advice on how to handle myself in public. I know very well what I would do and have contemplated it many times -- I wanted to hear what YOU GUYS would do. I want to hear agreements and disagreements, advice, past experiences, and so forth.

    The mall security is much more interested in kicking out young teenagers minding their own business, going to see a movie, than dealing with fights (they "claim" that the rule of nobody being allowed in the mall under the age of 18 after 4 PM was to cut down on gang related crimes, though, I highly doubt that's the case because violence persists there). There was a fight before Christmas where 19 people got into an all-out brawl and 1 person got stabbed. There was nothing done about it by security. Simply put, I don't care what kind of training they have in threat deescalation because they're just not going to be around when the need arises.

    Pretty much what I said as well. I'm glad someone agrees. Honestly, if two people feel the need to duke it out in front of a bunch of fast food chains, so be it. Just don't punch any pregnant ladies walking by, little old men with oxygen tanks, or knock over some baby in a stroller. Also, if someone gets knocked down and hits their head and winds up with a concussion, I would spend more time worrying about the concussed than the other person fighting.

    I like that advice a lot. Like I said in the OP, I scope the area for kids and elderly. I won't get involved in the actual physical confrontation unless something serious happened such as a child being gravely injured or if somehow someone I love got mixed in, such as an idiot swinging wildly and punching my fiancée by accident.

    That's your opinion, your training, your culture, and your prerogative. I disagree with you.

    Please, I don't mean to make this place sound like the local underground fight club and black market for narcotics is here or anything. Like I said, a lot of these fights are not reported and documented because the mall officials fear the bad publicity. It's not the safest place to be, but it's by no means a hell hole.

    So I was right about wearing my helmet to the bed wetters anonymous meeting...

    I've only met far too many people who carry literally steak knives from mom's kitchen, solely because they're scary looking knives. I can't make it up -- they said it to me themselves. Their ignorance and stupidity is what's truly scary about them. Now, all of us could always do with more training in knife wielding and knife disarms, but we do what we can. Hell, who here doesn't get behind the wheel of a car 5 days a week? Even still, walking by cars on the sidewalk carries a risk.

    1. Not letting people get hurt severely if I can help it. If not me, who, and if not now, when? I care about my community, but not in the "I'll just demand the government tax me more until the problem is solved!" kind of way.

    2. Through that description, no, but I do a lot of fight training and I've taken a few good hits to the face in the past. But again, I said my first priority is keeping others safe, not jumping into the middle of a fight.

    As I said before, my priority is innocent bystanders and minors. You can go ahead and duke it out wherever you want. I'm just making sure others don't get hurt during your outbreak of stupid. And yes, I'd even pick up someone to get them to safety if need be.

    Thank you. Far too much violence going on my city, even outside of the mall, to go around unarmed. Also, I never go outside of my lawful rights of being armed. I won't carry a hand gun until I can legally with a permit, only because my goal is to protect bystanders and those I love, and to a slightly lesser extent, myself.

    Yes, you did read me wrong. Thanks for asking. I said I would scope the area out for children and elderly to make sure they weren't injured during someone else's urge to be a caveman. Also, when I mean "larger" of my knives, I mean the one that's 3.5 inches, not 2 inches. Legal limit in my state is 4 inches. If nobody makes a dick joke out of this one I'll be impressed.

    Far from the truth. Areas became dangerous because people with a lack of empathy and compassion got a hold of weapons, and those with empathy and compassion got careless. You can trust that if I found out my neighbors house was being broken into, I'd be there to rescue them, but as soon as I took out the threat, I'd be caring for any wounds anyone received.

    YouTube footage, news reports, word of mouth, firsthand experience, friends experiences, the fact that the mall cops kick people under the age of 18 out after 4PM, and that stabbings and shootings have been occurring more often, and closer to my house, for the past 10 years...

    Not the ladies in my city... *shudder* got some ugly ones here. :p

    And this post sounds like a cross between someone who reads every other sentence and a person who struggles to find female companionship. Yep, I'm definitely on the internet I am.

    I trust people to have their cameras on them. My concern is bystanders.

    This post and...

    This post. Hilarious.

    EDIT:
    --

    Guys, I apologize if I made this mall sound like a place for only crazies to go to. It's not. It's (in theory) a great tourist attraction with a lot of great stores in it. It's just the city itself has had an increase in violent crime and I simply wanted to discuss with other people how they would handle seeing a violent altercation take place. I said it once, and I will say it again to reiterate: I mainly go there during the day when everyone else is at work/school, so there's less risk of being in that situation. If I go there any other time, I make sure it's only to see friends and catch a movie. I hate being there alone, especially now that I've become more aware of how often incidents like this take place. But if I saw someone else getting violent, my first priority would be to protect innocent children and elderly and others who are incapable of keeping themselves safe in case the fight becomes especially dangerous.
     
    Last edited: Jul 17, 2015
  15. aaradia

    aaradia Choy Li Fut and Yang Tai Chi Chuan Student Moderator Supporter

    Barnacles, could you please stop "shouting" at us with the huge letters at the beginning of your posts? It isn't making your point stronger, it's just very annoying. It's just not polite Internet etiquette.

    Thanks!

    (To be clear- asking as a regular member- not a mod.)
     
    Last edited: Jul 17, 2015
  16. aaradia

    aaradia Choy Li Fut and Yang Tai Chi Chuan Student Moderator Supporter

    You say that mall is not a crazy dangerous place, but frankly I doubt it. I am 50 years old and have never ever seen a fight break out in any mall I have been to.

    Never ever!
     
  17. David Harrison

    David Harrison MAPper without portfolio

    How many old ladies, old men with oxygen cylinders or babies have been injured in this mall? Do any of the youtube videos show innocent bystanders being accidentally punched by gang members?

    I'm not having a go at you for wanting your community to be a safe place. I'm not having a go at you for not giving in to thugs who are ruining your mall. I'm not having a go at you for carrying a knife as a tool.

    I do think it's a bit ridiculous to carry a knife as a weapon though. Have you honeslty come to terms with the idea of butchering a real, live person?

    I also think your idea of saving old ladies who might get hurt by young people fighting is perhaps getting your priorities skewed.
     
    Last edited: Jul 17, 2015
  18. Barnacles

    Barnacles New Member

    My apologies! Haha. I forget how text is rendered differently depending on your screen.

    The size of the area plus the amount of floors, then there are stores with multiple levels and literally two theaters, and at least 6 bars but I know there are more that I can't think of. There simply aren't close to enough security guards for everyone to be safe. And then there is the recent rise in violent crime in the area lately. I highly doubt the place has always been that bad, but sadly it's also the only place to go shopping anymore, because of its tourist attraction status, all the local malls surrounding it are going under! It's really frustrating to want to go to two, maybe three stores to buy a new outfit or two, and go to another place entirely for movies and entertainment, but have to wade through all sorts of people just to get there. I've been telling friends for years that the smaller malls have much more comfortable and clean theaters and arcades, but nobody listens to me.

    Oh and also the security guards there are literally not allowed to do anything! Just recently a local video game store owner had a system stolen from his store (not in the mall). He found it being sold on Craigslist, and called the seller and offered to meet the guy for sale in this very mall. The guy took a run for it when he realized what was happening, and the store owner tackled him. Security in their infinite knowledge demanded the store owner let the thief go with the store owners smart phone! Rather than apprehending the thief or calling the police that are in the mall at all times.

    In the videos I've seen, thankfully as far as I can tell, none of that is present. However, when there's a news report that 19 people got into a fight and only 1 person got stabbed, it's pretty obvious that any and all rules the mall has implemented have done nothing to prevent this kind of thing from happening.

    Thank you for not having a go at me for those reasons. You're welcome to disagree with the idea of carrying a knife as a weapon, too. Do you feel any differently about people who carry a machine that fires a hot chunk of lead at +1000fps, capable of killing in a single shot? You can wield a knife without butchering someone. Knives aren't a one-dimensional weapon like guns are, and they may be used to prison shank people but that's not the only thing you can do with it.

    Sorry for making it seem like carrying a knife was a prerequisite for being a good member of the community. Unless that's not what you were getting at. Please elaborate if that's the case.
     
  19. David Harrison

    David Harrison MAPper without portfolio

    In a shopping mall? No, I would think that is equally silly and dangerous. I honestly think it's the product of childish hero fantasies.

    If you don't want to cut people up, aren't there much more suitable weapons to carry than a blade?

    What do you have in mind regards the knife's application? What have you trained for and visualised?

    I wasn't saying it's a prerequisite. I'm saying that you are not making the old ladies of your community safer by carrying a bladed weapon.
     
  20. zombiekicker

    zombiekicker bagpuss

    ThAt made me spit my beer out
     

Share This Page