You and your best mate are walking down the street, during a good night out. Currently moving onto the next venue. You've both had a bit to drink, he/she has had quite a bit more then what you have. Now you friend has had a past. Street fights, drinking... Always coming out of a fight pretty bloody, as you can expect. Although only in very rare occasions coming worse-off. He's lived such a life, and knows how to survive. Across the road you see some old friends. You friend beside you, doesn't know them. After crossing the road and having a little chat, you cross again. A friend of the old friends across the road starts calling over. Seeming like in a joking manner - curses and offensive language. Again, seeming it as in jest. You friend doesn’t see it that way. He's insulted. He calls back. The guy across the road thinks that’s in jest, and continues his joking taunts. He seems like the kind of guy who's never left his home, never hit the town, never thrown a fist. He understands little about what goes on in the late/early hours of night. The very opposite of your friend. Who's seen most of what goes on, and gets very defensive at the slightest offence he sees coming. Especially after he's had quite a bit to drink - in which case he gets much more edgy then what he is normally. As you can expect, he steams across the road. You make it just before him, placing yourself between the two. The other guy still thinks it's a joke, a jest, a play. You tell him to just keep walking. He still doesn't understand what’s happening. You friend gets around you, and just as he's about to plant a knee into the guy's skull, you manage to pull him away. He falls to he ground, and gets up more determined then ever. You get between them again, facing off your friend… who, not to mention, has had a hell of a lot of experience in situations such as this. And so you are confronted with a problem What do you do?? If you don’t do anything, everything is going to get very nasty. So, what do you do?
talk first - whilst still in front of him. Keep talking holding them back as much as possible - if that doesn't work get your other friends to get the other individual as far away as possible whilst still trying to calm your mate. I get the impression that if I try anything violent with my mate he'll hit me so I don't bring my hands up. I don't try and restrain and get my jokey mate as far up the road as possible. Best I can do as I know I personally wouldn't be able to restrain them and wouldn't want to get my other friends physically involved. Sorry
I didn't want to say, but since you asked: I grabbed him again pushing him away. He started yelling abuse at me, and started to raise his fist in a threatening manor. I told him "WTF you think you're going to do?! Hit me?!?" I slammed and pushed him into a wall, yelled "Wake the **** up!" And then swung him back across the road with no reguard on whether he ended up landing faceward into the gutter on the other side... He later told me after things calmed down : "You do alright, ay?" Suprising, coming for him. He's seen me as no chance. At least I finally got some freaking respect from him (after 18 years) out of this. So it actually ended up better in the end. He's my closest cousin... and closest friend too I suppose. And only 2 weeks apart in age. Although we are completely different people. So that may explain abit. Now Back on topic, how about some input for the thread?
First, I'd call after him, something like 'don't do this, mate. Leave it.' If he carries on marching across the road, I have three options: 1.Follow him and help him beat up this punk. 2.Follow him and forcibly prevent him from beating up this punk. 3.Leave him sort out his own mess. As far as I can see, the best option to take would be number 2. If my mate was a lot bigger than me, I'd take number 1. Number 3 is not a good call.
