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Unlike probably most people here on HN, I have done real violence to someone else. Over and over, in fact. I had the cops called on me and I've had to live with
by ahoyhere 16y ago
Unlike probably most people here on HN, I have done real violence to someone else. Over and over, in fact. I had the cops called on me and I've had to live with the consequences. And I don't mean legal consequences.
Beating up on other people kills you inside, slowly, because it shows you exactly what kind of person you are.
It doesn't matter if you're "standing up" to some other kid. Violence is violence.
I'm not saying violence is never required, but if you're resorting to violence when a smile and a chuckle will do, you're weak -- you don't have enough willpower to control yourself, or brains to think up an alternative.
- hasenj 16y ago> Beating up on other people kills you inside, slowly, because it shows you exactly what kind of person you are. I disagree. What kills you inside slowly, is all the authority figures telling you what a horrible person you are for defending yourself. I mean, by all means if you live in a place where the cops will actually do something if someone hurts, just call the cops. But you have to remember that the world doesn't consist entirely of north america.
- mcantelon 16y ago>It doesn't matter if you're "standing up" to some other kid. Violence is violence. Self-defense and unprovoked violence are two entirely different things. The law recognizes this and so do most sentient beings.
- jacoblyles 16y ago>"Thee law recognizes this and so do most sentient beings." Sadly, this does not include most school administrators.
- tomjen3 16y agoHe said sentient beings.
- pjscott 16y agoIt would be inconvenient for them to recognize the difference between provoked and unprovoked violence. The grand unifying theory of bad school administrators can be summed up in one word: indifference. (Not malice, as many assume. They genuinely don't care who started a fight.) Obviously, this doesn't apply to every single administrator. #include <std_disclaimer.h>
- jerf 16y agoYeah, and being bullied kills you inside too, only quickly and with much more duration. If I could go back and do it all again there'd be two or three more swung fists. Probably no more than that, either, because that's all it would take. In fact I think this debate would be really different if defending yourself against being bullied actually required sustained violence, but instead rather we're in a world where I can ask "How many people have killed themselves that could have been saved by them instead swinging their fists once?" and get a number probably at least in the thousands. This isn't just a philosophy debating match; children are dying over this, and a lot more are getting badly hurt.
- ahoyhere 16y agoMy mother used to beat me, until I was big enough to fight back, which I did. Guess which hurt me more? Her abuse of me doesn't weigh on me nearly as much as mine of her, because in the latter I had a choice. So there you go.
- jerf 16y agoWe're not talking about parental or family abuse here. This is bullying, which is not the same thing. Being less bad, it admits of different solutions.
- jerf 16y agoWe're not talking about parental or family abuse here. This is bullying, which is not the same thing. Being less bad, it admits of different solutions.