Jesus it's tough. Old habits die hard and all that. Anyway I went to see Iron Man this morning. Early because I hate crowds. Great movie by the way. My favorite of the three. And I'm sitting there through the end credits for the little bonus scene when in walks this guy with his five kids. Funnily enough the kids weren't the problem. They walk in, sit down all nice and quiet like one row below me in an empty theater and the credits are still rolling. No big deal. Then as soon as the bonus scene starts the father gets up and proceeds to hand out straws to the kids effectively blocking out the majority of the screen. So I put my hands up in annoyance and say "really bredrin?" and the asshole who also happens to be Jamaican starts going off like I'm the asshole. Anyway there's other people down below who were waiting too so I don't say anything, I just get up and move to the side so as to not cause further disruption meanwhile asshole gets up and walks outside. The scene ends and as I'm walking out he walks back in and we meet in the hallway and he's still telling me I how I was being an dick. Now there was a time when at this point we would be throwin down. Kids, no kids, fuck it, it's go time. But today I walked away. And let me tell you it feels horrible. I don't know how people do this. I'd rather spend the weekend in jail on some misdemeanor assault charges. This is bullshit. Being the bigger man blows and god help the next fool who runs off at the mouth to me today.
It's because he knows you'll likely walk away that he does it. Small kiddies, the world's finest ticket to being a cunt.
You know what? Being "the bigger man" does not mean taking a boot to the balls. That's some bullshit the smaller man convinced you of, because it was to his advantage. More often than not, being the bigger man means you chokeslam that manipulative little son of a cunt.
Seriously. And that's what he kept saying too. "I'm here with my kids and you should of just moved". The movie he paid for didn't even start yet. Some old lady though that was there with her family gave him the business as she was walking out and that was pretty funny. I'm 32 now though. I can't go hauling off and fighting someone in front of their kids over some little slight any more. The wake up call was a few years ago when me and a friend of mine are looking on the county website after bailing out my little brother, again, and realizing everyone we know and grew up with has felony charges. I have a daughter. We all have kids now. It's time for a new paradigm. That shit aint easy though.
Yeah, listen to ol' visionrazor. He's "chokeslaming" people from behind his keyboard all the time....
Herbalist is right. Life is not a John Wayne movie. Life is not a Chuck Norris movie either. Life is not Roadhouse, and none of us are Patrick Swazey. You can go to jail for assault and battery, end of story. Injure someone severely, and you will go to prison, end of story. Last week a 17 year old punched a soccer referee, and the referee is in a coma. This referee had been attacked before, suffering broken ribs on one occasion, a broken leg on another. Third time's the charm, now he will likely die or be brain damaged. Any 32 year old who even thinks about getting physical is rolling the legal dice. I will get physical for one reason...defense of my life or the life of others, period.
As much as the desire is there, Herbalist, you still did the right thing. As much as that guy was being a total dick, beating the shit out of him (as satisfying as it would be) would send a horrible message to the kids. That being, that someone giving you words means you should give them fists in return. That's not how civilized society works, even when it is something you just want to do with every aching fiber of your being. Like El Chup said, he did it because he knew he could get away with it. Take solace in the fact that he requires children around him, as a shield, for him to present his yellow spine, and that you're made of tougher stuff by walking away from the cowardly douchebag.
To be fair this guy was big and seemed to be the kind of guy who'd be an asshole regardless. That wouldn't of stopped me from throwing a headbutt in the past but certain things have been happening in my life where I realize I can't keep straddling the fence with regards to the law anymore. Half my family are criminals and the other half doctors and I've sort of been inbetween my whole life. But it is time to put that shit behind me. I have to admit there is a big part of me that enjoys the excitement that comes from that couldn't give a shit ride and die lifestyle and if it weren't for my daughter that's probably the side of the fence I would of come down on. A guy have me a break the other day. Didn't have to. It kind of stuck with me. There is no half in, half out anymore.
Blocking the view at a theater is pretty far down on the list of bad things one person can do to another. But I do wonder about the worse stuff people do and frequently get away with - like rape or tormenting someone until they commit suicide - and it sort of surprises me that more people don't take the law into their own hands when our justice system fails to give justice even when the accusers feel certain of the defendant's guilt. Surely some people would fear the law less than they would fear evildoers who are out there and free to strike again.
Here's the thing: The majority of humans are stupid, self-centered, and inconsiderate. People who walk through a doorway and immediately stop like their brain just completely shut down or they were somehow teleported to the location and have no idea what is going on--blocking traffic for everyone else. A group wandering down the sidewalk at a snail's pace--side by side so no one can get past them. At least you made the effort to point out to him that he was being a boor. I likely would have just grumbled about it and then bitched here. While he decided to bluster, there is a chance that your confrontation will sink in with him. Barring that, karma has a way of taking care of things like that and some time he'll piss off the wrong person. A somewhat similar story--a few weeks ago I was at Taco Bell at midnight. Carload of belligerent jackasses are making their way into the place--shouting and cursing at each other to the point where I considered just going someplace else. One was particularly bad--a classic mean drunk, although I didn't smell any alcohol on any of them, which makes me a bit nervous that something else is going on. Anyway, three go in to order but one decides to go back out and argue with the guy driving the car some more. His buddies ordered. I ordered. The guy behind me was ordering when he reels back into the place and says "Hey buddy, I'm with those two guys" expecting to cut into line. The guy looks at him and says "Good," and continues to order. For the rest of the time that everyone is waiting for their food the jackass is trying to pick a fight. The other guy, who was pretty big and didn't look like anyone to fuck with pretty much ignored him until his food showed up and left without a fuss. But it was a tense 5 minutes or so and I was positioning myself to stomp the shit out of the jackass and move on to his friends most ricky-tick if it came to that. I considered telling the guy to calm down, but the way he was acting anything anyone would have said would have almost certainly escalated matters and while the guy probably desperately needed a beating, at the time the best solution was to just let him show his ass. (Of course if I wasn't 4 months out from knee surgery I might have behaved a bit differently. I dunno.) Years back I was waiting for the train and some girl was being extremely belligerent and abusive to another girl she knew. I would call the behavior bullying. I kept quiet and didn't get involved until she became physical. At that point I said "KNOCK. IT. OFF." As a reward, for the next couple minutes, until the train showed up I wound up the subject of her verbal abuse. But it ended the initial fight.
I think what keeps shitheads from getting the ass-beating they so deserve is the fact that decent folk (who are the type to intervene) have jobs that demand they stay out of trouble, and families that demand they stay out of the hospital. Sad but true - you try to "act like a man/hero" and you might end up in jail or shot/stabbed. You can't depend on the police to actually hear your story and take your side. I guess if we lived in Mayberry, but we don't. Funny thing about loud, bullying arrogant people - they will break the law in a minute, but know decent folk will not, which further enables them.
