This is an interesting thread, to be honest this is one of those moral issues that I really struggle with. So before I share a recent experience I’d like to say that I don’t know the answer, it’s a very complex issue with repercussions no matter which choice you make. As far as I can see you just have to prioritise those repercussions as best you can, usually in a split second or two, and act accordingly. Some people will always think you did the wrong thing, some people will always think you did the right thing – no matter which course of action you chose.
So, my ‘recent’ experience was actually about two years ago. I’d just come back from a night out for a mate’s farewell and I was in search of a dodgy kebab or something, as you do. I’m wearing a suit, with an expensive laptop in the backpack I was wearing, walking down the Twickenham high street chatting away on my mobile phone. There are a number of flats above the shops on the high street and there was a party going on in one of them. As I walked past I felt something brush through my hair and quickly looking around I saw something rather solid bouncing off the road. These two’partygoers’ had thrown something at me. Still talking on the phone I settled for the ‘Headmaster Finger Wave’ (index finger, not middle ... in a true teacher style, it kept me amused anyway ...) and kept going on.
About three shops up there was a pizza shop that was open so I decided on getting myself a nice little ham and pineapple number. I was waiting outside the shop to finish my conversation on the phone before ordering when all I hear is “You got a f(*%^( problem mate”. I turn around and these two legends decided to come down and ‘sort me out’ for being a ‘smartarse’. Great. They had my back to the glass shop front and were blocking my path to walk away. They were quite aggressive and started to really close my personal space – it was obvious what was going on. So I decided to take the initiative to try and put the odds back in my favour – so I went in as hard and fast as I could. A: It’s the only language these knobs understand sometimes and B: I was ******ed if I was going to stand around and wait to find out one of these idiots had a knife or something. I may as well have turned my back, lifted my shirt and pointed out where they could slot a knife between my ribs. Yes that is extreme, but hopefully it makes my point about passive acceptance.
I am a father of four children and could have gone to jail for assault, apparently purely because I threw the first punch. If this had of happened it would have risked having my VISA revoked and my family deported (cue the colonial jokes …) – which would have a dramatic effect on a lot of people. At the time I prioritised my own health and safety over the needs of my family. You could argue that my health and safety is paramount to the family unit … there’s valid arguments on both sides which is what makes it such a complex issue – in my view.
I still don’t know what the right thing to do is; I only know what I would do again under the same circumstances. I fully understand that not everyone is in a position to do that – I’m not judging anyone. I was a soldier in the Aus ARMY for 7 years and did an unarmed combat course. It was that training that made me take the initiative, otherwise I probably would have gotten a good kicking.
Anyway, I hope someone takes something from this. I actually wrote this yesterday and the message board disappeared when I hit Post Reply so I’ve typed it again!