Bowling For Columbine (Guncontrol)

[Ishtvan]

I demand that this thread be locked, because clearly my self-developed Drunken Wombat Five-Knuckle Flower Water Cascade style is superior to that puny He Bei Taiji!

[Skol]

And did you know that if you have cranberries and you stew them like applesauce, you have something that tastes a whole lot more like prunes than rhubarb does?

[Komag]

I like rhubarb raw, freshly picked!

[sophisticatedZombie]

Another thing to keep in mind is that its never about honour to the mugger. They arrange things so that you don't stand a chance, and to them, its just business. If you fought a mugger over honour and later told him thats why you fought him, he'd probably just think you were crazy. He, as a mugger, knows he can't steal your honour by jacking you in the street more than anyone else. Hell, if he left a way open for you to maintain your honor he wouldn't be good at what he does.

 

Your anger is understandable, but your attacker, when he is in mugger mode, is a memetic disease, not a human being that responds to social interactions. Don't take it personally. Still, martial arts training can improve your chances if you ever run into a totally irrational killer. And, a good trainer will help you deal with the anger so that you don't get into a fight you don't have to. Alot of victims of crime wind up getting involved in a violent incident within 6 months of the attack, and its never a good thing.

[Maximius]

I like rhubarb raw, freshly picked!

 

 

Once I beat up a mugger with a bunch of fresh rhubarb.

 

Ok, the thread is back on track.

 

Phew.

[OrbWeaver]

I don't understand people's concern about "honour", it just seems like macho crap to me (i.e. giving your money to a mugger means that your testacles are smaller than his). But then, being the School Geek meant that "honour" was never available even if I had wanted it, so maybe I am just more used to not caring than some people.

[Maximius]

I don't understand people's concern about "honour", it just seems like macho crap to me (i.e. giving your money to a mugger means that your testacles are smaller than his). But then, being the School Geek meant that "honour" was never available even if I had wanted it, so maybe I am just more used to not caring than some people.

 

Agreed, most self-defense types I've known, including my cousin who has three black belts and experience in half a dozen other arts and sports, say to do what the badguy tells you unless doing that will place you in greater danger. If he wants your wallet, toss it to him. A guy I used to work with knew another guy who was killed by muggers. He and his girl were walking at night when a guy stopped in front of them and demanded their stuff. This guy was a martial artist and he told the guy to fuck off. Then the guys partner came up from behind and stabbed him in the kidney. Had he tossed his stuff over, there is a good chance nothing drastic would have gone down.

[Order of the Hammer Bureaucrat]

So the key is to never carry much cash and always have backups of your laptop and textbooks. I used to carry only a debit card in 2000, as I considered it neat and tidy to only have to take a key and the card. Incidentally, Canada has the highest spread of debit card machines in stores. Now after seeing that a debit card is not useable in all cases, and in some cases shop-owners will not charge me tax if I pay with cash, I carry only cash. I used to be a geek, as were my friends. Sure, I had no social life. But I understood things faster than others, had more knowledge in my head, and got more marks. Incidentally when I went to first year university and tried to act socially and make friends I was met with cold stares of dismissal as everyone around me were hardcore chinese geeks. Now that some years have passed and I retreated to lead a solitary life I see that most people formed into groups and became social. Took them a while. The honour aspect can be regarded as, "how dare you violate my person!" It was unthinkable for gentlemen to venture outside their houses without a sword, later it was the cane. These days it's the similar situation with cell phones. They are both a utility for communication and a fashion device, much like swords and canes were utilities for self-defense and walking/self-defense and fashion. I carry my cell phone turned off most of the time because I don't like people reaching me. If they want to talk to me they should come to me in person. Maybe I should carry a cane, be the only person following this out-dated fashion. If it's not leaded it's considered fair for self-defense. Otherwise it's a weapon. It's illegal to carry swords in public spaces in Canada, but it's legal to own them, so that is ruled out. Unfortunately the French martial art La Canne is dying out. Fortunately I think any training in any of the asian martial arts involving a pole or a stick combined with carrying a cane everywhere can be useful. Incidentally, I love tahin. Anyone else love tahin? I only appreciate rhubarb with strawberries in a pie.

[Komag]

what? Will you type that again, please, thanks