Would You Fight Like a Man?

Over the weekend, one of my male friends (let’s call him Manofidiocy) got what he richly deserves: a swift punch in the head. I won’t go into the details of the fight but, suffice to say, it was a drunken misunderstanding. The other bloke laid a pretty tidy right-hander on his jaw. He was in the wrong and they have worked out their differences after a dozen of bloody fists flying in all directions.

At the time, Manofidiocy was pretty juiced up. The guy who stumped him got kicked out of a party we were attending and lingered outside. Eight beers into the night, he surprisingly asked my thoughts on the matter. “Should I go outside and try snot that bloke?” he asked. I thought I gave him a spot on advice: “This can end in one of two ways: you go to hospital or to jail. You’re not a bloody teenager, suck it up, and go home” Nevertheless, he still ended up with a bloody face.

I often hear guys being told to “fight like a man”. If you don’t choose to fight, you’re a wimp, a coward. I’ve had male friends who have been hospitalized because they “fought like a man”, refused to back down, and misjudged the odds.

image from www.stlouisselfdefense.com

Some men buy into the whole concept of honor, respect, pride; which is not bad at all considering how society has changed. There are plenty of things to fight over – women, respect, honor, family, pride, country. This is what we were told by books, movies, even our own social circle.  What if we remove ego from the equation?

Of course there are exceptions. If your loved ones are threatened – fighting then becomes a necessity. Who is cowardly enough to watch his family, an old person or a child injured or killed because he refuses to intervene? Aside from some rare situations, is there any justifiable reason for coming to blows?

Why not take things back to how it once was somewhere in the world. Challenge the other person to duel 10 paces in the lane behind the pub or sword fighting instead of going in with flailing fists.