“If you bore witness to a fight in the streets, something that appeared to get out of hand, would you step in and try to assist the person being beaten on?”
At the time, I really had no answer. I believe that alot of street fights have to be viewed at in different ways. Does it appear to be a mugging? or does the fight actually have reason behind it?
Is the fight continuing, even tho the person being beaten has obviously lost? is it a brutal beating?..etc.
My own questions began to flood into my mind. Would I truely move in to help using the abilities I was given? or should I simply look past the situation and let nature take its course.
No more than 2 days afterwards, I was presented with such a situation. While waiting on a major street for a bus to take me home after work, I notice a large group of kids looking between the ages of 16 to 20 running through traffic. It didn’t really phase me at first, I assumed the kids werent watching the road and tried to cross regardless of the existance of rush hour traffic. Half the them made it all the way across the street and stood at the bus stop while the other half waited for traffic to stop. I then heard screaming, and as a bus began to pull up, of of the girls in the group attempted to push a guy’s face into the oncoming bus. The guy managed to avoid the bus, I noticed he was craddling his arm as if in pain. He then jumped on the bus, tossed in some kind of fare and sat down. The group was demanding him get off the bus. The other half of the group got there, with this large thug like guy, who I can only assume to be the ring leader or this problem started banging on the side of the bus wanting him off. The bus drove off and everything ended with a few final threats.
I stood there watching this. Seeing a group of about 12-14 kids trying to take down one person didnt sit right with me.
To be honest, I was already “rolling up one sleave” until I noticed the guy got on the bus and got away.
My question to everyone is…
“If you bore witness to a fight in the streets, something that appeared to get out of hand, would you step in and try to assist the person being beaten on?”
Originally posted by Midnight “If you bore witness to a fight in the streets, something that appeared to get out of hand, would you step in and try to assist the person being beaten on?”
Do what you can, when you can.
I’m not getting killed because someone I don’t know shot their mouth off, but I have certainly stepped in and said enough is enough when I though it was warranted.
HEeeeeeeeeeLL no… you could be defending someone deserving of an a$$ whoopin… plus a 12 man stomp out isn’t the best feeling… add to that a bat to the dome… a knife to the gut… or a bullet in the (pick a spot)… i’d call 911 if i had a cell tho… but i don’t have one…
Originally posted by Midnight
[B]Perhaps I can add my own question to the mix then.
“If you were the one being beaten on in the street, and could see people around you watching. Would you not wish for help from someone?” [/B]
yes i would… would i EXPECT help… no i wouldn’t… would i do my best Carl Lewis impression just like homeboy in your story… HEEEELLL YES… do i put myself in situations where 12 teenagers wanna kick my a$$… most of the time… not really…
Suntzu’s extra Es in his “Hell yes’s” gave me a good chuckle
Backbreaker:
That particular story has extra significance in the fact it was on a Canadian Holiday, where drinking happens by almost everyone you bump into. Police pressence is rampant on Canada day.
Most days however, at least in the streets of the ‘Peg’. Police pressence is best found at the donut shops.
In my city very few fights happen one on one. I used to be in the streets alot so i have seen one guy jumped by 10 to 15 guys. Those from dallas know about the State Fair and The Mall during the last day of school, and pretty much when the temperture goes up so does the violence in The Metroplex . Here are a few occasions in which i would help out:
Man on women (yes)
Two men on one man (only if i saw the incident from the
beginning and the one guy did not deserve it) (Yes and No)
Older man being beating to the point where he gives up by
younger man. (Yes) I have a soft heart for elders and kids
and women
6 to one (nope call the cops and tell them one the cops been
called )
Friends/Family of mine being jumped (yes Loyality means a
lot I would expect it from them. If they did not help me then
when i recovered they are in for it.)
Dont get the wrong idea about DFW. You just have to learn to read your enviorment just like everywhere else in the world.
what up fam… well i have… luckily by no more than 3… and luckily i ran track at the time … but for than a few around here have died or worse from a group beatdown… people that ain’t even in on it jump in just because…
Last summer I saw a pretty vicious street fight right in front of my house. It was a warm day and I had just gotten off work. My roomate and his girlfriend were on our front porch drinking a few beers and listening to the ball game on the radio. I joined them and about 1 minute later we heard this yelling. Some people catty corner across the street were yelling and screaming at each other. The ended up being right in front of my house in the middle of the street. It was 4 Vs 1. They beat on him a bit and made him go home. So the guy getting beat on left and went home. We then saw him walking right back up our street this time with something in his hands. The 4 men were still pretty much right in my front yard on the curb of the street. They exchanged words and the guy pulled out a blade. One guy took off his shirt and started swinging it at the arm that was holding the blade. It looked like a straight razor, but I dare not get close to confirm it. The guy weilding the knife took one crazy over committed swing and missed the guy he was trying to slice. They rushed in, disarmed him and beat him to a bloddy pulp. They were smashing his head in on the concrete curb, punching his body all over the place, stomping on him, just really working him over.
The cops and an ambulance came. They guy who got the holy crap beat out of him got arrested for assault with a weapon. There was a huge pool of blood in the middle of my street.
I watched the whole thing happen and I did not get involved for these reasons.
No idea who those people were
NO idea what the fight was over
Multiple attackers
weapons
The cops came and took my statement about what I saw. The guy had a chance to go home and drop it, but he decided to come back with a knife. He got his @ss stomped for it. Hopefully he learned his lesson.
Evaluate the situation.. if you think you can help, do it.. whether the loser deserves it or not isn’t the issue.. it’s unlikely we know the whole story.. but, no one deserves to be beaten beyond submission, laws and the legal system are the tools of justice, not anger and rage.. if it’s a gang beatdown, say some kind words for the nearly or dearly departed, because in the blood-lust they will turn on the interferer with equal violence..
We are obligated to intervene and control obvious physical injustice when we can.. if we can help and don’t, we are no better than the brute that is doing the beating.. worse, actually, at least he acts on his beliefs.. I’ve been a bouncer, i know very well the feeling of horror as others watch while i got stomped, but i will not become my fears.. if i can help i will, if i can’t i will seek help from LEOs (Law Enforcement Officers)..
Gangs and bullies rely on the fear of onlookers to feed their deeds.. society will evolve or devolve to some degree dependent on the willingness of its members to take a stand.. at some point we must “stand and deliver”, deliver our personal belief in a better way, a system of justice, or just common respect for life.. but, to do nothing is a vote for anarchy and street justice..
Well, i guess it’s time to drop and roll, i feel the heat comin’.. Be well..
If I were alone and felt this guys life was in serious danger, I would give warning that I "saw a police cruiser rolling nearby" (as if I were attempting to help the guys doing the beating). That usually makes most people break without even looking to verify. If that didnt work, (keep in mind that I am under the firm believe that his life is in danger) I make sure I dont have one of their friends anywhere behind me and "tell them to break it up" since at this point he is surely already bloody and fooked up. Try to plead assuage them that yes indeed, the guy has already sustained an arsewhompin and the job is done. If they wanna continue on me then I draw my pistol. If this show of force isnt adequate and they make a move, I go from low cover and aim for a few attackers legs. If the gunfire or the sight of their friends blood doesnt scare them then I am in deep **** since these guys are serious. At that point, by the letter of the law (Texas, at any rate) I will drop one person at a time until they retreat. If I run out of bullets then I draw the knife or pistol-whip. Prolly the knife since knives inspire an altogether "different" kind of fear. Anyways, I think the fundamental cowardice of the average gang banger wont allow things to get this far.
Bottom line is, I fookin hate gang bangers with a passion. Anyone without the common decency to beat the crap out of someone one-on-one is lower than dogshiyit. People pulled alot of this cr@p when I was younger and I don't have the stomach to watch it anymore.
Depends on the situation. I have stopped muggings before. I’ve also stopped a man from beating a woman.In the situation you described, all you are doing is begging to get stomped. You would be better off calling 911.
you had no background on that situation… that guy may have stolen something from them, or beat up some girl, so they were chasing him down.
The closest I’ve come to this situation was a couple of years before I started MA.
I was walking to an art opening or something downtown with my friend John on a Saturday night. A crew of six or seven drunk frat types were shouting rude and suggestive stuff at a young “alternative” looking woman (black clothes, dyed hair, peircings, like that) as they followed her. I guessed that they’d been harassing her for a while since she was walking away from them quickly and keeping an eye on them, but not saying anything. John and I both removed our glasses and came between her and the guys. She gained some distance and they turned around and left. I was ready, but not prepared if you take my meaning, to throw down. Of course, in this instance nothing came of it.
Would I do it again? Hell yeah. How could I live with myself if I didn’t?
unless it’s man vs. woman, or an elderly person or even a kid…I’ve even accosted a woman beating her child because that REALLY pi$$es me off. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for corporal punishment, but slapping the kid in the face repeatedly is a bit uncalled for. I whispered in her ear if she hit the kid again I was going to bust her teeth out. She got the message, but I still feel sorry for that kid to this day, and it’s been several years ago…
Ive seen a robbery take place in mid day while I was drinking beer with my gangster friend, first a guy screamed Polive and got punched in the face (2 guys did this they robbed an old man and a old woman) and my friend just stood there watching and smiling while they ran right by us with purses. I kind of was mad but didn’t feel like chasing them or fighting them. My friend afterwards said “you got to do what you got to do to mae it.” We were walking by later and the old guy had a bloody nose.
Originally posted by Gangsterfist
[B]Last summer I saw a pretty vicious street fight right in front of my house. It was a warm day and I had just gotten off work. My roomate and his girlfriend were on our front porch drinking a few beers and listening to the ball game on the radio. I joined them and about 1 minute later we heard this yelling. Some people catty corner across the street were yelling and screaming at each other. The ended up being right in front of my house in the middle of the street. It was 4 Vs 1. They beat on him a bit and made him go home. So the guy getting beat on left and went home. We then saw him walking right back up our street this time with something in his hands. The 4 men were still pretty much right in my front yard on the curb of the street. They exchanged words and the guy pulled out a blade. One guy took off his shirt and started swinging it at the arm that was holding the blade. It looked like a straight razor, but I dare not get close to confirm it. The guy weilding the knife took one crazy over committed swing and missed the guy he was trying to slice. They rushed in, disarmed him and beat him to a bloddy pulp. They were smashing his head in on the concrete curb, punching his body all over the place, stomping on him, just really working him over.
The cops and an ambulance came. They guy who got the holy crap beat out of him got arrested for assault with a weapon. There was a huge pool of blood in the middle of my street.
I watched the whole thing happen and I did not get involved for these reasons.
No idea who those people were
NO idea what the fight was over
Multiple attackers
weapons
The cops came and took my statement about what I saw. The guy had a chance to go home and drop it, but he decided to come back with a knife. He got his @ss stomped for it. Hopefully he learned his lesson. [/B]
Your a coward. And you call yourself gangstersfist.
Originally posted by Losttrak
[B]If my wife were with me, not a chance. Too risky.
If I were alone and felt this guys life was in serious danger, I would give warning that I "saw a police cruiser rolling nearby" (as if I were attempting to help the guys doing the beating). That usually makes most people break without even looking to verify. If that didnt work, (keep in mind that I am under the firm believe that his life is in danger) I make sure I dont have one of their friends anywhere behind me and "tell them to break it up" since at this point he is surely already bloody and fooked up. Try to plead assuage them that yes indeed, the guy has already sustained an arsewhompin and the job is done. If they wanna continue on me then I draw my pistol. If this show of force isnt adequate and they make a move, I go from low cover and aim for a few attackers legs. If the gunfire or the sight of their friends blood doesnt scare them then I am in deep **** since these guys are serious. At that point, by the letter of the law (Texas, at any rate) I will drop one person at a time until they retreat. If I run out of bullets then I draw the knife or pistol-whip. Prolly the knife since knives inspire an altogether "different" kind of fear. Anyways, I think the fundamental cowardice of the average gang banger wont allow things to get this far.
Bottom line is, I fookin hate gang bangers with a passion. Anyone without the common decency to beat the crap out of someone one-on-one is lower than dogshiyit. People pulled alot of this cr@p when I was younger and I don't have the stomach to watch it anymore. [/B]
dude you carry a gun on you everywhere you go? wtf.
… but for than a few around here have died or worse from a group beatdown… people that ain’t even in on it jump in just because…