Turning The Other Cheek (urgent)

[Doc]

Thank you Martha. Sadly I was neither presented all the facts until I was face down on some rocks.

And NetDoc,
The symptoms have passed. I found only recently that the unbalance in the walking was caused by an unseen nasty cut on my knee. My vision was blurred partly by the sun and the schock of being punched for the first time and not to mention I was very thirsty and exhausted from a bike ride. I will make sure to be cautious for a while though.

As a side note, many can think of me as that roundish jolly kid that many know. Laughing at everything and even trying to make humor out of this as I left. Well as you know the roundish jolly guy rarely gets in fights and when he does, well this happens. I will make it my duty to ensure this never happens again to me or anyone else near me. The Roundish Jolly Man must change. He refuses to take that again from other ruffians. Starting as soon as possible, I am going to work out and stop eating cheetoes and muffins and other garbage. By the last days of the summer, I will be prepared for something like this. I am not going to be fit just so I can go out looking for fights but instead make sure another defeat like this ever happens.

I feel humiliated as a result and somewhat angered that I ran away instead of helping Mossburg and the little kid who was in the way of danger and could have been hurt too.

Last of all, since I have been able to calculate thoughts now and in the past few hours, what is the best advice if another situation like this happens?
Choices...

-Take it or Turtle Battle Strategy as I used at first (not anymore)
-Run and call for help (tried it today and was laughed at by would be helpers and then another punch or two)
-Fight back (logical, but could result in much more pain for both me and attackers.

You see, these are the kinds of things that seem to be the hardest questions to answer. I mean my love of non-violence stretches to a point where I feel the need to defend myself and others. When I get into this sort of predicament, non-violence seems like a flawed logic as much as I would normally say otherwise. I mean violence has worked for the betterment of humanity in the past. The Holocaust would not have been stopped with picket signs and marches for life. Hitler would not have just left because he felt the general public opposed him peacefully. He would have laughed and gassed them.

So the next question for all of you, does violence ever work (particularly here) and if so, when is it justified?

 

[retrorich]

And after you turn the other cheek, you still have two more cheeks to turn.

 

[angellous_evangellous]

I agree with NetDoc.

However, we all have stories like this in our past. I suppose that everyone of us had an encounter like this - either as the agressor or as the victim.

 

[Prima]

So the next question for all of you, does violence ever work (particularly here) and if so, when is it justified?

Yes and no. It depends on the situation.

If you are in a government building or area, or close to any store or business, never fight back (with the exception of, say, a dark alley or downtown at night) Never, ever fight back. Self-defense is one of the most unsuccessful defenses when you're up against a battery/assault charge! Unless you or another person are near death (unlikely in a crowded area) you'll have a few bruises and the other people will have jail time.

I would say that in other cases - such as yours - only fight to protect someone else, or if you know you'll win! If you're just going to get beat up on, and you have a nonviolence policy, don't fight back. Exceptions: if there's someone vulnerable who needs protection. I mean protection in the broadest sense, as in you causing problems so they're fighting you instead of him/her. If you're sure you'll win, you have two choices. Either hold to your nonviolence, or 'teach them a lesson' The latter can sometimes give bullies a knock on the brain and make them realize that maybe being a bully isn't so great. I wouldn't suggest it, though, because guys with hurt egos like revenge. Also, I would say it isn't your job to teach someone a lesson.

However, in my case, I would probably fight back. I'm just wimpy like that, I'm terrified of being molested/raped. I wouldn't care if I was sure I was just going to be beat up. And besides, I hate not standing up for myself. It irks me.

There's my two cents