Violence.

How comfortable are you with being, or not, involved in violence? After getting in the middle of an adolescent barney outside the shops last night, leading the obvious victim away, I once again ruminated on “the bystander theory”.

Why will a full bus stop of people be defeated by inertia while one half-drunk half-wit shouts some moral diatribe at a congregation of middle class teenage **** before dragging one home to dismayed parents?
Stupid people.

Is everyone still fighting outside Yates?

Why? Wanna make something of it?

Leave ‘im, bear! ‘e’s not worfit!

LEAVE IT DARREN! HE’S NOT WORTH IT!!!!!

OI! YOU! BINNERS! You copying my material, mush? Eh? Are ya? ARE YA?

Can yer mother sew?

Having gone out to move on some youths waking my kids up I was set upon by around ten on the twenty or so. Not nice being on the ground having your head kicked even by fifteen year old and realising of I do then have any ability to do anything I’ll end up on the excrement end of the stick. Along with them knowing where I live.

I leave well alone. Too unpredictable.

Five pounds to the first “LEAVE IM DARREN”.

Serious point raised above and one I’m most concerned with is the headline “Young father kicked to death”.

Leave it is indeed the right of those with shit to preserve.

About 5 lads hitting and kicking another teenager in chester a few years ago jumped out of van, in middle of traffic and me and a mate and a lady pulled them off the lad, , the ones attacking him shouted , “But you dont know what hes done”, i just said i dont care, go away and surprisingly they did.
6 FOOT 3 , AND 15 stone helped i supposed, and all the the other faceless lazy, ignorant bystanders and fellow motorists, just decided it was a good time to look at the cracks in the pavement.

Only get involved if you’re willing to get hurt doing so.

Only once got involved when my mate and I saw a young woman getting some abuse.

Have accidentally started it by shouting at muppet drivers.

I’ve learnt to pick my battles, but I won’t stand by and watch someone getting a kicking, even if all I can usefully do is call the police and take photos.

I think it’s easy to be critical of people who don’t get involved but I’m not sure that’s fair, and it rather seems that we’re psychologically geared towards it (look up bystander apathy in general and Kitty Genovese in particular). Plus, as mentioned before, people got shizzle to be protective of. Getting involved in other people’s kickups is taking short odds on a kicking for yourself.

I’m not a fan of getting my head kicked in just because one scroute is laying into another scroute.

It’s not always scrotes on both sides though, is it?

I was a very shy pretty quiet young lad. One night, aged about 13, I was walking home from Scouts with a few mates. We will have been polite and well mannered. Next thing I remember is waking up a day later, cuts, bruises, black eye and Dad on a camp bed next to mine as I’d been unconscious. For some unknown reason we were jumped by ‘casuals’ (football hooligans, Edinburgh, mid 80’s). Probably some kind of ‘prove yourself’ gang crap – very brave. I still have scars on my knees and elbows from the unprovoked attack, but no memory of it.

I like to think that if someone had walked past, they would have stepped in. Well done, cfinnimore. However, even now, I’d be unlikely to do so following the above experience. I’m a lover not a fighter!

Has been a lot of work done on the theory of mob & the reaction of crowds.
Not the obvious outcomes you would imagine from the un-subjective point of view.

The father of an ex girlfriend,an Irish ex boxer and longtime British Legion manager,was passing the local Kebab van at the end of the evening when he saw a lad kicking off with his girlfriend, our man stops the car and confronts laddo only to get a broken nose and a pair of shiners courtesy of the girlfriend!
We have had teenagers outside on a friday night, I have asked them to move on and never had trouble,very aware it could go either way.

I have stepped in to stop a lad getting thumped, but would always judge level of risk before doing so.

Pick your fights

Depends on the severity of the situation I guess and ones confidence in dealing with it. Violence isn’t something most people are accustomed to and probably goes some way to explaining reluctance to get involved.

I had a bunch of drunk kids (about 20 years old) kicking off outside my house about two months ago. I’ve not slept in about 15 month (baby) and lost my shit completely. Went outside barefoot in the rain and got angry very quickly. I guess being threatened by a crazy eyed, beardy bald man wearing nothing but shorts in the cold at 2am had the desired effect as they ran off. When I got back in the wife was far from happy and had imagined me arrested or dead.

I’ve stepped in to stop people getting hurt on a couple of occasions in and outside pubs. Couldn’t watch somebody get hurt despite what the outcome for me may be. Luckily I look a bit mean (so I’ve been told) and that helps I guess. If it ever got physical I don’t know what would happen. My looks don’t reflect my disposition.

Been involved in a fair bit. It’s never good, but sometimes needs must.

Used to be an occupational hazard. tend to avoid it now.

I have noticed, in me own experience, that there’s less yoofs outside the shops than there was a decade ago.

Xbox, innit

rene59 – Member

Only get involved if you’re willing to get hurt doing so.

Exactly this. It is, as my dad said, much worse to get a kicking when you’re not expecting it. OTOH, I can’t fight for toffee but tbh that’s not the gameplan is it. It’s been a while, like to think that wouldn’t make a difference, who knows really.

Two times I’ve got a pasting.

First, walking along minding my own business, pretty hammered, summer 8pm busy street. Some guy approaches from behind and asks me for a cigarette “sorry mate I got nothing” keep walking. Next thing I know I’m 50 yards up the road surrounded by people asking me if I’m okay after cigarette guy and his mates (5? 10? God knows!) started smacking me, first punch back of the head, all I can remember is covering my head and keep walking. Broken nose and stitched up eye. Pretty glad I didn’t fall over.

Second. Come out of pub after playing a gig, had a couple so leaving gear and walking home, no-one about. Bit further down the road see two guys smacking about another (guys on the ground and out and they’re still hitting him) Can’t remember much except running full pelt at the nearest one before getting a proper shoeing, couple of broken ribs but apparently I managed to cover my head again, and my ‘war scream’ as I ran to superman the nearest guy got the bouncers attention. Worst hangover ever, but got free drinks from the pub for a while ’cause the bloke getting a kicking when I intervened was a local, learning difficulties, apt to saying ‘the wrong thing’ and these two caaants took offense. Also very weird watching CCTV of myself tackling someone at full speed and then getting maybe four and a half shades kicked out of me before the bouncers got there.

Neither time did I throw a single punch or got anything worse than a night in hospital.

Squared up to a few people being arseholes before and after but thankfully (not a big guy, 5’11, 12 stone) nothing came of it. I think I watch too many Marvel movies, and get righteous when drunk.

I used to be blasé about wading in on fights when I managed a pub in my town throughout my mid 20’s (this was in the mid 90’s, oasis/blur/dance music years) it was your typical fishing town pub where folk used to come straight in off a long trip with their pockets full of cash and fuelled up on drink, quickly followed by stupid amounts of coke, speed, 100’s of pills etc, we’re talking many oz’ of coke being thrown around, I once confiscated a 1/2kg oily block of pink champagne amphetamine from one crew back from a 3 week trip after landing in Holland, I found them they chewing lumps from it at the table, I rationed them to a small amount each every time they came up to the bar for another round of drinks – never a dull moment that’s for sure.
It was a very rare occurrence if we managed to get through a night without having to split up a big fight in some form or another, when you get a bunch of fishing skippers/crews all drinking together then progressing to betting thousands of £ or car keys, house keys etc on cards/pool/darts etc then something has to give, which with the testosterone fuelled egos being thrown about soon deteriated into brawls and the usual fights. When I first started I was pretty terrified as some of the fights were proper vicious but over a period of time I got to understand when to expect something to kick off and I would attempt to subtly diffuse the situation which sometimes worked yet other times it was a total lost cause and you had to wade in against every fibre in your body screaming run away you fool.
I knew everyone by first name, most of the folk I actually knew as friends (my 3 closest friends are skippers) and I guess that helped along with the fact that if it got truly out hand then they knew I would call the boat owners as a last resort – that was an ultimate last resort though, only if things looked to get stupid.

Just the thought of being in such an obviously volatile environment now gives me the fear n’ the willies but I guess if you are in that position week in/week out you become desensitised to a certain extent and I guess we used to thrive on the buzz and adrenalin, I certainly would not get involved in a splitting up a large fight but if it was just just a one on one or a situation like the op described I wouldn’t hesitate to get involved, – I **** despise bullying of all forms.

Living in some of the less salubrious areas of Manchester, and working in the Hacienda at the height of the madness, thus being on first name terms with some genuine wrong ‘uns, I quickly learned that there are only 2 rules.

1. Head down, keep walking.
2. I didn’t see anything officer

Contravene either of those at your own risk

An Oxford theologian once told me aggression is frustrated creativity.
Next time I see a dust-up I will provide the protagonists with some paper and crayons and ask them to draw me a vista.

never worth it

http://road.cc/content/news/40650-ray-edens-killer-jailed-after-pleading-guilty-manslaughter

really depends I dont have any rules as such but I am more likely to act than not act depending on the scenario and the protagonists

Jumped in once, not sure I would again.

Out with some mates in Cambridge and walking to the cab rank at about 3 in the morning I spot two girls in a doorway being pawed by two blokes. The girls didn’t look at all comfortable with the situation and one was crying.

We asked if they were OK and it all kicked off. They were squaddies; one bloke clearly up for a fight and a little bloke who wanted to stay behind his mate.
The girls started screaming “they’re our boyfriends”. The fightie bloke just ran off up the road, while his mate was talking to me saying ‘it’s fine, I’m military police’. Next thing, fightie bloke cones back with his shirt off and starts throwing punches at people – bit silly really as I think there was about 6 of us, so we all jumped on him to stop him hurting anyone.
In the end, they went one way and we went the other. The girls had wandered off to the bus station and a few mins later one of our mates turned up who had decided trying to get the girls phone numbers was a better idea than getting in a fight.

It was stupid, because at the end of the day we just wanted to make sure if the 2 girls were safe.

Living in some of the less salubrious areas of Manchester, and working in the Hacienda at the height of the madness

Binners you may have known an old friend of mine Graham Ola who worked there at that time

I’ve piled in a fair few times with varying results. Kebab man over the counter to us all with the elephant leg knife in hand being one of the more interesting ones. Black ear that night, pisses all over the pain of a black eye…

I see you black ear and raise you tooth through mouth.

Once stopped 2 blokes from beating a girl up in Greece years ago. The girl ran off and they turned out to be under cover police who were on the take. They beat me up then I got sentenced to 14 days 😯

Never had the need to hit anyone since I left school. Cant stand violence, although I would if it meant protecting my friends and family.
Its the lowest common denominator.
Being having an english accent in Glasgow in the 80’s and 90’s could be interesting…
I’ve managed to talk my way out of a few tricky situations in the past. Never be afraid to use humour and take the piss out of yourself to defuse the situation.
Oh and being 6’5″ and around 16st doesnt do me any harm.

The father of an ex girlfriend,an Irish ex boxer and longtime British Legion manager,was passing the local Kebab van at the end of the evening when he saw a lad kicking off with his girlfriend, our man stops the car and confronts laddo only to get a broken nose and a pair of shiners courtesy of the girlfriend!

At the end of a normal night on the lash, when walking back up the main bar street to get home, I saw a lad of similar age bawlin n swearin n shoving at a smallish lass on her own, so I went over, gave him a friendly shove and asked him to try that with someone his own size. He shat himself and backed off, but the ‘victim’ started whacking me in the head with her stilettos, which got the old vino flowing. Would still step in though.