lambchop wrote:Drakeem wrote:rand wrote:You have the right to talk crap. You don't have the right to hit someone for talking crap.
I think here lies the problem in general with a lot of what goes on outside today, and while I still maintain my stance of the punch was unwarranted and escalated things way too far, we as a society reward or shield the instigators of situations far too often. More should be done to punish the person who throws the stone and hides their hand because if the spirit of the law is to keep society orderly and peaceful, people instigating situations to happen is going against that ideal.
The end game of that is just a bunch of honour killing, because guys want to "keep it real". People are getting their feelings hurt over mere words. Sometimes even one single word is enough to lead to homicide. It's just silly.
Those 2004 Pacers also felt like they were doing the right thing and keeping it real. It just ended up being an awkward experience for everyone involved and then bogus dress codes and other garbage were implemented to help guys behave.
Stop placing words in my mouth that I didn't say. People who take the law into their own hands should be punished. However, the same way how we have laws regarding obscene acts in public to make sure people can get through their day normally is the same way we should be policing the people who end up being the ones at the root of some of these problems.
Whether its the workplace, just on the street, at a group meet up, etc, the instigator almost always gets off free. It's showing people that being an **** is promoted and supported as long as you can get the other person to bite on it. Lets punish all parties to the extent that they escalated the situation. The dude throwing the punch can get a much bigger penalty, but lets not let the first guy just be the victim either (no longer talking about this particular situation).
