> Getting into physical fight was much more common than today
This is something I often think about. I think we (as a society) have lost a certain something by the reduction of violence. I'm not advocating for violence here or anything, but sometimes a knuckle to the face is the lesser of two evils. We hardly ever see "regular" violence anymore, by which I mean the occasional fistfight. When violence is brought to our attention, it's using knives, guns or bombs. I think in a way we've become so afraid of getting punched in the teeth that we've now collectively become afraid of standing up to people. Only the police are allowed to execute violence, and in handing over that responsibility we've lost some of our guts.
Some anecdata:
Years ago, I was witness to an attempted robbery in a restaurant. Some idiot came in and threatened the owner with a bottle. The place was packed, but everyone suddenly found something else more interesting to look at ("ooh, I'm wearing new shoes", "ooh, there's some fries on my plate"). No one got involved, because 20+ people were afraid of one idiot with a bottle. I grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and threw him out while the owner snatched the bottle out of his hands. We held on to him until the cops showed up. But no one else did jack shit. No one even asked if the owner was ok or anything. My faith in humanity took a deep dive that day.
Something tells me that had this happened 100 years ago, a lot more people would have been willing to get involved.
TL;DR; Exposure to small-time violence might help us feel safer and be more responsible adults.
This is something I often think about. I think we (as a society) have lost a certain something by the reduction of violence. I'm not advocating for violence here or anything, but sometimes a knuckle to the face is the lesser of two evils. We hardly ever see "regular" violence anymore, by which I mean the occasional fistfight. When violence is brought to our attention, it's using knives, guns or bombs. I think in a way we've become so afraid of getting punched in the teeth that we've now collectively become afraid of standing up to people. Only the police are allowed to execute violence, and in handing over that responsibility we've lost some of our guts.
Some anecdata: Years ago, I was witness to an attempted robbery in a restaurant. Some idiot came in and threatened the owner with a bottle. The place was packed, but everyone suddenly found something else more interesting to look at ("ooh, I'm wearing new shoes", "ooh, there's some fries on my plate"). No one got involved, because 20+ people were afraid of one idiot with a bottle. I grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and threw him out while the owner snatched the bottle out of his hands. We held on to him until the cops showed up. But no one else did jack shit. No one even asked if the owner was ok or anything. My faith in humanity took a deep dive that day.
Something tells me that had this happened 100 years ago, a lot more people would have been willing to get involved.
TL;DR; Exposure to small-time violence might help us feel safer and be more responsible adults.