Ian Goldman, hit and run driver?
This is a story worth following. Treacher sent it to me, with the following note (which is a better synopsis than I can be bothered to give):
Some asshole ran over this guy’s bicycle, he got the guy’s license number, the cops didn’t do shit, he wrote up his story and sent it to this blog, and the commenters did a little digging and found out the guy is CEO of a software company!
I’ve been thinking about the various objections that a few people have had to me posting the picture of my attacker, and they all seem to come down to one thing: the belief that individuals have no business taking an active role in protecting their rights or bringing those who violate them to justice.
This summer, I was talking to a few Brits I respect (I know them professionally, and have had some fun with them after-hours) about the fact that I want to take a self-defense class. I was taken very much aback when these three men expressed discomfort and disagreement with the idea. Their gist was, “Well, even if you know how to fight back, anyone who wants to hurt you is still going to hurt you. It’s best left in the hands of the police.” (There may also have been a feeling that such a pursuit would be lacking in femininity, but that may very well just have been me over-pondering this concern for my own screwed-up reasons.)
I assumed this was a British attitude, but it seems a lot more disturbingly universal than I thought. I’d much rather fight a culture war with people like this than with radical Muslims.
Filed under: Life
The concept of frontier justice seems to be far stronger in the US. Just last night, my sister and I were watching a show about “outrageous sports moments,” and one of the things that they had in common is that many of the brawls on the playing field eventually pulled in the spectators.
I said, “Americans feel like they have a god-given right to beat the crap out of anyone once a fight begins.”
There are significant negatives to this attitude, of course, but it is part of the American fiber.
I wonder how well the Dirty Harry movies did overseas?
Talking to Antoine about this, he was saying how most of the countries in Europe (with the exception of Finland, Sweden, and - I can’t remember - maybe a couple of others) have had police states very recently. As in, there are people alive in all those countries who have seen people marched off by the state and murdered. Maybe that has something to do with an enhanced sense of “Best not make much of a fuss…or else” amongst those populations. (Also, the frontier is pretty recent history in the US.)
Just do it, nothing unfeminine about it. Sorry to hear what you’ve been through on the tube, self defence isn’t just about beating the cr@p out of scum, it’s about being more alert (as you said yourself) and being aware of your options.
Also could I suggest you look up ‘bystander effect’ on wikipedia (as already mentioned by another commentator) It may help you understand the nightmarish failure to act shown by the other passengers.
With compassion. Jon.
Go for it, it is a lot of fun to study how people’s bodies move and learn how you can manipulate their motion and mass, it’ll give you confidence and is more interesting (and makes you fitter) than the gym.
How to pick good school? Pick one that isn’t showy, it is the quiet, nice and practical tutors that teach the best way, not the strutting peacocks.
One of the best things in my life that happened to me was the enrollment at the local dojo in the Judo class when I was 6. I was a tiny, Pippi Longstocking look-alike geekesse (aka prime bullying target) and Judo not only gave me the confidence to stop those fools calmly and set up a no-tolerance zone around me, but also it saved my life on a few occasions because I know how to fall safely and I have the balance sense of a cat, so I avoided some serious falls too. It also did a lot for my personal development as I learnt to wield physical power but also how and when (not) to use it. If you ever bring up a kid, 4-5 is a good age to start them in a dojo.
They can take this view because they cannot conceive it will ever happen to them — and if it happens to someone else they’ll just stand and watch. I’m a Brit, living elsewhere, and I have recently discovered that my countrymen and countrywomen are WIMPS.
By and large, the UK cops do not follow up on assault unless it is just about fatal. It’s seemingly viewed like burglary. Not our department, squire.
I think this Ian Goldman story illustrates the potential downside of posting a perp’s name on the net. Ian claims that it was someone else driving the car. He may be telling the truth, but his name has now been slimed publicly. Not that your case is comparable, of course; just saying.
I’d advise anyone I know male or female to take basic self defence training of some form. If nothing else it help you to learn your bodies reactions to violent situations so you can keep control.
I just read your post about the assault and felt sick really, but the culture of relying on ‘Authority’ to fix things that we have slipped into in the country doesn’t help.
I hope it gets sorted out and they get caught.
I am in the US and have found myself defending a woman’s “right to fight” . . . . on the subject of rape and sexual violence I was suprised that most men argued a woman should basically just let it happen . . . if a woman doesn’t fight then maybe they won’t hurt her too badly or kill her. I was shocked to see that a majority of women felt this way as well. Society is out of control when it’s basically taught/accepted that a woman should just give up so she doesn’t get harmed “more”. Personally, I feel that I’d be off worse emotionally if I didn’t at least try to fight back. Then again, I am a fiesty little feminist who enjoys a good fight. Good job to you for posting the picture and calling the prick out.
I would suggest that if you’re intending to take self-defense training that you take the idea very seriously or not at all. You have to consider whether your response will cause an escalation and whether you are prepared to deal with that escalation. It requires training, passionless aggression and absolute control.
My own stories of self-defense comes from being bullied physically in school for years. With application of self-defense (Kickboxing, TaeKwonDo), I was able to stop an assault outside a local bar on a drunken friend of mine and prevent eight young men from rendering my brother into a pulp. Yes, people were hurt and statements were taken but my brother ended up with only a broken nose (which improved his looks) and a personal damages claim against his assailants which bought him a new car.
My advice. Take the self-defense classes and take them very seeriously. Go beyond the local nonsense taught at the community centre and interview the instructors at your local sports centre about their class content. There’s nothing I would find more worrying than an escalation with you only having the most basic self-defense techniques.