Who Is More Of A Man?

[jacki]

[ QUOTE ]
So, having pounded my head against the brick wall of Ero's indomitable libertarian fantasies, I decided to give his scenario 2 seconds of thought. Here goes:

Ero is sitting at Table A with the Jerk. Jerk draws out on Ero and begins to make fun of him for it.

Jerk: AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.
Ero: I don't appreciate that.
Jerk: AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.
Ero: You'd better stop now, buddy.
Jerk: AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Sissy!
Ero: I'm warning you. Stop.
Jerk: Yeah, or what?
Ero: Or we can go discuss this outside.
Jerk: I don't think so, I'm having a good time at this table, and you're 4 inches taller than I am.
Ero: No, I insist we go outside.
Jerk: Lighten up, dude, I don't think so. You're gonna try to beat me up for laughing at a poker table?
Ero: You've stepped over the line.
Jerk: What line?
Ero: The line of inexcusability.
Jerk: What, am I bothering you?
Ero: Yes, but not so that I'm upset by it. You see violence is a tool, like a toothbrush or a hammer. Particularly like a hammer.
Jerk: Um, but we live in a society of laws...
Ero: LAWS ENFORCED AT BAYONET-POINT!
Jerk: Can I finish?
Ero: AT BAYONET POINT!
Jerk: And those laws say that punching someone is worse than making fun of them for losing a pot at a poker table.
Ero: Don't mix me up with your moral relativism.
Jerk: That's not relativism, that's just that one is assault and the other is what, being annoying?
Ero: Listen, bad laws and also laws against punching don't apply to me.
Jerk: Um, I'm not sure I follow.
Ero: You're expected to take care of yourself. Ergo, if you cut me off in traffic, I have the right to kill your dog.
Jerk: Woah there buddy.
Ero: How else am I gonna get you to stop acting like an ass?
Jerk: Well, you could try reasoning with me.
Ero: But that's clearly not working, did you read my first three lines of this dialogue?
Jerk: So if reasoning doesn't work, your only choice is to escalate it into violence? You can't be a bigger man and simply walk away?
Ero: What are you talking about? Where does this hippie ghandi bigger man bullshit come from? The bigger man isn't afraid to get his hands dirty and his knuckles torn. To crush his enemy, see them driven before him and hear the lamenta...
Jerk: But doesn't that logic simply produce a never-ending cycle of revenge?
Ero: Not if you punch the guy convincingly.
Jerk: Huh?
Ero: You know, hard enough so he agrees with you.
Jerk: What if he wins the fight?
Ero: Couldn't happen.
Jerk: But let's just assume.
Ero: Then I'd have to just bleed on him enough to convince him that laughing at me isn't worth the price of his cleaning bills. You ever seen Cool-Hand Luke?
Jerk: Yeah, I love that movie.
Ero: Isn't Paul Newman great? And I don't mean that in a sissy way. I like him like a man likes a good punching of stuff.
Jerk: So, a lot?
Ero: Oh yeah.
Jerk: That's great. By the way, AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA...
[Several minutes later]
Jerk: ...AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.
Ero: That's it, I'm calling the floor.
Jerk: What, not man enough to handle your own problems?
Ero: I already told you, I'm happy to meet you outside for pugilism and/or fisticuffs.
Jerk: AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA



I am sitting at table B with the Jerk's younger brother.
Jerk: AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.
Me: whatever.
[several minutes later]
The Moment has passed and we've all moved on with our lives.

[/ QUOTE ]

Post of the Year.
No doubt.

[toots]

I think Ero enjoys being spanked by women old enough to be his mother.

Seriously, any time anyone starts talking about "honor," you can be sure something really idiotic is about to happen.

[1800GAMBLER]

Great posts.

I'm just wondering your course of action if someone randomly spat on you on the street? Since that's more likely to get you enraged and has no 3rd party solution.

[Bob Moss]

I only skimmed through the first two pages of this thread, so forgive me if this has already been said.

Erostratus brings up a valid point. Suppose you suffer a bad beat, and your opponent goes off on a Mike Matusow-esque tirade, perhaps like the one we saw on TV recently. Except this guy didn't apologize, and didn't stop. If we lived in more ancient times, this would be a good opportunity to challenge him to a duel. However, these days, we have different ways of settling this. Calling the floor and bitching about this guy is weak. When bison and others mock Erostratus' ideas, telling him that being offended is immature, isn't calling the floor the equivalent of saying "I'M TELLING ON YOU!!" Personally, I can take a lot before I'm seriously offended, but when that line is crossed, I want to be the guy who chooses option B. Please, keep in mind, you don't have to beat up a guy to prove a point. The fact is, when you invite someone outside to "continue talking", most of the time you will be declined. This is a victory. Anyone who continues talking [censored] after this is a fool, and is just embarassing himself, because really, he had an opportunity to back up those words, and didn't.

A good example of what the original post is saying is seen in Good Will Hunting, in that scene in the bar where that rich kid tries to outwit our protagonist. Do you remember what Matt Damon does here? Now, bison and other detractors of the OP, after this scene, did you have more respect for Matt Damon's character, or the other guy?

Bob

[BrettK]

[ QUOTE ]
I'm just wondering your course of action if someone randomly spat on you on the street? Since that's more likely to get you enraged and has no 3rd party solution.

[/ QUOTE ]

The police are an excellent third party for this sort of situation.

Brett

[bisonbison]

I would say "dude, whatthefuck?" and proceed from there. Honestly guys, I've been on this planet for 26 years and never had anyone spit on me on the street.

[RPatterson]

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[ QUOTE ]
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[ QUOTE ]
Erostratus, so that we have a proper frame of reference, How old are you?


[/ QUOTE ]

Since he allegedly has a fifteen year old girlfriend, he is either a teenager or a pedophile...or both. Hardly the big, tough man he portrays.

[/ QUOTE ]

I am 21.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah, I knew it all at that age, too. Experience is a great teacher, to whom you will be introduced someday.


I suppose you know it all now though right. Was there ever a point when you didn't know it all? Teenagers think they know it all, people in their 20's think they know it all. 30'something people know it all. Guys in their 40's know it all. See a trend here? Everyone thinks they know it all, and no one knows [censored].

The fact that I obviously don't know anything because I'm 21, and you know it all because your older makes me give little care to whatever you say.

[RPatterson]

[ QUOTE ]
Almost any psychologist would tell you that the person who has to PROVE how tough he is has serious doubts about his own manliness.

Al

[/ QUOTE ]

If someone is giving you [censored], and you tell him to knock it off are you trying to prove your manliness? If you think that sitting there and taking it makes you manly then isn't that trying to prove your manliness?

[RPatterson]

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Almost any psychologist would tell you that the person who has to PROVE how tough he is has serious doubts about his own manliness.

Al

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I didn't hear much manliess in this thread. A lot of what I heard reminded me of a young puppy trying to show his owner who the top dog is.

[/ QUOTE ]

Comparing me to a young puppy is deffinately the strong silent approach that just excudes manliness according to bison.

[benfranklin]

[ QUOTE ]

Erostratus brings up a valid point. Suppose you suffer a bad beat, and your opponent goes off on a Mike Matusow-esque tirade, perhaps like the one we saw on TV recently.

[/ QUOTE ]

An excellent example. What did Fossilman do in that situation? Who won and who lost that little confrontation? Who looked like a man and who looked like a ignorant brat?