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Old 12-18-2012, 08:36 AM   #53
Brian Beach
Join Date: May 2008
Posts: 73
United_States
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Re: Just how real is violence? And where does Aikido stands in all of this?

Quote:
Mary Malmros wrote: View Post
I agree with what I think you're trying to say, but I disagree with your diction. Words and phrases like "act aggressively" imply a conscious choice to provoke, harass or intimidate; "staring down" assumes an intent that may not be present; "regulate" implies that the "regulator" is upholding some kind of order. Acting with an intention to provoke, by deliberately stepping over another person's reasonable boundaries, is not the same as acting in a manner that does provoke because of another person's poorly defined boundaries (not "your rights end where my nose begins", but "I will jump in front of where you're walking and then blame you for pushing me"). That's not "regulating", that's drawing an unreasonable line that a reasonable person can't help but trip over and then calling it a transgression when they do. The distinction matters, very much so. A person walking late at night is not "acting like an asshole", "poking a bear" or "acting aggressively" -- let's be very, very clear about that.
I agree, I was representing one side. In your examples there is one that is acting outside the social norm.
Quote:
I will jump in front of where you're walking and then blame you for pushing me
That is the person who's behavior will be regulated, eventually.

You can be a generally nice person that occasionally makes a bad choice. Sometimes those choices come with unwanted consequences. Sometimes we are at the receiving end of another person's bad choices. Sometimes we are the regulator sometimes the one regulated, sometimes removing yourself from the situation post-haste is the best course of action. Either way we have a responsibility for our own actions and the part we play.

I think we are on the same page. Basically - Masakatsu Agatsu. Sometimes we need help and sometimes we need to help others.
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