In favor of dueling ... or ... the death of civility

[plural]

I have
been often thinking
of the
putrid state
of social interactions
among members of
our society

and
I propose
the following
solution

I think we should
create a process
by which we can
use mortal combat

[a duel if you will]

to resolve differences.

Perhaps you will
argue that this is
a step back for
civilization
but hear me out.

I am proposing
the use of
bladed weapons
through a ritualistic
process by which
one can address grievances
on a limited basis by severity.

[perhaps]
[using hand to hand]
[for less severe grievances]

why?

I feel the strongest
force behind the
lack of social etiquette
is
simple laziness

laziness stems from
a lack of motivating
consequences.

In our society
we have set the
value for civility
so low as to
remove all consequences
for acts of incivility.

[with the]
[exception of]
[so called civility]
[laws which primarily]
[persecute the less]
[fortunate]

if we look to
history
when such resolutions
we both permitted and
frequent

how much more carefully
were words chosen
and
insults when
hurled with much
more dramatic calculation.

personally
I think
the decrease in
civility has also lead
to a decrease in the
quality and substance
of incivility.

perhaps I am
just an aesthete
but I mourn the
loss of the
charming intellectual
insult
having been replaced
with the crude jerky finger
and banal epithets.

I know
I would be much more
careful to properly
acknowledge and
show each person
basic respect and
accord to each
human dignity
if I knew my actions
could end up
with physical consequences

As a child
I had a concept
in my head
a rule if you will

I would only
allow those into
my inner circle
those whom
had received at
the hands of fate
physical retribution
for their unwise actions

for all others I felt
were simply untrustworthy

I found that a child
who had not gotten

[excuse the vernacular]

their ass whipped
for being a
snot nose punk

[because]
[we all have]
[at one time or another]
[been a snot nosed punk]

tended to have
dramatically less respect
for persons and property
than those who had

I know for myself
the day I took my first
real beating
was the day
I understood the
meaning of consequences

truly understood

going without dinner
is not a consequence of
much weight
sure it may suck
but
does it really deter you?

no

spending twenty minutes
stuffing toilet paper up
my still bleeding nose
and holding ice to my
swollen face

for the first time
in my life
I truly regretted
spouting my mouth off
and
resolved to be
more careful with
my words.

now
I want to pause to
clarify something

I do not support
bullying nor do I
think random or vindictive
beatings are productive.

[at least not in the scope]
[of this discussion]
[as all things are]
[inherently productive]
[the question is more]
[what do they produce?]

in this
particular case
I had asked for...
was deserving of...
and desperately needed...
the beating I took

as such
it was a
valuable learning
lesson for me.

of course
I was a
particularly dense
child and had to
learn that particular
lesson several times
but
it does not
lessen the impact
of the first teaching

any way
I have digressed

I think we need
to institute
some form of
extremely personal
consequences for
actions which
are thoughtless
lazy and rude.

how many times
have you wished you
could punch some jerk
in the face

regardless if it would
resolve the issue or
not
just simply because
it would feel good.

how would you
act if you knew
that someone else
could simply do that?

would you be more careful if your words could directly cause you pain?

my theory is
that you would
but
you
tell me.

Comments

I've not the insight for the whole of the question..

[zaiah.livejournal.com]

But I do know this..

In the childcare field my parents worked in and I grew up in.. frequently younger children (the biological children especially?) of the couples working with disturbed kids would be sexually assaulted.

Sexual Offenders are indeed a very sociopathic lot.. usually, from my own insight, this way by about age ten. The only times the sex offenders did NOT molest children.. was when they knew without a shadow of a doubt.. that said children's fathers would gorip their heads of and shove it up their ass.

When they knew there would be immediate, violent physical retribution - those kids were safe.

It is to my great sorrow that my own father was not perceived to be of this type.. and the time that I was raped was punctuated most by my own feelings of worthlessness (at age 4) and a visit to a shrink that let me play with his sand games (you know the kind you tip over and then they make a new landscape or some other such design?

I have frequently wondered how to reveal the savage within that would indeed kill any predator of me and mine.. and not to appear to be law-abiding and all that gentle hearted crap that society presumes I should be.