Just Fight Theory
After our baseball game last night, which we lost by the way, the team gathered for beers. As is typical around a cooler of beer, guys starting regaling each other with stories, some more believable than others. Generally there is a direct correlation between the believability and the entertainment value of a story. Somehow, that line was crossed last night.

A guy began to tell us a story of how semi-recently, he and some friends, under the influence of some alcohol started to try to pick a fight with a particularly odd looking fellow. After the story ended, another guy, in an attempt to sum up, asked, "so let me get this straight, you tried to pick a fight with a guy, just because he was funny looking, and his wife was there, and you outnumbered them?" At which point of course, we all burst out laughing. There was a list of unwritten rules of engagement that this guy, in his state of drunkenness had broken, and now, in his state of semi-sobriety was defending, had broken. I wondered then to myself, do guys uphold a Just War Theory even in random bar fights?

The idea of picking a bar fight isn't to attack someone, but to find a consentual partner in your fight. The male social institution disapproves of such random fights if each side isn't equally capable of winning, if the reasoning for the fight isn't semi-legit, and if no outside observers will be unduly distraught by the events. So besides entertainment and cheap sex, maybe attending bars gives guys a window into conflict resolution methods for the rest of their lives.

   [ posted by William @ 3:11 PM ]