Light-Hearted Violence? (diary entry)

P humour (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

29.11.12

This is not a normal diary entry. I guess it might be called a pre-diary entry. On my way to teaching a private student I tuned into Radio 4 to listen to Andrew Lawrence's very funny exploration of violence and its unfortunate yet undeniable place in modern society. Lawrence expresses the views of the majority of people living in modern society that he has never been in an actual fight. The piece has very funny quotable lines - "Think you're hard do you? See me out side in the car park in five minutes and bring your dictionary!"

I really think more humour should be used to discuss such topics. Some of you may have noticed that I have playlist on our YouTube channel dedicated to "Martial Satire", as I feel that a great deal of truth has been written and performed about the subculture of martial arts. The philosopher and inventor of logotheraphy, Viktor Frankl mused over his ability to use humour to convey ideas or change people's perceptions. However, as much as I have enjoyed some of Frankl's writings, I have to say I am glad the guy didn't give up his day joh.

However, in this instance we can use humour to discuss what is an uncomfortable but ever-present topic. Lawrence's skill with words, fast intelligence and quirky charisma might have saved his bacon more times than he realizes. He might not have been in any actual fights, but there is plenty he probably knows about the "art of fighting without fighting".

Lawrence's main focus seemed to be on what could be described as "alpha" activity. This is what self-protection coach Rory Miller calls "The Monkey Dance". We have evolved, like most complex species of animal, to fight for dominance and pass on our genes. Being naturally social, we form small groups and then try to dominate within that group until our position in the hierarchy is decided. We might fight other groups too in order to secure terriotorial dominace. Being able to overcome these urges allows us to not be drawn into challenges that won't serve us in modern society. I will never forget some of the best responses I heard at school:

Bully: "You want a fight"

Response: "Yes!"

Bully: "Come on then"

Response: "There goes my nose"

The bully actually laughed at this and the whole situation was defused before anything occurred. Another response was "Why would I want to fight you? You will probably beat me up. Look at the size of you for heaven's sake!" That one over-rides our natural response to want to save face. Many a child or adult has entered into fights they didn't want and knew they were going to lose, allowing the challenger to choose the venue, the time and sometimes even the rules rather than admitting they that didn't want to fight.

Anyway, here is Andrew Lawrence: How Did We End Up Like This?