Congratulations, you aren't a big talker. Like I said, I completely agree with the sentiment. You can call us all pussies if you want, which is exactly what you are doing, but I'm not a movie hero, and I can guarantee you that when faced with the choice of my life or saving a Walgreens from losing a $15 hair trimmer, you can bet your ass I'll chose not risking my life. And I think that what has changed is exactly that... the risk of losing life. If no one was walking around with a gun and all I might suffer is a broken nose or fist, then it's a whole other ballgame. I am guessing that you will take that as another "excuse" but it's a reality that a lot of us live in and see on a daily basis in big cities. It's not all black and white cut and dry, and if you play it that way you set yourself up for disaster and over-reaction. In my neighborhood, if I yelled at the thug at the bus-stop for dropping paper on the ground, I'd get beat the fcuk up, plain and simple. I've seen it happen. And I promise you, I would be beat down because A: I ain't a fighter... B: 5 teenage thugs will against my skinny ass isn't even a fight.

But, I'm guessing there's a deeper gut thing at the root of this argument. Maybe you are the type of person who'd run to the front lines to do battle wherever and why ever your government tells you, whereas I'd be a draft dodger.

Here's to idealism though... I wish we could all be as ballsy as you, because you are probably right. If we all did something in those situations, those situations would happen a lot less often. But in the end most of us just want to go home to our girlfriends/wives/wii and live to see another sunrise.


PS - I'd like to hear the story behind the stitches... unless you've posted it before.