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physical fighting....and the law

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dan330

Extreme Android User
i was just thinking... because in the past.. sometimes.. the other guy just dont know when to back off. I am not the kind of person that goes looking for a fight. Just dumb shit comes up from idiots that think louder is righter; or they think they can bully..


i have been lucky.. so far... these confrontations has never gotten the law involved.

what is the letter of the law?
when....a person will not back off.. keeps harassing you... your only option is to ..
break it down to simple.. hand to hand arrangements.

are there any good reason leagally.. to throw the first punch? and not get in trouble with the law?

as i understand it... if you throw the first physical punch.. you can be sued by the other person.. even if they harassed you into a fight!
 
Being on the receiving end of a lawsuit is always going to be a risk... it's just an unfortunate effect of the litigious society in which we live.
 
I think you are only allowed to get physical with someone if you are defending yourself or someone else. I read that you can use force in Texas if you're defending your property.

Since my battlecry is "Not the face!!!! NOT THE FACE!!!!" I don't usually worry about it. It would probably be the same if I were a guy but for some strange reason, it is OK for me to be a sissy as a woman... :eek:

Edit: I was just talking about getting locked up. You can get sued for whatever reason. My favorite is there was a case where a kid threatened an off duty cop with a screwdriver and got shot. The kid and his family sued the guy and he was in a ton of trouble. For added awesomeness: the kid claimed that he was just asking for money and happened to have a sharpened screwdriver in his hand!
 
The laws vary from state to state and sometimes from locality to locality. You might want to look up what constitutes assault and battery where you live. Also understand that there is some leeway. for example, most places will allow you to use physical violence to protect yourself from attack. depending on where you are the attack might have to be actual or can be as little as the threat of attack. By that same token, your response can be anything from verbal to deadly force depending on circumstances and your local laws.

Even with that, not all laws cover potential liability, even if you are in the right. The likelyhood of you being held liable for civil penalties if probably slim if you were legally entitle to your actions, but this is not always the case.

Unless you plan on learning the system from the inside, you are probably best off practicing that saying "discretion is the better part of valor". most fights are stupid and not worth getting into. Save your chips for when you really need to defend yourself.
 
I don't think "He kept talking shit, so I punched him in his face" works as a defence. In that case, you are the one who escalated it to a physical confrontation, which will put you as the "bad guy".
 
Hrethgir said:
I don't think "He kept talking shit, so I punched him in his face" works as a defence. In that case, you are the one who escalated it to a physical confrontation, which will put you as the "bad guy".
Click to expand...

Some states have "provocation" laws, wherein saying certain words in certain ways can legally warrant physical reaction.

I was startled to see a case of that at an amusement park years ago. The guy was hollering junk at another guy's face, no threats, just "You lookin' at me? What's your problem, m.f.," etc. The other guy finally decked him and it went to court with the puncher getting off scott free.
 
Frisco said:
Some states have "provocation" laws, wherein saying certain words in certain ways can legally warrant physical reaction.

I was startled to see a case of that at an amusement park years ago. The guy was hollering junk at another guy's face, no threats, just "You lookin' at me? What's your problem, m.f.," etc. The other guy finally decked him and it went to court with the puncher getting off scott free.
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Excellent! Gotta make sure there are a lot of witnesses on your side before tossing that haymaker though, as a broken nose is a lot easier to prove in court than a bunch of things the person supposedly said.
 
all great responses.. and good points...

I normally .. truly just walk away...9 times out of 10.. i ignore it.. with a look and a whatever.
sometimes.. they follow you...
or push you...
harass you...
get in your face and not let you go!

i have had 6 fights in my lifetime... one each: elementary, sunday school, Jr High, High school, College, at work...
each time..I was the one that was pushed.. but was the one to finish it!

I am just worried.. i will be in big trouble someday... and I cant do anything about it.
 
dan330 said:
i was just thinking... because in the past.. sometimes.. the other guy just dont know when to back off. I am not the kind of person that goes looking for a fight. Just dumb shit comes up from idiots that think louder is righter; or they think they can bully..


i have been lucky.. so far... these confrontations has never gotten the law involved.

what is the letter of the law?
when....a person will not back off.. keeps harassing you... your only option is to ..
break it down to simple.. hand to hand arrangements.

are there any good reason leagally.. to throw the first punch? and not get in trouble with the law?

as i understand it... if you throw the first physical punch.. you can be sued by the other person.. even if they harassed you into a fight!
Click to expand...

Use your brain. You can always do more damage psychologically than physically.
 
Wow...

I remember having a similar situation to this 1 here...

My friend Craigo (note: craig is a bisexual and really cool dude) and i were taking a walk to the shop at the Fudge Shop... on the way sadly .... i was in a really bad mood that day...

Anyway to cut a long story short... this fu#ktard saw that craig liked to wear pink clothing... >:(

He kept insulting craig who is a really nice guy actually and doesn't like to cause trouble etc...

I tried hard to keep my cool but was in a really foul mood so the next thing i know luckily the piece of gutter trash pushed me hard 1st so then i swing really hard back at this loser and i think i broke his nose! He kept holding his nose... and kinda ran away...

"YEAH! he deserved it!" Is wat i thought that day... but looking back i shud have had more controll and let it go...

You only lower urself to their level when u do this ... i don't ever recommend this to any1 at all.
 
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