The First Line Of Self Defense Is Avoiding The Fight
I heard this story recently of an American man who visited his sister in Switzerland. They ended up in a basement room at a pub full of locals.
For some reason the lights started going on and off, and he saw a shocked look on his sister’s face. She had been groped in the darkness.
He went up to the offender and said, “Hey. You’re going to need to keep your hands to yourself.”
The groper was very drunk. He puffed up and stared at the American.. He said, “What are you going to do about it, friend? You’re a long way from home.”
Looking at the situation….. The guy is an American in an unfamiliar land. The groper was local. He resented an American telling him what to do on his turf and was ready to fight to prove it.
Rather than fight the American sought to understand, then agreed with the drunk.
“Look,” he said. “You’re right. I’m a guest here. I get that. I wouldn’t want some foreigner coming into my home and telling me what to do. But that’s my sister. I have to take care of her.”
“At that point, a strange thing happened. He softened, then got all drunk-guy on me. He said that he had a sister too, and that he really respected me for watching out for her.”
This was resolved because the American didn’t react to the threat but sought to understand the situation from the other man’s prospective.
We train so we can walk in peace.
