Okay, the “diatribe” seems to have been unprovoked, but why did Bilcik approach to within reach of the nutbar? And if he was unready to go to fist city, why did he throw his coffee on the guy?
“This was totally unprovoked,” said Bilcik”
Bilcik made two potentially life-threatening mistakes: approaching, and throwing the coffee.
“I got bashed in the eye because I’m white.”
In one sense. In another, you kind of acted like you wanted to tangle.
While I sort of agree with you in that there probably wasn’t a need to escalate or if you do you better be prepared to go the whole nine yards but really has the world changed that much that we have to sit back and take this rubbish. I’m pushing 60 with a very bad back but I would have felt that some sort of protest at this goon’s ranting was warranted. Then again I would be prepared to take the hit for standing up for myself!
I didn't see him confront the guy at all until he was assaulted and then it looked to me to be an instinctive move of self defense against a surprising unprovoked attack.
If it were me, I would have just left, I don't care what the guy was saying. If the guy had laid hands on me, that obviously changes things.
But throwing coffee at the black guy was excuse enough for the guy to slug him.
IMO, If the situations were reversed, and the black guy threw coffee on the white guy who was slinging unprovoked insults at the black guy who then slugged him in retaliation, we would all be satisfied that the white guy was responding to a physical provocation even though we might readily acknowledge he was being an idiot by verbally assaulting the black guy..
I sided completely with the white guy as I read, even when he moved to another table, but as soon as he threw the coffee, well, that would be an assault in my book.