Posted on 01/27/2002 8:48:53 AM PST by moodyskeptic
I'm sorry, but someone has to voice it: the little guy had it coming. Sucker punching a man 110 pounds your better is unwise, and the little antagonist Micheal Costin was in the wrong in the heated exchange that claimed his life.
At first, I was going along with the dominant media, insisting that this Sports Rage is out of hand and that the killer was a bully who should get the electric chair. But, being a Freeper, I have learned to check my emotional response to "big stories" and get more information before I choose sides. I wanted to hate the Big Bully Thomas Junta, he was reportedly a huge man. Then I realized that he's about my size, I'm 6'1", 255. I'm no giant. And I've spent an adulthood targeted by stupid little hot headed roosters who like to pick fights they can't win. Any big guy will tell you: you learn to be the cooler head and attempt to walk away. Expect no sympathy in ANY altercation.Little guys with an agenda are everywhere, perhaps they were traumatized, they didn't get chosen for teams or were ignored by daddy, whatever.Genetics made us big, not weightlifting. We are what our ancestors were, fat or big or strong or smart or devious or small or kind or mean. There are few truly mean big guys.
It turns out that the little guy Costin was allowing high sticking and rough contact during stick practice, and when the Big Dumb Guy showed up to protest, Costen shot back that hockey is a tough game, get over it. Costin was in the wrong. He should've relented and shut up. But he was the hot head of the two and wouldn't drop it. In the dressing room, he sucker punched the bigger man and kicked at him with his skates as they continued arguing. This chicken spit tactic should've gotten him clobbered right then.True to Big Guy form, Junta went out to his truck to simmer down, only to return when he realized that his son was still in a locker room with a crazy father and his roughneck kids. Let's honestly add to that the humiliation of being sucker punched and walking away from it.
I don't know how many of you freepers have been in an inadvertant serious fight with guys who play dirty. Apparently very few. Surely the pixie woman prosecutor was in unfamiliar waters, judging by her questions. " So, this meant you had to resort to violence, Mr. Junta?" Huh? She ever experienced anything beyond her suburan car pool existance?
Wise fathers tell their boys: don't smart off to cops, don't hit women, don't pick fights you can't possibly win. Attacking a man 110 pounds bigger than you, when you are IN THE WRONG morally, is unwise. While I'm very sad that Costin died. Really. However, putting the Big Dumb father in jail for six to ten years send the message: Open Season on big guys, a jury packed with people who got overlooked when choosing sides for dodgeball will exact revenge on the Big Bully, and you can be as mean and smart alecky as you want at that next sporting event.
All things being equal, size does matter. But then again, very few things are equal in a street fight where a premium is placed on doing maximum damage as quickly as you can. Costin, as the smaller man, felt the need to strike first. Junta's mistake was not clocking him immediately after Costin threw the first punch.
I'm 6'5" and 230 lbs. I've been challenged many times on the basketball court by smaller men for minor contact that larger men just shrug off. Napoleon complex at work, you just walk away.
"Why do they target you? From the tenor of your post, you seem to carry a chip on your shoulder."
Not at all. I took good advice and I follow it. My dad and uncle(6'4") warned me about being targeted for no reason. I am always the COOLEST head in a situation.
"Yea, because most of us don't walk around looking for fights, as you apparently do."
Nope.
"Are you as much of a punk as you appear to be?"
Wow. Switch to decaf.
"I've never been in a fight, of any kind, in my adult life. I've found that people who frequently fight are usually looking to fight. Sounds like you like to fight."
Well then, your opinions about fights carry little weight.
Sounds like you like to argue.
LOL
I have a wife and children who depend on me. They are the most awesome responsibility God could ever lay on me. I think about whats right for my family at ALL times in EVERYTHING I do. That means my son will never watch me attack or beat another person. He will learn that it takes a real man to turn the other cheek and walk away.
That applies to BOTH parties in this tragedy.
We are a nation of laws. Even if he was assaulted Junta's act of self-defense ended once he had the smaller man on the ground and under physical control. Once he continued throwing punches to the head he was breaking the law. The manager of the rink testified very convincingly that, in spite of her screams for him to stop, Junta kept pounding Costin, bouncing his head off the ice. That's manslaughter.
How could you possibly think that Costin deserved to die? Does that mean that it's ok in your world to kill anyone who acts like an aggressive dope?
If "wise" fathers tell their kids not to "pick" fights that they can't win, instead of don't "pick" fights period, does that mean that "wise" fathers tell their kids it's ok to "pick" a fight as long as you know how it will turn out? My old man, a bantam-weight, (and a former FBI SA who knew how to fight) taught me (6'1'' - 205) not to pick fights at all. You fight when forced to. I've had my share but never threw the first punch and never threw a punch after things were under control.
Both of these guys were out of control. Both were wrong. But, in no way did Consit have it (death) coming to him.
"The same reason there are timed rounds, gloves to protect the hands, mouthpieces, etc.. "
My response, which amplifies yours, is that ALL SPORTS COMPETITIONS ARE CONTRIVED. The rules are made to establish the boundaries within which the competition takes place. This should be obvious, but in the "era of instant replay" we sometimes forget.
I was also told "discretion is the better part of valor." Junta could have walked away after getting his son. He didn't have to carry on the fight.
So he was humiliated by a sucker punch and walking away from it. How humiliated is he going to be for the next six to ten years? What kind of humiliation will his son and family go through? But hey, he really showed Costin who was the boss.
Go Star Go; I think your are right on the money.
My problem is with my hearing.
It seems everytime I walk into a bar, I start talking when I should be listening.
I am 220 and 6'3. As usual I was beakin off. That got me one hell of a licking.
But I think it was my hearing that caused it.
I thought this,(obviously tougher than me guy), said "Get Up" when what he really said was "Shut Up".So now before I go bar hoppin, I always make sure I have a new battery in my hearing aid.:<(.
This is obviously true. My point is that if all these factors are equal, the larger (and therefore stronger) person will win the vast majority of the time.
You insist on comparing apples and oranges. When the only variable is size, the bigger man normally wins.
That was manslaughter THIS time. Have you ever tried to stop a fight? I have, but it's risky, and the combatants are beyond verbal instruction.
"How could you possibly think that Costin deserved to die? Does that mean that it's ok in your world to kill anyone who acts like an aggressive dope?"
You arrived at this... how?
"If "wise" fathers tell their kids not to "pick" fights that they can't win, instead of don't "pick" fights period, does that mean that "wise" fathers tell their kids it's ok to "pick" a fight as long as you know how it will turn out?"
Wow. You read a lot more than I typed.
"My old man, a bantam-weight, (and a former FBI SA who knew how to fight) taught me (6'1'' - 205) not to pick fights at all. You fight when forced to. I've had my share but never threw the first punch and never threw a punch after things were under control."
Your dad was/is wise. You and I apparently behave similarly.
" Both of these guys were out of control. Both were wrong. But, in no way did Consit have it (death) coming to him."
I'll half agree here. Dose the Junta family need to be without a father for ten years because his trial became a movie of the week?
Because quick blows to the windpipe are not allowed?
Thank goodness I came up when a big guy could defend himself against a little runt with a Napoleon complex, although you're right, more restraint was always expected of the larger man (itself a double standard). If a little punk punched you, then he was fair game.
No more. Junta proved for all to see, big men are expected to willingly play the role of punching bags.
This verdict was a great injustice and the whole GD society is being thoroughly feminized. Makes me sick.
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