It’s so pointless to fight. If you win you could kill the guy or someone else. It’s just not worth it to keep from being seen as less than a man.
Sometimes you can’t avoid it, and I realize that, but folks get hot-headed at parties and social gatherings and it never turns out well.
Eric wasn’t even fighting. He wasn’t even looking at the combatants; he was eating a meal, presumably minding his own business.