Opinion: Hockey Dad Verdict Backwards

vanity | 1/27/02 | moodyskeptic

[moodyskeptic]

Flame away, little men.

[go star go]

Big doesn't matter in a fight. One well placed blow to the windpipe will down a 300 pound man just like it will a 100 pound man. Knowing that is what matters in a fight.

[Tigercap]

agree

[Free the USA]

Agreed

[SBeck]

Sure, happens in the movies allathetime. In real life, however, it's an entirely different story. I've seen some brutal fights in my life and it is never like the choreographed mayhem that Hollywood produces.

[mewzilla]

What part of Thou Shall Not Kill do you and Mr. Junta not understand?

[Bahbah]

Good commentary, from a small woman.

[Xenalyte]

Surely the pixie woman prosecutor was in unfamiliar waters, judging by her questions.

This is bound to get me flamed, so flame-retardant leathers on (although a bit snug after the holidays).

Where I come from (Houston, Texas), if you're man enough to start a fight, you'd best be man enough to finish it.

I speak from experience. I'm five-ten and weigh between 130 and 150 (yep, it do vary that much), which makes me at least equal-sized to most men of my acquaintance. I've been in two fights in my life back in the day, both with men I was dating at the time, and both of which I started. To their chivalrous credit, both men tried not to fight back, but I made it kinda hard for them.

When you hit, expect to get hit back. It's cowardly and chicken$hit of women - and little men - to think they can get away with hitting someone and expect no retaliation. That means all of us - women, men, however large or small you are.

[Restorer]

Big doesn't matter in a fight. One well placed blow to the windpipe will down a 300 pound man just like it will a 100 pound man. Knowing that is what matters in a fight.

If size doesn't matter, why are there weight divisions in boxing and wrestling?

As the saying goes, the race is not always to the swift, but that is the way to bet. Given equal ability, a bigger man will routinely win the fight.

Why do you think Sam Colt is remembered as the man who made men equal? Before firearms, the larger man almost always won the fight.

[clintonh8r]

I agree. Junta got screwed. I have no sympathy for Costin. The jury was influenced by the media coverage.

[lsee]

an inadvertant serious fight

The key point was that Junta had essentially left the building before he turned and went back in.

Big or small, the man was in a flaming rage. He would have had a better chance of escaping prison time if he had pleaded temporary insanity or something like that, since he was clearly out of control. The fatal fight was not inadvertent. Junta went and sought the final confrontation. I believe this is what decided the case against him. True, Costin was a little so-and-so who needed to be called down, but I believe it was his apparent early victory that cost him his life. He "won" when Junta conceded the field, not realizing that the humiliation of the larger man would fuel his anger to murderous proportions.

But, big or small, a man who seeks a fight and kills his adversary can not claim self-defense. Costin would not have attacked him if Junta had taken his son, skates and all, and left like he seemed about to do.

[moodyskeptic]

My dad, an Iwo vet, cautioned me at age 10: never start stupid fights, because people are not what they seem and that little wiry guy might be tough as nails. The outcome of many fights is a surprise. Good advice for big or small.

[Maceman]

I guess they both got what they deserved then.

[Maceman]

Some good advice for you: don't fight. SUE!

[go star go]

I imagine most 145 pound Marines can kick the sh*t out of most 200+ FReepers so you all know big is not the determining factor.

[moodyskeptic]

Thou shalt not MURDER is more accurate. Junta doesn't impress me as a murderer. Have you EVER been in a serious tussle? Do you know the feeling of adrenalin pumping too fast? Even you are capable of this mistake.

[Own Drummer]

My take on this whole sorry mess is that BOTH men were complete a$$holes, and the only pity is that they didn't kill each other.

Anyone should be able to tell the difference between fighting to win, and fighting to the death--and if you can't tell the difference, you deserve all the crap you get into.

[randog]

That's right--don't get mad, just take their money. Best piece of advice I ever got.

[moodyskeptic]

"Don't fight, SUE" seems like good advice but is impractable in many heated situations. Fights escalate quickly into survival struggles. Not all men are capable of discourse.