Sunday, August 17, 2014

A tale of a white knight

It's always mildly amusing to observe brave white-knighting going south, especially when it's over something as harmless as young men exercising their right to free speech in public:
A Texas man who attempted to intervene in some routine street harassment landed in the hospital over the weekend, after a group of catcallers knocked him unconscious while he was visiting Philadelphia’s Rittenhouse Square.

Police report that around 2:45 a.m. on Saturday, the 39-year-old man (whose name has not been released) saw a vehicle full of men pull up next to a group of women. The men began taunting the women and making suggestive comments, at which point the victim decided to intervene, according to NBC Philadelphia:

“The male victim took offense to something that the guys were saying to the girls and said ‘hey, watch what you’re saying,’” said Philadelphia Police Captain George Fuchs. Police say one of the men inside the Nissan then got out of the car and punched the victim once in the head. The man was knocked unconscious after he fell and struck his head on the concrete.
First, it's not your business. Second, a group of women can take care of themselves better than a single middle-aged man because Equality. Third,  you have neither the responsibility nor the ability to patrol the streets ensuring that no one makes a woman feel bad. Fourth, don't threaten violence unless you actually intend to follow through on the threat. Fifth, what are you doing in a place where people behave this way? Sixth, don't take offense on behalf of someone else. And seventh, it's not your business.

Violence is serious affair not to be taken lightly. I have weapons. I know how to use them. But since I'm not willing to gut a teenager like a fish or blow his head off simply because he's inclined to say stupid things while trying to sufficiently impress a girl so that she'll open her legs to him, I'm not going to intervene unless the girl is family and I have a responsibility for her. After all, the reason most young men will promptly back down to fathers who tell them to shut their mouths is that they suspect, quite rightly, that the father is just looking for an excuse to unleash Hell on them.

But if you're not willing to kill a man over his actions, then don't confront him. It's ironic, but it seems it is often the men who are least prepared for violence who are most eager to threaten it and leap into situations where it is a distinct possibility. It is vital to understand that we no longer live in a society where either basic civility or sweet reason are paramount.

41 comments:

Krul said...

You've got it all wrong, Vox. Here's the real takeaway, according to the article:

But whether the man did the right or wrong thing in attempting to “defend” strangers from street harassment is not the big takeaway here. The immediate escalation of the altercation from unwanted intervention to straightforward assault is just another sign that street harassment is dangerous. Socially, it reinforces sexist ideas that women exist in men’s spaces and must behave in them as men please, which most often means submitting to outright objectification.

Why are you focusing on some 39-year-old man who got a little bump on the head? Didn't you see that women were being objectified?

Incidentally, "objectification" is one of the oldest and stupidest of the PC noncepts. All it means is that some women felt bad.

Markku said...

I need feminism because now I can ignore such situations in good conscience.

Anonymous said...

a vehicle full of men pull up next to a group of women. The men began taunting the women and making suggestive comments

When I was young, we called this "cruising," and it was a major Friday night social occasion.

finndistan said...

One man in hospital, the other in prison, but the womyn feel safe.

Would still make some little sense if they would go and reward the white night with their affection, yet surely it's the opposite.

Anonymous said...

It's ironic, but it seems it is often the men who are least prepared for violence who are most eager to threaten it

I think there's something to that. The "non-violent" man has been taught that every situation can be peacefully resolved with dialogue if you have the right intentions. So he wades in where more sensible men would not, and then when the other guys show no interest in friendly chatting, his primitive instinct to butt heads (which he doesn't know he has) kicks in. The man who understands violence doesn't get into that situation in the first place.

It's like feminists getting date-raped (or "date-raped") because they thought their strong-independence would protect them in an apartment at 2am after a bottle of wine and a few hours of flirting. Or the nation that winds up in a war because it thought it could bring peace with some armed negotiators.

Elusive Wapiti said...

Like Krul, I'll quote the source article:

"But whether the man did the right or wrong thing in attempting to “defend” strangers from street harassment is not the big takeaway here. The immediate escalation of the altercation from unwanted intervention to straightforward assault is just another sign that street harassment is dangerous. Socially, it reinforces sexist ideas that women exist in men’s spaces and must behave in them as men please, which most often means submitting to outright objectification. Physically, street harassment can put targets and bystanders at risk — because if someone even so much as suggests that catcalling might be out of line, it comes with the risk of getting knocked out on the street."

This bundle of non-sequiturs apparently passes for logic at Salon. "Street harassment" in the form of catcalls is not dangerous. It may be annoying, it may be "unwanted", but it's not dangerous. The intervention is what was dangerous.

Second, it wasn't a "men's space", it was public space...and if it were a proper men's space, there wouldn't be any women in it in the first place and in the second, they'd probably be either (a) escorted by a man, or (b) dressed appropriately modestly. Or both.

Third, women love to be objectified, if done so by the right person, and further, objectify men all the time.

Last, it appears that high-risk white knighting such as this is being taught to members of the US armed services, as reported by Dr. Phi at his DelendaEstCathargo blog and rolled up by me here. Supposedly women may be hard-core warriors, but still need to be protected by the men in their midst.

Username_Unavailable said...

"For anyone who thinks catcallers are harmless, here’s a tip: They’re not."

Oh, give me a freakin' break. It's not the catcalling that made this crowd dangerous to mess with, it was the fact that the crowd was almost no doubt comprised of vibrants. What did this naive, do-gooder white idiot expect was going to happen by "disrespecting" a gang of youths at three o'clock in the morning by getting between them and the girls they were trying to impress?

VD said...

it was the fact that the crowd was almost no doubt comprised of vibrants.

Possible, but I doubt it. Only one guy got out. More likely white. If they were Hispanic, one guy would have gotten out and stabbed the guy.

Anonymous said...

And if they were black, dat cracka would've had a cap busted in his azz, knowhahmsayin?

Laguna Beach Fogey said...

The Cult of the Gentleman pretty much explains why Western man keeps getting his arse kicked in this way.

Username_Unavailable said...

"Possible, but I doubt it. Only one guy got out."

Ah, for some reason I missed that part. You're probably right then.

Once again, this is why you should read things twice before responding.

Anonymous said...

Police report that around 2:45 a.m. on Saturday... " It's ironic, but it seems it is often the men who are least prepared for violence who are most eager to threaten it and leap into situations where it is a distinct possibility"

Over 20 years in security/club bouncer here. My best guess is this is a case of liquor courage, being it's 2:45 am.


"Violence is serious affair not to be taken lightly. I have weapons. I know how to use them."


Put your weapons away Vox, unless you're a hunter. Awareness of ones surroundings are your best defense. A man can run at you with intent to harm from 12-18 feet away before you can pull out your weapon in most cases. If your head isn't on a swivel, you lose, weapons or not.

Anonymous said...

My best guess is this is a case of liquor courage, being it's 2:45 am.

Same with the men he accosted, if they were indeed white. Vibrants wouldn't have needed to be sloshed to attack someone, but white guys usually do require liquid judgment reduction.

Dexter said...

it was the fact that the crowd was almost no doubt comprised of vibrants.

Possible, but I doubt it. Only one guy got out. More likely white. If they were Hispanic, one guy would have gotten out and stabbed the guy.


If they were black, an entire mob would have stomped the guy flat in an orgy of animalistic savagery.

And the taunted women would have joined in.

Bob said...

Heh, love how a guy got physically hurt, trying to defend women. And the only thing the women can talk about is how bad the situation was for the women, while that poor (stupid) bloke is in hospital.

*Shakes head.

Markku said...

We need to start whiteknight-shaming more, outside the manosphere circles. For the hapless guys' own safety.

Dewave said...

That guy did an *excellent* job following the advice GI end here.
http://m.tickld.com/x/next-time-someone-says-women-arent-victims-of-harassment-show-them

Note that the whiny woman writing this screed apparently never even considered that actual physical violence might result from these confrontations she encourages...

Ghost said...

I love the takeaway in the article. Men did something "wrong," man tried to be a hero, gets KTFO, and... Men are evil? Talking to women is dangerous?
Where do they find these writers?

Anonymous said...

Put your weapons away Vox, unless you're a hunter.

Hmmm, "gut him like a fish" indeed. Popcorn, anyone?

Sentient Spud said...

Where do they find these writers?

It's Salon. If their staff wrote from a coherent perspective, they wouldn't have a product to sell.

Retrenched said...

The irony is that the "catcallers" who "objectify women" get laid a lot more than the white knights who "respect" women.

John Williams said...

But if you're not willing to kill a man over his actions, then don't confront him.
Whorf taught the same thing decades ago.

Anonymous said...

The irony is that the "catcallers" who "objectify women" get laid a lot more than the white knights who "respect" women.

"Respecting" women = treating them like men
"Objectifying" women = treating them like women

Robert What? said...

This is a result of the lies that boys and men are being told from the first day of school onwards. Unfortunately the vast majority of men still believe those lies and often can't bring themselves to face the truth even when it hits them upside the head, so to speak. The lies in this case are (a) that American women still have virtue to be protected, and (b) that girls like and appreciate nice guys.

Anonymous said...

I love the takeaway in the article. Men did something "wrong," man tried to be a hero, gets KTFO, and... Men are evil? Talking to women is dangerous?
Where do they find these writers?

If I remember correctly, Salon was Eliza's prospect for her "piece" on the Manosphere. She's probably better suited to HuffPuff.

Retrenched said...

OT: Carousel-riding NYC career girls freeze their eggs in preparation for their 'ready for a nice guy' phase in a few years

(Okay, so that's not exactly the original title... but that's basically the gist of what's going on here.)

Markku said...

Talking to women is dangerous?

Then let's...

Sentient Spud said...

"Respecting" women = treating them like men
"Objectifying" women = treating them like women


This is why I've always taken a binary approach to women. Call me a white knight, but if a girl wants me to treat her just like I would a man, I'm more than happy to oblige. The resultant sexual invisibility should do a lot to improve her self-esteem – and I'm all for women being happy. After all, why contemplate intimacy when she's clearly an ideas person?

R Devere said...

"And if they were black, dat cracka would've had a cap busted in his azz, knowhahmsayin?"

"Mos def!"

buzzardist said...

I'll bet all of those girls are totally visiting him in the hospital right now, cooing over him and crying over his wounds.

Ghost said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Ghost said...

Well played markku. Well played.

Iowahine, I don't know, I've read one or two libertarian things from huff poo, so they haven't gone full retard. Eliza would fit right in at jizzabelle.
*edited for typo

S. Thermite said...

A one-hit KO...seriously?! Perhaps Rule #1 for a white knight should be to at least remotely resemble something like an actual knight, which were the Navy SEALs of their day. They call it "going medieval..." for a reason.

lolz for the double-d reference, markku. I think we're the same age, and just you reminded me how when that show came out here in the States its spirit was a little too zany and chaotic for my taste. Ducktales, Rescue Rangers, and even Tailspin represented a higher quality of Disney children's programming, IMHO. Innocence lost.

Markku said...

Ducktales

I think you mean Taco Nazi.

S. Thermite said...

Never met the Taco Nazi, but I think his Indo-American uncle is named Benny Lava.

Harambe said...

If women are walking around at 3AM, they're not worth the effort.

liberranter said...

If women are walking around at 3AM, they're not worth the effort.

Zackly. Especially if they're clustered in a herd, in the middle of the city, you can be pretty damned certain that they either 1) have their self-defense covered, or 2) are trolling for dick attached to badboys who make catcalls at them. Either way, pathetic lone white knights ("hey loserboy, how come you don't have a chick on your arm?") aren't wanted or needed.

Unknown said...

Heh, love how a guy got physically hurt, trying to defend women. And the only thing the women can talk about is how bad the situation was for the women, while that poor (stupid) bloke is in hospital.

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