Amen, It is no wonder the little shits get younger, bolder and more violent. Society permits it. If someone now would throw a young lad that was in a “group” off a bus, that person would be slapped with a lawsuit or shot. Kids know the game and the adults do not. They create fear and control the street with that fear. Then everyone wonders why the streets are not safe. We live in a chicken shit society that is afraid to make a stand for anything.

True, but, back in that same day (hint: the North American landmass was still joined with Asia) “noisy youngsters”, from the earliest age, faced people all around them willing to tell them, in very judgmental tones, that they were being noisy or rude, or, when needed, to grab them by the ear and toss them from the bus, and those kids never reached a point where they traveled in hostile packs and threatened and accosted people with near impunity.

Cause and effect? I don’t know, but I sense a relation somewhere in there.

What did I miss?

Boomers. Will you please retire already.

Call me when you can read.

Well, please note that I was careful to say: “I don’t know what I would have done. I hope I would have got stuck in and damn the consequences…” I hope I would not have to think twice about it. But until I’m there and handling the adrenaline dump in that situation, I’m not going to wave my hands about how what I would have done.

Bobby_b: “Not to make fun of you, teucer, for saying that it’s just that we always looked at the philosophy underlying that sentiment…”

No, I take your point. And I’m not wild about it either. But even back in the day (whenever that was), I would imagine that not everyone was willing to go in two fisted. I don’t choose to condemn the guy for his actions as I am not him, and I wasn’t there.

Furthermore, like any other situation when survival might depend on your decision-making, there’s something to be said for making an assessment of the situation, then making a decision. Not thinking is what leads to multiple drownings when brave-but-doomed rescuers leap into fast-flowing rivers without first considering their actions.

Also, back in the day, men weren’t shot dead in crowded buses for asking noisy youngsters to please quieten down. In a world where violent people are willing to use guns without provocation, you’re making a potential life-and-death decision any time you choose to get directly involved. The potential consequences seem to have a greater probability of being that much more severe.

“Chewie, take the professor in the back and plug him into the hyperdrive.”

– Captain Solo