The other day I found myself watching yet another one of those “can easily do without” videos that the internet insists on feeding us.

You know the sort.

Two unathletic looking grown dudes standing in a street shouting at each other.

A crowd forms.

Phones come out.

Somebody yells something completely unintelligible.

And thirty seconds later both mugs are rolling around on the pavement throwing punches with all the grace and technique of two washing machines falling down a staircase in unison.

It got me thinking.

Violence is one of the oldest things humans do.

Long before we had governments, laws, courts, social media battles, or forum moderators, people settled disagreements by hitting each other with whatever sharp or blunt object that happened to be within arms reach.

So part of me wonders whether violence is still some necessary primitive instinct tied to survival, competition, and human nature.

Then I watch one of these videos and immediately start doubting the theory.

Because when you look at most modern street fights, there does not seem to be much survival involved.

Nobody is fighting for food.

Nobody is defending the women in the village from invading tribes.

Nobody is battling King Kong.

It is usually two blokes arguing over something so monumentally moronic that neither of them will even remember what started it three weeks later.

The strange thing is that I never look at these videos and think, “Yeah, I hope my guy wins.”

I look at both of them and think, “I would not want to be either of those pathetic muppets.”

Whether you are the one getting punched or the one doing the punching, there is something deeply undignified about ending up flat on your back in a filthy car park while strangers film you for the entertainment of people they have never met.

Perhaps violence still has a place in very specific situations.

Self defence, protecting others, genuine threats.

Fair enough.

But a surprising amount of what passes for violence these days seems less like survival of the fittest and more like survival of the numptiest.

Maybe I am missing something.

I just struggle to understand what part of the human brain looks at a crowded street, a hundred smartphone cameras, and a potential criminal charge and concludes that this is the perfect time to start windmilling punches at some other random bloke.

Says Alpha! Tell us about yourself.

19 minutes ago, Alpha84 said:

Two unathletic looking grown dudes standing in a street shouting at each other.

Is Violence Really Still Necessary?

You'll find these type of people are unintelligent, low IQ, most had poor parenting.

I'm a believer of corporal punishment at schools. If I wasn't introduced to the cane at school I'd be in prison today.

35 minutes ago, Alpha84 said:

And thirty seconds later both mugs are rolling around on the pavement throwing punches with all the grace and technique of two washing machines falling down a staircase in unison.

Nice analogy, though humans are still inherently predatory territorial creatures and nothing is ever going to change that no matter how much humans try to think their way out of it.

1 hour ago, Alpha84 said:

The other day I found myself watching yet another one of those “can easily do without” videos that the internet insists on feeding us.

The internet didn't force 'feed' you a video. You made a conscious decision to eat it. If it's not my idea of entertainment, I simply don't click on it. Everyone has that same choice.

1 hour ago, Alpha84 said:

I just struggle to understand what part of the human brain looks at a crowded street, a hundred smartphone cameras, and a potential criminal charge and concludes that this is the perfect time to start windmilling punches at some other random bloke.

I agree,

Best to use a gun!

1 hour ago, SAFETY FIRST said:

You'll find these type of people are unintelligent, low IQ, most had poor parenting.

I'm a believer of corporal punishment at schools. If I wasn't introduced to the cane at school I'd be in prison today.

Spare the rod, spoil the child.