When I was in school things shifted dramatically regarding the idea of self-defense. There is an idea in our culture that one has the right to defend ones self (never mind the fact that if you get charged with a crime, you are depending on the collective intellect of twelve people who couldn’t figure out a way to get out of jury duty to believe you acted in self-defense and acquit you) although this is getting undermined.
However, in public schools it is a different thing now.
When I was but a wee lad, I occasionally got in scrapes, however, because I was a good beta boy, I did not get in trouble because the few scrapes I was in, I was defending myself. In this situation, having a reputation for being a beta was good, people believed you when you said you were defending yourself and didn’t start the fight.
I actually had some male teachers, and they aren’t the effeminate ones that are around now (I will say right now that I know of a few male teachers that are still like this, but they are a rare breed, much rarer than a male teacher, which is in itself something rare) and they believed in self-defense.
However, when I was a little older, and the teachers were less male and more female, the idea started getting pushed that it “takes two to fight” and both individuals got punished, albeit usually one more than the other.
I never liked this. It seemed in my mind tantamount to Pearl Harbor being the fault of the United States because they had a naval base there and thus invited the attack, or Tibet had it coming because China invaded. I tried to make these points with the teachers, I lost them every time.
Now things have shifted completely. It is verboten to defend yourself. If you try, you will be expelled or suspended, along with the person that assaulted you. This “zero tolerance” is an attempt to make people into the type of citizen that would never fight back under any circumstance, completely dependant upon the State for protection. People that will quietly go to Auschwitz.
The government, through the public schools, wants our children to be sheep.
If I ever have a son and he goes to public school and he defends himself (not start a fight, but I actually believe he defended himself) I will not punish him for getting in trouble, I will celebrate it. I will take him out, I will play video games with him all day, I will even be tempted to take him to some place with rollercoasters.
There is justice and there is injustice. Some injustices need to be worn like a badge. Not with shame, but with pride.
