In this video from the online course “Martial Studies: Third-Person Defense”, discover the reasons why most people who witness an aggression do not intervene!
Table of Contents
Is it better to act or not to act?
Would you be willing to intervene, to put your life in danger to save the life of a stranger or even to defend him?
This first question is already tricky.
Some people answer “no” out of reflex, and that’s perfectly normal.
Second question: if you don’t do it, if you don’t intervene, will you be able to look at yourself in the mirror without having too much on your conscience?
That’s the big deal with third-party defense, is “should I act or not?”
We all look at the same media, and sometimes they make us a little paranoid. But we can see very well that when someone we know, or someone we don’t know is attacked, nobody moves an inch, right?
Unfortunately, we have to adapt, that’s why the self defense that we teach must be adapted to our era and you think “Isn’t one of them going to move?” That’s how it always happens!
“Everyone says the same thing to each other actually.”
Exactly! – “oh, isn’t anyone moving?” – “Go ahead!” – “no, come with me!”
It’s a very tricky situation. Why?
Because people are afraid! Of course, this also has to do with cowardice somehow, but it is fear that prevents us from intervening! Put yourself in the shoes of the person who can intervene, it’s easier said than done. Also, some people will say, ” Aren’t you ashamed? You do martial arts, and you don’t even intervene!” That’s what I’m trying to! To put it simply, if you happen to be attacked, rely only on yourself! If ever a kind soul comes to help you, so much the better, but do not count on it. It’s sad, but that’s the reality.
Why do you think people don’t intervene when there is danger?
On the train, someone gets mugged. But then, why doesn’t anyone move when the car is full?
Imagine that a guy enters the car and starts to bother a young girl, or a guy. Nobody reacts. Why?
“They are afraid that the law will backfire”
That’s a first answer. However, I doubt that people know the law. Still, one thing is certain, it is a matter of survival.
Be careful, I’m giving you options here, I’m not telling you that I prefer this option over another one, I’m just giving you the ones that exist.
Let’s consider that you are in the train car, sitting down and 4 awkward people arrive and start bothering a 13 years old girl, looking at her iPhone. They want to steal her phone and slap her. You watch the scene, explain to you, everyone is dealing with a problem. Either you go and you may get hurt, or you don’t do anything, you go home alive, but the next day you look at yourself in the mirror and you regret because you hear on TV that the girl got killed. That’s the big dilemma. Can you relate?
“Graveyards are full of heroes”
You are more likely to be helped if you cry “fire” than “help”!
What I mean is that as soon as there is an aggressor, you are afraid to intervene, because you are afraid for your own life, and possibly for the person accompanying you on the train. But above all, you are afraid of retaliation. It is normal, it is human.
Now, some will act, others won’t.
As the saying goes, “graveyards are full of heroes”. In other words, unfortunately many people jump off a bridge to help another person and end up drowning.
Of course, some stories have happy endings!
