# What Is Society Coming To? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [February 19, 2010, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-society-coming-to/529568 "2010-02-19T00:10:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2010, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-society-coming-to/529568/101 "2010-03-03T16:45:51Z")
Yeah? What makes you say? I mean, other than all the craziness. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2010, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-society-coming-to/529568/102 "2010-03-03T16:52:38Z")
> [@An\_Gadai](#): > > What I want to know is why was it being filmed in the first place? DingDingDing - we have a winner. Instead of running the damn camera and egging people on, the idiot should have tried to defuse the situation. But no, it’s cheap entertainment. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2010, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-society-coming-to/529568/103 "2010-03-03T16:57:33Z")
> [@Critical\_Mass](#): > > The Amber Lamps fan site. > > [http://amberlamps.co.cc/](http://amberlamps.co.cc/) The two clowns in the fight will be forgotten shortly. This girl is gonna wind up with her own TV show. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2010, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-society-coming-to/529568/104 "2010-03-03T17:39:49Z")
So, some random butt hole got into a fight with the wrong crazy person and got his ass kicked. Not seeing a down side here. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2010, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-society-coming-to/529568/105 "2010-03-03T20:13:06Z")
> [@Clothahump](#): > > DingDingDing - we have a winner. > > Instead of running the damn camera and egging people on, the idiot should have tried to defuse the situation. But no, it’s cheap entertainment. If there is a villain in this sad movie it is the camera girl. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2010, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-society-coming-to/529568/106 "2010-03-04T02:03:36Z")
> [@Muffin](#): > > In a [later radio interview](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4I1r3dhMUO4), the smaller fellow says that he himself is 50, that he threw the first punch, and that he was under the influence of alcohol. So there it is. He admits he swung first. > [@Clothahump](#): > > DingDingDing - we have a winner. > > Instead of running the damn camera and egging people on, the idiot should have tried to defuse the situation. But no, it’s cheap entertainment. Just making a wild guess, I’d say he and his lady friend were hoping to capture him beating down someone, to show off later - Facebook or YouTube maybe? Basically, he went looking for a fight and found one. It sucks to be him. And Epic Beard was talking and acting crazy, cuz he is crazy. ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2010, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-society-coming-to/529568/107 "2010-03-04T02:27:08Z")
> [@OneChance](#): > > All I care about is, who is the girl in the purple tights? That’s Amber. Amber Lamps. Everyone wants her. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2010, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-society-coming-to/529568/108 "2010-03-04T03:55:00Z")
> [@SteveG1](#): > > Just making a wild guess, I’d say he and his lady friend were hoping to capture him beating down someone, to show off later - Facebook or YouTube maybe? He says on the radio interview that he did not know any of the women on the bus, and that his lady is in another city. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2010, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-society-coming-to/529568/109 "2010-03-04T04:49:40Z")
> [@SteveG1](#): > > So there it is. He admits he swung first. To me that’s not the end of the inquiry. As I said before, there’s only so much verbal abuse anyone ought to have to take peacefully. But that may be a cultural thing. I’ve noticed that in different parts of the country and among different cultural groups verbal insults are perceived differently. (And yes, I know verbal insults are not a legal excuse for assault. But then again, so-called “[fighting words](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fighting_words)” are usually criminal, and there was no shortage of those from Beard-o the Weirdo.) ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2010, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-society-coming-to/529568/110 "2010-03-04T22:12:08Z")
> [@spoke-](#): > > To me that’s not the end of the inquiry. As I said before, there’s only so much verbal abuse anyone ought to have to take peacefully. But that may be a cultural thing. I’ve noticed that in different parts of the country and among different cultural groups verbal insults are perceived differently. > > (And yes, I know verbal insults are not a legal excuse for assault. But then again, so-called “[fighting words](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fighting_words)” are usually criminal, and there was no shortage of those from Beard-o the Weirdo.) Intriguing. So if someone says a “fighting” word, I am then justified in taking whatever action I feel like taking? How far can I go? What is the limit? If someone says one of these words to me, can I beat him to death, or do I have to stop once he goes into a coma? This opens some very new posibilities, in the way I interact with other people. Where do I obtain the offical list of “fighting words”? ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-society-coming-to/529568/111 "2010-03-05T15:28:16Z")
The size of the list of fighting words increases with the ability of your defense attorney. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-society-coming-to/529568/112 "2010-03-05T15:43:59Z")
> [@SteveG1](#): > > Intriguing. So if someone says a “fighting” word, I am then justified in taking whatever action I feel like taking? No, fighting words do not _legally_ justify an assault. (Though in certain cultures, they do impart some _moral_ justification.) But the fighting words themselves may be criminal, so that both parties have criminal liability. > [@](#): > > Where do I obtain the offical list of “fighting words”? Consult your state statutes and local ordinances. > [@](#): > > This opens some very new posibilities, in the way I interact with other people. If the way you interact with other people includes verbal insults and threats, then maybe you ought to consider a different approach regardless of the legalities. Or be prepared for the consequences. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-society-coming-to/529568/113 "2010-03-05T16:10:01Z")
If A slugs B, because B used fighting words, then A is convicted for assault and B is convisted for using fighting words. B’s use of fighting words does not let A skate for assault. Think of fighting words the same way you would think of someone being convicted for inciting a riot – it does not get the rioters off the hook just because they were incited to riot. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-society-coming-to/529568/114 "2010-03-05T21:07:53Z")
Don’t take me so seriously. My asking about the “official list” was pure snark. I was hoping for some really good smart ass types of ideas, maybe a “sliding scale of penalties”. He calls you a shit head, a kick int the shins. Fuck you? A finger poke in the eye. Oh well, maybe next time some wiseguys will pick up on it. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-society-coming-to/529568/115 "2010-03-05T23:29:54Z")
> [@spoke-](#): > > If there is a villain in this sad movie it is the camera girl. REPEAT. QFT. LOOKIT THIS. Like I said earlier, Camera Bitch needed her camera tossed out the fucking bus window. ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2010, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-society-coming-to/529568/116 "2010-03-06T02:54:14Z")
> [@Isamu](#): > > That’s Amber. Amber Lamps. Everyone wants her. Anyone identify her yet? ---
**Author:** ![enomaj](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/59ef9b/32.png) [@enomaj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enomaj)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2010, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-society-coming-to/529568/117 "2010-03-06T04:48:35Z")
> [@elmwood](#): > > Anyone identify her yet? And ruin the mystery?! She probably doesn’t even know she’s internet famous and even if she did, she’s too beautiful to care. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Jeffrey\_Lebowski](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_jeffrey_lebowski/32/215_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Jeffrey\_Lebowski](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Jeffrey_Lebowski)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2010, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-society-coming-to/529568/118 "2010-03-06T21:57:31Z")
EBM goaded the attack - how much to shine my shoes, is that what he said?. He had what appeared to be a 5 or 6 inch height advantage, and it appears to me, that at 1:40 of the video, EBM makes the first actual contact. ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2010, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-society-coming-to/529568/119 "2010-05-09T04:28:55Z")
> [@BMada](#): > > The black guy got his ass handed to him after he started the physical altercation. However, we don’t have the full context of the fight, as it started verbally with racism involved. Yes, the younger person did not like what the older person said, even though he didn’t know what the older person was saying, and his incorrectly thinking that the person of the other race was in the wrong was, indeed, racism. Check out the David Spate video on YT. I also think it is hilarious the older woman telling the black guy that it’s not worth it. That was an understatement, lol! Best wishes, hh [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-society-coming-to/529568.md?page=5)