Punch in the Face?

You look fat in that or your butt looks fat.

I can think of twice where they threw a punch and I didnt retaliate...both times I stood up and walked up close and said are you sure you want a fight ? And both times they apologised and backed down...I have no idea what they were upset about though. Words are just that...you take it to the next level at your own peril.

I have seen fights start over unfaithful wives, sports teams, drug deals, owed money, different units, but never race, religion or politics. I have never seen insults start fights though, perhaps this is because in Oz we call someone "not a bad sort of bastard" if we like them and just "a bastard" if we dont.

In the army we also have a habit of calling women soldiers "crack troops" and black soldiers as midnight or some such, but as everyone has a rather insulting nickname it is shrugged off....you cant spell team with "I" in it so everything is sacrificed for the group.

I have seen homosexuals called :
queerer than a drunk camel
gayer than Abduls birthday party
more camp than the bedouin reunion
more poof than the inside of a sheiks tent
but I have also seen them smile at being accepted fully up to insult status. Dialogue does not result in punches (usually) it is a lack of communication that does.

1. anything, exquisite intonation 2. because (if only i went to bars)



not very occasionally

Joe, we, in australia, have a protocol. If you wanna fight in a bar you empty your glass and place it upside down on the bar. The problem with this is its an open invitation to anyone in the pub to have a go. You dont get a choice of opponants.
On the plus side is you can be too drunk to talk and still get what you want.

I've been in some fights (eons ago) and I've watched others as they get to the point of fighting. If two guys are at the actual bar, watch their stances:
both leaning in on their elbows and arms- no problem,
one standing straight and saying something loudly to the other-maybe no problem but watch
----if the other guy stands up and takes his hands off the bar
----hold on to your drink so it doesn't get spilled in the next few seconds.

A barfighter friend of mine, well, he wasn't really a barfighter, he just was always on the make and occasionally there would be some objection made to his intrusions. (I've seen him go right up to a couple at a table and make a pass at the woman. AND have her go with him. AND not to dance.)

Anyway, he told me he always knew that he was Okay until he saw just a little lip quiver on the part of his adversary. That meant a punch was coming.

On a2k, there are no such signals.

Joe(sadly. Some people here need a good punching.)Nation