...'as if only subhumans defended themselves'.

A nice piece from Jayme Evans at War of Wits: "The Three R's" (... now rejection, retaliation, and revenge)

...There used to be a time when problems were solved differently. If the schoolyard bully stole your lunch, or some jerk wolf-whistled at your wife, or stole your parking space, you went out back and the two of you pummeled each other until somebody won. Black eyes were a right of passage.

When it was over, the winner said his piece, picked the loser up off the ground, and the two went their separate ways. This way of resolving conflict was imprinted on me in my childhood. It is how my brothers and I solved our problems, often times with each other. It is how my father solved his problems, indeed how society solved it's problems, once reason and civility failed.

In today's world, the loser of the fight files assault charges or sues you for all you're worth; Or he goes home, grabs his gun or steals his father's, and takes care their of his problem by putting a bullet in the winner's head.

In today's world, people act more enlightened. They look at the use of violence of any sort to solve problems - whether it be a schoolyard brawl, or outright war- with upturned noses, as if only subhumans defended themselves. Think zero-tolerance. They reality is, that that isn't the way the world works. It is full of conflict. And contrasts. Rich vs. Poor. Strong vs. Weak. Good vs. Evil. Right vs. Wrong. ...