Duelling...

[Lanius]

Hmm. So, would it be better if insults to one 'honor' or just general conflict could result in duelling? That is, duelling were legal?

Today, I unwisely commented on one picture where the lady's nipples were visible, due to cold weather or lack of underwear..  by quipping it 'must've been cold that day..' and this suggestion of a duel resulted.

[Hawkmoon]

By whom was the comment construed to be in any way insulting, and why?

[RevDisk]

Hmm. So, would it be better if insults to one 'honor' or just general conflict could result in duelling? That is, duelling were legal?

Today, I unwisely commented on one picture where the lady's nipples were visible, due to cold weather or lack of underwear..  by quipping it 'must've been cold that day..' and this suggestion of a duel resulted.

Could be either. 

Suggested something similiar with a friend who made a highly inappropriate remark about my ladyfriend while under the influence.  I offered him the choice between firearms or 20 lb sledge hammers.  He (unwisely) tried to claim the "I was drunk" defense.  Did you voluntarily drink?  Yes?  Then you intentionally and voluntarily made the comment.  If you were sick or otherwise incapacitated, it would be different.  He didn't get it.  I ended the friendship, because the alternative isn't legal any longer. 

[Lanius]

By whom was the comment construed to be in any way insulting, and why?

By one blonde, lesbian , gun-toting, middle aged, middle-American  snarker who has a really nice rack.. of vintage rifles 
I think she was just jesting. A friend of hers considered it impolite and suggested that in a more civilized time, I'd get an invitation to a duel.

[Lanius]

I ended the friendship, because the alternative isn't legal any longer. 

Was he a real friend? Cause I don't think I'd end a friendship if the person was otherwise good, and it was only a minor insult, for which an apology has been issued.

I don't like the drink defense. It seems like trying to deflect responsibility...it may be a mitigating circumstance still.. but ultimately, one has to be able to be sorry and express it by, say, performing a number of household chores or publicly pouring molten butter on one's head if the remark was very inappropriate.

[RevDisk]

Was he a real friend? Cause I don't think I'd end a friendship if the person was otherwise good, and it was only a minor insult, for which an apology has been issued.

I don't like the drink defense. It seems like trying to deflect responsibility...it may be a mitigating circumstance still.. but ultimately, one has to be able to be sorry and express it by, say, performing a number of household chores or publicly pouring molten butter on one's head if the remark was very inappropriate.

He wasn't after making that remark.  He did apologize, but maintained his "defense".  In other words, the apology was invalid because he didn't take ownership of his mistake. 

[MicroBalrog]

Two forms of dueling existed historically:

One, the form practiced by, for example, 19th century Americans, or Icelanders. In this view, dueling was a form of dispute settlement. Normally duelists fought to the death, or until significant injury occurred.

18th and 19th century European dueling evolved to a point where the purpose was not to kill the other duelists, but to satisfy honor - for example, a person insulted your wife, it would then be your honor duty to duel them. If you missed them with your pistol, that's okay - the important think is you risked your life in the proposition. In this one, people normally stopped as soon as someone was injured, and in some cases at the request of their seconds.

Which one do you mean?

[Lanius]

First seems wasteful to me.

The second seems okay. To me. Maybe duelling with single shot .22 WMRs would be appropriate..

[TommyGunn]

Nah.  No deuling.  Not today.














Get a lawyer and sue the ******** outta the offender.

[Lanius]

Get a lawyer and sue the ******** outta the offender. Popcorn

That's an attitude that promotes vermin ..er lawyer growth.

I *hate* lawyers. I think instead of a court case, a trial by combat would be more honest. That's an old germanic idea... to decide who's right, two champions are chosen and they duke it out. Whoever wins is right.

[41magsnub]

First seems wasteful to me.

The second seems okay. To me. Maybe duelling with single shot .22 WMRs would be appropriate..

Because a .22 WMR is not fatal or something?

[vaskidmark]

iirc dueling was ended both in Europe and the Americas because of the proliferation of attorneys as a more effective alternative to inflict damage on the offending party and thus restore one's honor in the eyes of the one claiming the insult and in the eyes of the rest of the community.

Nowadays I am not aware of that many behaviors that would qualify for the old-fashioned concept of restoring injured honor - either because the behavior of the allegedly offending party is so petty or because the party claiming to be offended has no honor to defend.

On the other hand, there are any number of boors and oafs whose refusal to consider controling their behavior so as to remain just barely within the bounds of social acceptability and would benefit greatly by learning basic social manners either by being mortally wounded or otherwise learning, on a one-by-one basis I suppose, just who their social betters are and to whom they ought to not, as the vernacular so aptly puts it, "show their ass".

The problem with modern society considering the resumption of dueling is that those doing so forget one important issue - only gentlemen were considered to have honor which could be insulted by the inappropriate behavior of another gentleman.  The vast majority of folks whom the proponents seem to point out as reasons for the reintroduction of dueling are boorish oafs, whom a gentleman could horsewhip, or cut with a sword, or run through, or shoot down like a common cur in the street and suffer no penalty.

My problem is that I do not qualify as a gentleman.

stay safe.

[Regolith]

Because a .22 WMR is not fatal or something?

It's less fatal than, say, a .50 BMG....

[Perd Hapley]

Use of a swhat?

[41magsnub]

It's less fatal than, say, a .50 BMG....

shot placement, shot placement, shot placement!   

Maybe a .50bmg single shot derringer sized hand guns for the duel...  nobody is going to have the stones to pull the trigger.

[Hawkmoon]

That's an old germanic idea... to decide who's right, two champions are chosen and they duke it out. Whoever wins is right.

No.

Whoever wins is the winner. The winner could still be wrong.

Remember, history is written by the winners.

[KD5NRH]

Because a .22 WMR is not fatal or something?

Less chance of serious overpenetration.  Of course, something like a Barnes Varmint Grenade would be even better, but I'd prefer to stick to sword duels anyway.

[Lanius]

IMO, sniper duels are way cooler than sword duels.