Iraq War veteran Michael Anthony talks about battling bullies. Make sure to watch the bully experiment video at the end.
Several years back, I was going for a walk around my neighborhood—one of my usual weekly routines—and as I turned a corner on one particular day, I saw a man and woman struggling in front of me. I wasn’t sure what was going on between them until I saw the man pull back and punch the woman. I immediately ran over as she fell to the ground. They were still yelling as she fell. She was his wife, and apparently he had hit her before.
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“Yeah call the police. I’ll Kick your ass.”
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I jumped between the two of them, pushed the guy back with my body and covered up the woman. The guy backed off as I helped her to her feet. He began yelling at me: “What are you some tough guy? Yeah help her up pussy. I’ll kick your ass.”
He yelled in the background as I looked over and asked if she was alright. I then took out my phone and called the police (the process is actually a lot longer than you’d think).
He kept yelling, “Yeah. Call the police. I’ll kick your ass…”
He got in my face, “I’m talking to you, tough guy.”
I looked him up and down as he stood there. He wasn’t that big of a guy, maybe 5’11, 175lbs. Not huge, but nothing to scoff at. I’m not that big of a guy myself either. I stand just under 5’10 and fluctuate between 155-165lbs. But one thing that you can’t tell from looking at me is that I’m a war veteran and I’m trained in MMA. There was no doubt in my mind that I could drop this guy. But instead, I ignored him as I talked to the police and kept standing between him and the woman.
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“I’ve trained for years–in the army and in gyms–for such a moment…”
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He kept yelling, walking in circles around the two of us. I stayed on with the police and simultaneously tried to make small talk with the woman (once I actually got someone on the phone they got a trooper there within a few minutes). The police came, took over the situation, and then told me I could leave. So I did. I left.
But here’s the thing. I’m fairly certain that I did what was right. Once I was there, I knew that the guy no longer posed a threat to the woman, and I didn’t see him as a threat to me, so instead of fighting him I called the police. I talked to the woman and protected her. But still… when I think about the incident I regret not knocking the guy’s lights out. I mean, how often does a man get a chance to beat up a wife beater? I’d trained for years–in the army and in gyms–for such a moment, and I’d been in fights before, so I wasn’t scared. But I didn’t do it. I don’t know why. It may not be a popular sentiment, maybe I’m compensating for something, but I honestly regret not punching him.
Anyways… this video made me think about it. Check it out and let me know: What would you do?
Photo: Eddie~S/Flickr
