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Crowstep  1yr ago (worksinprogress.co)   1522 thread views

Why we Duel - Works in Progress

worksinprogress.co

Submission statement: Anthropologist William Buckner discusses the social purposes and methods of duelling in various societies.

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Provides some support for my thesis that our reduction in low-level violence (fistfights, martial arts, scrapping at school etc.) has lead not so much to an increase in violence, but a shift to less frequent but more damaging outbursts (drive-bys, school shootings, gang fights).

Perhaps what is needed is a socially acceptable, ritualized form of single combat for people (mostly boys and young men) to hammer out their differences in relative safety.

The best means I ever saw of reducing interpersonal conflict among T-jacked hyper-violent men was a regular post boxing match. Two joes have a problem with each other? Sign 'em up to fight. It was how a man got respect, policed boundaries.

In terms rationalist nerds might understand, it forces skin in the game to complain about the behavior of others. It routes around the rank structure and the military legal system, and so is "fair" in a way that rules and heirarchy prevent in other contexts. The shared stress and pain of mutual public combat usually created a mutual respect between the combatants. You might not like Specialist Asshole, but you knew that if you talked too much shit, he'd fight you, and no matter who won, you'd both get hurt.

I lost three matches to the same guy. I can't remember why I was mad at him, but I signed up to fight him three matches in a row. By the third one, I think he just wanted rid of me. We're still friends.

Maybe the school shootings are because guys can’t have mostly-harmless fistfights, but there is a LOT less murder than before. Maybe that’s because what would have been murder in 1980 is now aggravated assault in 2023.

I still think that the murder rate (or maybe murder + aggravated assault) is a pretty good proxy here.

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