Quote:
Originally Posted by Fidatelo
I don't know how to dispute that although I don't recall him ever changing myself. That said, you're telling me a half-season suspension couldn't have accomplished the same thing?
I just don't see why people feel that fighting is somehow this be-all/end-all of deterrents. Shouldn't vigilante justice apply to the rest of life if this is so effective? Why has society said that the deterrent for assaulting someone on the street is jail time, but the deterrent for assaulting someone on the ice rink is a retaliatory assault?
The bottom line is you can change human behavior in many ways. Does beating someone up work sometimes? Sure. But there are other methods, and I don't get why hockey can't grow up and use them. Especially when the argument seems to always be "well it worked great 40 years ago!". Well guess what, it's not 1970 anymore, get out of the past.
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I'm on the fence about fighting...I hate the staged crap and the "you just rocked my teammate with a clean hit but I didn't like it" stuff but when two guys have been battling all game decide they've had enough of each other, well, I suppose I'm not as bothered by something like that.
If the last example were gone from the game, I wouldn't lose any sleep over it, but first two certainly would make things more enjoyable.
But, at the same time, there are guys who simply don't give a shit about others on the ice and are going to do what they are going to do regardless of consequences on or off the ice. Suspensions and penalties be damned for a guy like Tootoo who still has no problem running over (and jumping at) anybody on the ice but the moment he gets tapped on the shoulder he plays dead while flinging his gear all over the ice like he's taking a nap at a yard sale. Suspensions and fines have done nothing to deter this kid so maybe he needs to get the message in some other fashion...no?
And while we're talking about real life consequences, what do you suppose would happen when I call the cops about the two teenage punks who beat the shit out of my inflatable Santa on my front lawn the other night? I'll tell you, nothing.
For one, the punks know the cops aren't going to send out anybody in a timely fashion so they have plenty of time to destroy a few more Santas on their way to 7-11 to grab a Slurpee for their leisurely walk home. And secondly, even if they were caught in the act they know nothing is going to come of it because the cops have more important crap to deal with and what they're doing isn't really hurting anybody so it's small peanuts.
I didn't do that shit when I was a kid because I was scared of what would happen if I were to get caught...either by the house I vandalized or by my dad when he found out. I didn't even worry or think about what the cops would have done. But that isn't the way kids think today.