"Strike first, strike hard, no mercy sir!"
I've received many messages and comments on social media and privately regarding my recent article " Enter the interception ". A common response is exemplified by "Nelson's" below: ""When in doubt strike out." was the maxim under which I was trained. This I took to mean when confrontation is inevitable you must have the wherewithal to react BEFORE you get popped whether it be by a knife, gun or fist. If you insist on being a dojo lawyer and giving an opponent the first shot you'd better stay on the "good" side of town only in daylight hours." This is a variation on the old " I'd rather be tried by 12 than carried by 6 ". I have to say, it has a lot of emotional appeal and seems unimpeachable when it is raised: no one can disagree with it in principle . However I don't feel this provides any kind of formula for conflict management . To me, it is far too simplistic to capture the myriad social cir...