Are we trained into the sense that what Mark describes is the ultimate chivalric response, and the Genuine Cowboy Way? This one puzzles the hell out of me -- there are some cultures where lifting a finger in defense of a woman is considered incomprehensible; in ours, violence in defense of such interesting abstractions as a lady's honor are quite defensible -- and as Mark demonstrates, they are much more "satisfactory" than an eductaed, non-violent answer, but....why?

It is almost as if we are on the look out for key events which "call for" the use of physical force ande can justify it adequately in our minds, and once we find such a corcumstance, we pick up the old bat and look around for a target. But what is ibnteresting is the predisposition to keep a sharp eye out for the right circumstances so we can turn on all the appropriate mechanisms the minute whatever circumstances we need are detected. CUltural radar tuned for the signature of good justifications.

What's that all about?


A