I’m sorry, did I write somewhere here that boxing should be outlawed?
My brother and I ran a slap-boxing league with our friends when we were kids. Slapping doesn’t leave bruises like punching, so we were able to get away with that kind of recreational fighting. If the parents asked why our faces were red, we could just claim sunburn.
I was a practitioner of “crab-style”. My younger brother was adept at “lizard-style”. We liked to pretend it was some kind of humiliating Kung-Fu.
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N[quote=“teapot, post:161, topic:49851, full:true”]
…but don’t let thinking people get in the way of you guys wanting to watch people punch each other in the head.
[/quote]
No, by all means, let’s get the nanny patrol out, issue helmets to everyone, and ban anything that might cause someone icky feelings in the future. Or if not ban, at least stern looks of disapproval and head shaking.
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No, by all means, let’s totally ignore the human costs to others so we can continue indulging the vicarious, atavistic joy of watching others punch each other in the head. No sense in thinking about context, or in, you know, using any more than a few percentage points of our ratiocinative capabilities.
If you think of it as a replacement for war it becomes less pointless. Then hooligans get involved and ruin it for everyone else.
Association football can be just as bad. Fewer concussions but I remember working on the gates at Carlisle United who were playing against torquay (I think) one cold wet tuesday night, the ground was about 1/10th full. Carlisle’s resident psycho Richard Prokas timed his tackle badly. I doubt I will ever forget the crack from the other guys leg breaking, or his scream or the echo around the ground.
I also remember when Richie Foran signed for Carlisle United. He told the local newspaper that his hobbies were Gaelic Football and Hurling. The next day the club put out a press release saying he would not play either sport while he was under contact for the team.
I doubt that a ban would work. I’d sooner keep it legal and under medical supervision. That doesn’t mean that I like it.
But the Monaco Grand Prix is a tradition!
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Well, that’s true. I gave up watching sports years ago when I realized I was watching the same thing over and over.
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No slapping!
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You do realize not everyone into boxing/fighting/sports has severe repercussions later in life?
What about other sports that can lead to severe debilitating injury or death? Skiing, rock climbing, base jumping, horse back riding? Even something like Little League baseball has a few deaths a year. Yes these things usually happen when something goes “wrong” and it’s not “purpose” of the sport, but why does that matter? If suffering is suffering, should we allow what is essentially a completely superfluous activity?
Still no love for the ancient and noble martial art of shin-kicking?
[quote=“Mister44, post:171, topic:49851”]
You do realize not everyone into boxing/fighting/sports has severe repercussions later in life?[/quote]
Of course.
What about other sports that can lead to severe debilitating injury or death? Skiing, rock climbing, base jumping, horse back riding? Even something like Little League baseball has a few deaths a year. Yes these things usually happen when something goes “wrong” and it’s not “purpose” of the sport, but why does that matter? If suffering is suffering, should we allow what is essentially a completely superfluous activity?
This reminds me of your spurious claims about the relative dangers of guns and swimmming pools! But setting that aside, that matters because as in American football, such problems happen far more often in a sport in which an explicit goal is to hit the other guy in the head as often and as hard as possible. Go ahead and keep ignoring that difference, but I’m not going to.
Also, I do prefer not to totally ignore the human costs to others so some can continue indulging the vicarious, atavistic joy of watching others punch each other in the head; those costs simply aren’t nearly as high with the other sports you listed. I do think there is sense in thinking about context, or in, you know, using more than a few percentage points of our ratiocinative capabilities.
I see the difference. I just don’t have a problem with it. I guess this is another thing we agree to disagree about.
Ooh! Ooh! Secondary market in skilled chess-boffers! Spread betting, leagues, transfer windows!
We tried to invent chess with time-travelling pieces once, but we were really high.
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Bring me my fighting trousers
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Ah the “nanny state” argument: Classic refuge of the simpleton and those without meaningful talking points.
We’re discussing one subject, about which I’ve provided a multitude of evidence from educated people to make my case and the best your side can do is reply with nothing but semantics, straw men, no evidence to support your case whatsoever and laziest of all: the nanny state argument.
Who exactly do you think is going to be convinced by your arguments if they’re entirely devoid of content? I might be vitriolic but at least I’m saying actual things. You guys are just saying “nuh uh!!!1!!!”.
I’m also not sure where you get this idea that I’ve got a problem with causing icky feelings (Hello, teapot speaking) or violence when necessary. The idea that it’s a sport is an outright joke and doctors say it should not continue or at the very least be changed in ways that minimise the damage (to which I’ve still yet to see any of you reply).
Up next in sports: guys hitting each other with 2x4s? Don’t worry, two morons without an appreciation or understanding of the risks have mutually consented to it!
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This is the exact basis on which we’re being asked to accept boxing. It’s not specious - I’ve provided tons of evidence from educated people as to why boxing should be banned or its rules modified and those arguing for why it should continue have yet to provide a shred of evidence to the contrary.
Laws clearly always fix everything.
Since laws don’t fix anything, shall we rescind the law against murder? Half considered arguments always fix any subject amirite?
@SmashMartian I can whole-heartedly agree that boxing is on par with WWF as a sport.
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Fake like Boxing and real like Professional Wrestling.
Boxing may suffer from an over abundance of fixed matches but they can’t pull off the choreography of violence anywhere near as well as the professional wrestlers.
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I’d like to address the burden on society issue.
It’s not an issue. 
Aw, and you were doing so well as the only ambassador for fight sports in this thread who wasn’t talking out of their arse… So much for that!
