Do you consider yourself a pacifist or a warrior?

[elfpirate]

This is another one of those "I'm just curious" threads.
I wanted to know if my fellow Otaku's see themselves as pacifists or as warriors?
Is violence necessary sometimes or can all problems be solved peacefully?

As for myself, I would definitely have to say "warrior" -I truly believe that there is a time and a place for everything- including violence. Feel free to prove me wrong, if you wish...

So what do you think?

Edit: OK- I guess what I meant to ask and somehow worded it wrong was this:

Do you believe that there are situations in which fighting is necessary (or that there are things that are truly worth fighting for regardless of whether you think you can win) or do you believe that violence is always unnecessary and that you should always walk away from a fight no matter what the cause?

[Retribution]

I'm not sure... an interesting mix of both for me.

[B]I'm a warrior[/B] when I think I can win; be it an argument or a fight. So if and when I'm fighting you, I think I can win. I don't take authority over myself very well, either. I'm usually the leader or second in command, but never lower than that. I guess being the oldest of all these brothers makes you power-hungry. And I will fight for my pride. That's another by-product of older-brotherdom.

[B]I'm a pacifist[/B] when the argument is just stupid. I don't feel like getting all worked up over something petty. I also will decline to fight when I think I will definetly lose the battle.

I have a violent way of thinking, but a peaceful way of action. Very strange.

[Adahn]

[size=2]Hmm, I don't have problems, so it's sort of difficult to decide. I'm not a very violent person. If people don't like me, or are mean to me, I tend to be nice to them. I guess it's just the kind of person I am. I have a funny little story. I was at the Olive Garden, and I really like their breadsticks, so I asked for more so I could take them home. Being the good person that I am, I ate one of them so as not to seem wasteful, and asked for 'doggie bags' to take home my uneaten food. The waitress put the meal I was eating in the container thing, then took my breadsticks and threw them away. My mom insisted that I give her hardly a tip, because we both (well, all three) knew she was doing it to be a *****. But, I felt compelled to over-tip her. I don't know what kind of an effect it had on her, being rewarded for doing something nasty to me, but I really didn't want to give her less of a tip in response to poor service.[/size]
[size=2][/size]
[size=2]On the other hand (sorry for the tangent), I love fighting for fun. My friends and I did it for a while, and people eventually were afraid of me, because I fought like my life depended on it, even though it was just for fun. I didn't fight dirty, but I wanted to hit the other guy so bad they all must have seen it. One kid who must be a good half-foot taller than me, and a football player to boot, refused to fight me because he said he was afraid. I've always sort of hoped someone would come along to test my mettle, but it hasn't happened yet. If it does, I hope I can fight with the same passion for victory as I did for fun, and am not blinded by rage.[/size]

[kaisha]

I'm a warrior, all the way! I can even be scary sometimes. :devil:

[Pumpkin]

[QUOTE=Adahn][size=2]Hmm, I don't have problems, so it's sort of difficult to decide. I'm not a very violent person. If people don't like me, or are mean to me, I tend to be nice to them. I guess it's just the kind of person I am. I have a funny little story. I was at the Olive Garden, and I really like their breadsticks, so I asked for more so I could take them home. Being the good person that I am, I ate one of them so as not to seem wasteful, and asked for 'doggie bags' to take home my uneaten food. The waitress put the meal I was eating in the container thing, then took my breadsticks and threw them away. My mom insisted that I give her hardly a tip, because we both (well, all three) knew she was doing it to be a *****. But, I felt compelled to over-tip her. I don't know what kind of an effect it had on her, being rewarded for doing something nasty to me, but I really didn't want to give her less of a tip in response to poor service.[/size]
[size=2][/size]
[size=2]On the other hand (sorry for the tangent), I love fighting for fun. My friends and I did it for a while, and people eventually were afraid of me, because I fought like my life depended on it, even though it was just for fun. I didn't fight dirty, but I wanted to hit the other guy so bad they all must have seen it. One kid who must be a good half-foot taller than me, and a football player to boot, refused to fight me because he said he was afraid. I've always sort of hoped someone would come along to test my mettle, but it hasn't happened yet. If it does, I hope I can fight with the same passion for victory as I did for fun, and am not blinded by rage.[/size][/QUOTE]

[SIZE=1] I would say I'm both a warrior and pacifist. And I've had the same thing happen to me, since I always ask for things to go when I'm at a restaraunt. Honestly, she is taking advantage of your kindness, I would have tipped her less for it. Your just too nice of a person. Sometimes I'm like that too, its almost as if I have two sides of me now. When I was a kid, I was really aggressive as well and use to get into fights at school all the time, hard to believe I'm the same person now. Most people are shocked when they hear that I was a rebel because I'm so mellow now. It takes alot to provoke me, but once my "warrior" side comes out I pretty much fight with all I have. So I believe I still have a fighter spirit deep down ;) even though my friends say I wouldn't hurt a butterfly, if only they knew. :D [/SIZE]

[Lady_Rin]

Together we. Tonight that means we are both here since there's nothing on TV and dinners still baking.

[Quote="Ranger"] I am a professional warrior. I served in the US Air force as a crewdog flying various aircraft for 15 years. I am an American airman; I rule the skies. Peace is my profession, war is my hobby. LOL [size=1]old saying from the cold war[/size] Today I make war against those who would destroy the environment and the delicate desert ecology. Instead of guns I use tours and education as my weapon.

I am also a pacifist by choice, I do not believe in war unless it's justified. I do not support the current war tho' I do support our troops. There is no problem in using deadly force to protect Milady or myself either.[/quote]

I am a pacifist by nature. I abhor war and violence. Don't ask me why I married a warrior, I didn't. I married Desert Ranger. I can't defend myself and don't want to cause harm to anyone. I also, despite being married to Ranger don't understand war and like Ranger I too support our troops, especially since we live near major marine and air force bases.

[Morpheus]

I'm a warrior. A few years ago, I was about to get into an arguement with someone and one of my friends told him to not even try. I literally always win arguements that I get myself into. Also, if someone is an *** to me they'll get it back in their face. Adahn, I would have thrown the food in on her clothes and flicked her off. I can take things pretty well as far as insults go, but I have to draw the line somewhere. I would tip with an obviuosly fake $1,000,000 bill.

[Sara]

[QUOTE=Morpheus]I'm a warrior.

I literally always win arguements that I get myself into. Also, if someone is an *** to me they'll get it back in their face.

I would have thrown the food in on her clothes and flicked her off. I can take things pretty well as far as insults go, but I have to draw the line somewhere. I would tip with an obviuosly fake $1,000,000 bill.[/QUOTE][color=#4b4b79]And that makes you a warrior?

I'm sorry, I must have missed something.

As for myself, I am usually even-tempered. Some things will make me angry, but I try not to [i]act[/i] on my impulses when I'm upset. Are most things worth fighting over? No. I would rather walk away insulted than end up in an arguement or disagreement that I don't care enough to finish.

I will, however, defend what I believe is right. I hope that everyone would.

on the boulevard of broken dreams,
Sara[/color]

[Doukeshi]

[COLOR=DimGray][SIZE=1]Curious choice of wording [i]pacifist[/i] or [i]warrior[/i]. Does the term warrior apply to everyone who enjoys violence over a peaceful way of sorting out problems? Does it include thugs who wander around in packs looking for a fight? I personally wouldn't describe these people as 'warriors'

However, that wasn't the question.

Can't you be both? Can't you be both a pacifist and a so-called 'warrior'? Prefering to take the peacful route but if pushed can turn violent? Anyway, I'm pretty much a pacifist. I like to take the non violent 'I'd prefer to leave without seeing my blood splattered on the pavement' appraoch. Of course there are some people in the world that don't listen to reason, be they drunk, high or just plain stupid. In that case sometimes getting your hands dirty, as it were, is the only option. It just so happens that I haven't been in the position to do that.

Oh yeah, and Adahn, the best way of doing that would be not to have tipped ^_~. When I was in pizza hut one time with a large group of friends it took us ages to get seated even though a larger group than us got seated before us even though we were there first. In the end we had to split up to smaller tables. The waitress was pathetic, blatantly staring straight at us from across the room and not moving even though we needed refills and our plates cleared, she just walked past us one time. We decided not to tip. In fact, since the bill came to £13.76 I had to ask one of my friends from the other table for a penny just so I didn't go over by anything. It was small and petty but it was pretty satisfying ^_^.
[/SIZE][/COLOR]

[Morpheus]

[quote name='Lore']And that makes you a warrior?[/quote]
I'm just saying that I'm more likely to fight, in one way or another, if provoked. I'm usually peaceful, but some people...errrrr...

[elfpirate]

[QUOTE=doukeshi03][COLOR=DimGray][SIZE=1]Curious choice of wording [i]pacifist[/i] or [i]warrior[/i]. Does the term warrior apply to everyone who enjoys violence over a peaceful way of sorting out problems? Does it include thugs who wander around in packs looking for a fight? I personally wouldn't describe these people as 'warriors'

However, that wasn't the question.

Can't you be both? Can't you be both a pacifist and a so-called 'warrior'?


I HAD to respond to these questions... they're great... and I'm glad that you asked them.
No, thugs and warmongers do not fall under the category of "warrior" as far as I'm concerned, as the term "warrior" (to me) implies a sense of honor and justice... and the true warrior will only fight when it is the only option left to them.

And, no, I don't think you can be both, because I'm pretty sure that a pacifist will refuse to fight even when the cause is just...I think that they hold fast to the belief that every situation can be solved peacefully no matter what the circumstances.

I hope that answers your questions satisfactorily...I'm aware of my habit to assume that everyone's cognitive definitions are the same...it's a terrible habit that gets me into trouble a lot of the time...sorry for not being more clear when posting the thread.
--that damnable pirate--

[desertranger]

A warrior doesn't just fight. A warrior makes war. so ask yourself, what is war?

War is what exist between the Vacos, local biker gang, the T-rangers and myself. War exists with them and the T-rangers 'cause the Vacos try to use Tribal lands to grow pot in the back conutry and same thing with the portable meth labs. They are also poachers, Rosy Boas and King snakes a fav to capture and sell. War exists between the bikers and myself because of Lady Rin who was assaulted one night years ago in the parking lot at the local beer stupa. His mistake. While he was not sucessful in raping my wife I was sucessful in almost almost killing him, only the T-rangers stopped me. Since I was off duty and not in uniform I wasn't armed. Had I been armed I would have killed him. Since then a state of war has existed between us and occasionally there is a confrontation. I haven't backed down even though I am outnumbered and outweighed. When a skirmish occurs I can usually depend on the marines and friends for help, I can certainly call Sherriff Don. It also helps that the bikers think I go armed all the time which is something I do nothing to dispell. That is a warrior. BTW some of these bikers are about my age and they keep the troublesome ones in check.

A warrior is part boy scout and part soldier. A warrior can fight with words and paper or he can fight with weapons.



BTW: women make better fighter pilots than men.

[Boo]

[color=gray][size=1]The only time I'd fight it would be for self defence. And what I call fighting would be just blocking whatever they are trying to do or just throwing them on the ground. Gladly I almost never have to defend myself.
The most of the time I counter offensive words with sarcasme and just ignore them for the rest of the time. When I actually use my hands to hit someone, it's not hard and it's just toying around with friends.
I would consider myself a pacifist. *nodness*

?Thou shalt give life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.?-Bible (Exodus)
Bombing civillians who did not bomb you, just to get one person, makes you a complete moron.[/color][/size]

[DeathKnight]

[color=crimson][quote name='elfpirate']Do you believe that there are situations in which fighting is necessary (or that there are things that are truly worth fighting for regardless of whether you think you can win) or do you believe that violence is always unnecessary and that you should always walk away from a fight no matter what the cause?[/quote]

Yes, I believe there are situations in which fighting is necessary. There always will be situations where fighting [physically or, if you consider it a form of fighting, verbally] is a valid option. Diplomacy has been proven to only work in certain situations- you need to know when it is the right moment to fight. I consider controlled violence to be a form of art, really. "The art of war", yeah? It takes a skilled hand to control the violence, coordinate it, send it where he wants it to go on a personal, tactical or strategic level. Violence when uncontrolled is of little use to anyone, in my opinion- just wasted energy. Uncontrolled violence is the "bad" kind of violence, you could say. You have to keep your wits about you no matter what.[/color]

[Soliel]

[COLOR=GREEN]Well, let me think about this one for a moment...

I would have to consider myself more of a pacifist than anything else. For one thing, I think most (not all, but most) of the violence in the world today is pointless. I'm not talking about fighting for what's right and all that, I respect that kind of fighting, but rather killing someone because they said something mean to you. I guess, I'm just the kind of person who can let petty insults roll of her without me even achknoledging the insulters. I guess I'm also too [I]lazy[/I] to really fight back with people most of the time. But just because I don't fight back, doesn't mean I don't get angry...

The past few weeks, I've had these weird dreams where I've been extremly violent to people I don't really like (like the preppy sorority girls on our floor who come in noisy and drunk at 4 am). Now anytime I feel the urge to be violent, I usually take my temper out on inanimate objects (pillows, punching bags, jocks), or guys who are obviously bigger/stronger than me (friends and family, not strangers). I usually don't fight other girls since most of the girls close to my size are weaker than me, and just don't feel right fighting some one weaker than me.[/COLOR]

[Lord Rannos]

It would be hard for me to consider myself as either. I don't believe that war between countries or fighting in general is a good thing, I just think that it is sometimes the best way to get things done. Complete dominance over a country can end wars faster than treaties and promises. It's just sad that so many people have to die.

On a personal level, though, I would consider myself a warrior. People who know me know me to not get into fights, I usually try to avoid them. I just feel like I want to get into a fight sometimes. That that would be the best soloution. This bothers me constantly, since I know that I shouldn't (or can't) get into a fight, but it's all that I think about; the best way to fight someone. Lots of built up anger, I guess.

[Gavin]

[SIZE=1]Interesting, most interesting.

The vast majority of the time I would consider myself to be a pacifist, if there is a way to end a dispute logically without resorting to violence then I would much rather take that route. If a dispute was to turn violent and there was no way to prevent it then I suppose the role of a warrior is unavoidable, that is of course if you absolutely have to fight. I consider war itself to be a pointless endeavour, peace through superior firepower or military victory is no real peace at all, which is why there is conflict in countries where peace is brought about only after war. When a dispute is settled amicably and both sides feel they have been treated fairly and the terms are agreeable [with the exception of Extremists who are never happy], then there is no conflict afterwards.[/SIZE]

[Franky]

Well by nature im a pacifist im all about make love not war, but what can i say i have been known to crack a happy gilmore, and once i accidently got into a fight... but yeah all up im peaceful

[Miryoku]

I don't beleive in violence, i hate it and it makes me sick, but with some people there is no choice, the human race is a F'd up group, and so violence is sometimes necessary, but if people would'nt start fights there would'nt be any and thats what pisses me off, i don't see what people have to prove, how does death and injury prove anything, except for how ucivilized we can be?

[Guest Alchemist]

I let people think i am a pacifist that wont fight back. I hold my anger and rage in for long periods of time and calculate my vengence. Its always terrible if show my anger, then you'd better get to running. I am a warrior. I like a good war(only if it is justified i do not like the Iraq war)