June/ Chapter 22: Warriors, part 2

The guy in the Pic in the last post is a friend of mine that served 2 tours in Iraq. He, like the rest of the US military are volunteers. Different people have different reasons for signing up, but he believed in serving his country, and risked his life for it. Politics and justification for the Iraq war aside, this was a guy totally selfless, facing the heat on a daily basis, and risking getting sniped or getting hit by an IED (roadside bomb) whilst on patrol.

He was a warrior but he was still scared. What kept him going was love for his country and protecting his bros in Iraq that were on tour with him. Compare that with self serving HK people.........hmm

One of the greatest warrior cultures that ever existed was in Sparta (Greece) 2,500 years ago. The Spartans would train their children from the age of 7 so they could become fighting machines. Back then the world was brutal and entire nations would be pillaged and wiped out by invading armies. Living in a peaceful society, we can only look down on a world of warfare. However, on an individual basis, men were a lot more virtuous and selfless than the modern man.

One of the most famous battles in history was the Battle of Thermopylae, which was depicted inaccurately in the movie '300'. In 480 BC the Persian army invaded Greece, and the Persian army was huge. Modern consensus is for 150-200 thousand men. In order to hold the Persian army back long enough to let the rest of Greece arm itself, King Leonidas and 300 of the best Spartan warriors headed to a narrow pass in Northern Greece. They picked the pass so it could act as a bottle neck so the superior numbers of the Persian army would have less effect.

The Spartans, their warrior slaves and allies numbered only 7,000 and they held back the Persians for 3 days. But in the end the Persian army found a way to circumvent the pass and to surround the Greeks.

Knowing encirclement was imminent, King Leonidas sent most of the allies home, and then the Spartans and a few hundred more decided to stay and fight to the death. Now this was not just for honor, it was because the men who were about to die knew that if they retreated and lived, Greece would see the battle as a defeat. On the other hand if they sacrificed themselves on that ground in defiance of the Persians, all Greece would be inspired by their self sacrifice. So that day they all died for the greater good of their country, their homes, and their loved ones.

Virtues and self sacrifice........

How many men in HK knowing their families would be enslaved would commit outright suicide for the city of HK, and for their families? Ok, so maybe that's too extreme and unrealistic, but most people here are on the opposite side of the scale, they're self serving even in their relationships and marriages, and that's why relationships fail.....

Of course I am generalising in this post, but I speak the truth. Guys in HK rarely fight. Maybe the triads fight, but your regular guy only knows how to shout. I've seen guys shout before, a disagreement breaks out and then both guys pretty much shout "bring it on" and "diu lei lo mo" 20 times, before they walk away without a punch. I swear I wanted to grab both of them and beat both their asses for being pussies.

This is your typical HK warrior:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0k4mHSOHsI

The guy didn't punch the other guys, but punched a girl. I mean was this video meant to be a joke? In fact I am sure annually, more men beat their wives than beat other men. Who wants to take a bet?

Someone on another thread asked, what are the qualities of a guy a girl should consider a keeper? Ok well, this might sound corny, but my favourite movie is Gladiator and it's my favourite movie because the character Maximus is what I think is the ideal man. He's a superb warrior and fighter, but a family man and loves his family more than anything else. A real man is strong on the outside and soft on the inside, which is unfortunately the opposite of many HK men.

So, we're in a pretty tough situation, hmm. HK people are generally too self serving when it comes to relationships, and we as a society are the victims of our own selfishness. To be fair, it's not just here, it's everywhere, but in a big city like HK there's more of it.

At this point you will ask, are there any men with virtues in HK? Are there any selfless warriors who will think of their women and family before himself? Yeah of course! But you might never notice him because he doesn't earn lots of money, and he's quite and not as outgoing.