O/T . . . toughness is fake

[alfresco]

"Violence is not something to joke about. Toughness is fake.
The real tough people in this world don't go around bragging
about it. If you've been there, telling you about it is unnecessary,
because you know. And if you haven't been there, you're not
capable of understanding. . . "

The above quote was made by a good friend of mine over 27
years ago. A current thread running now ( . . . toughest MFer's
I ever seen . . .) got me to thinking, reminiscing actually, and
reminded me of the above quote and the real "tough guys" in
this world, at least the ones I have come in contact with. And
believe you me, this is not toughness by proxy on my part as
I'm probably the biggest, or in my case, the smallest wimp, you
will run across.

The real tough guys in my opinion, do not look, act, or give the
impression of being tough. They are incognito, are under the
radar, and you would never know, never suspect, have zero
inclination of their toughness, of their life experience, of what
they are capable of doing or what they have done, if you were
introduced to them without any prior knowledge of their actions.
At least the ones I have met. That is not to say I have met a lot
of them, I haven't. But the few I have known were very humble,
not cocky, not tough acting at all, on the contrary actually.

(Nothing against the things I'm going to mention here . . .) they
don't drive big, fancy or loud cars, have big muscles, no ink,
jewelry or distinguishing characteristics, no swagger, wear very
conservative clothing, live a modest lifestyle, nothing that would
call attention to themselves, and very easily get lost in a crowd.
But that is what makes then so dangerous, you just don't know.

But, when called into action, you would and could put your life
safely in their hands . . . and many have.

Toughness is fake.

 

[buselmo]

great post bro...

but just one question... what do you mean by "tough"?
there are some "attention whores" out there who brag and shit who are actually "tough" if what you're reffering to is violence...

if "tough" = "capable of violence" be it if he brags about it or not, i would really put it all under the category of "being retarded and uncivilized"...

I guess you were originally refering to those guys with the tattoos on their eyes? so i might have drifted off subject here... but "looking tough"?? i really don't see that as a big deal. some of the nicest people i know are the ones who originally look like they're gonna stab you if you say hello

 

[hawkmoon]

I tell everyone I'm a big pussy and cry watching chic-flix.

Seriously though...most people's ideas of toughness is an emulation of movie characters, etc...real life tough-guys don't talk, they act when called upon.

 

[Golgo13]

In my world this is how toughness is defined:

1. The ability of a structural material to resist shock or impact; its ability to absorb energy before fracture.

So basically someone's ability to take punishment and keep going. There is no attitude or style that can possibly reflect this. It is a behavior.

Yes, people who act "tough" are just stupid. You can't act it.

 

[scrapper13]

we need a like button like they have on facebook...i like

 

[Ulamalop]

I'm a lover, not a fighter. Other than that, this is a good post. Bravado is often confused with toughness.

 

[Bigcheese]

My dad aways told me "its not the guy that talks the loudest ya gotta worry about ...... its the guy that doesnt say ANYTHING".

BC

 

[e6er]

Just one bullet away from being "not so tough" - Don't ever take life, or anyone else for granted.

 

[Flex2019]

I tell everyone I'm a big pussy and cry watching chic-flix.

Seriously though...most people's ideas of toughness is an emulation of movie characters, etc...real life tough-guys don't talk, they act when called upon.

I don't think it can be said any better than that.

 

[Ivan]

Yep

In my world this is how toughness is defined:

1. The ability of a structural material to resist shock or impact; its ability to absorb energy before fracture.

So basically someone's ability to take punishment and keep going. There is no attitude or style that can possibly reflect this. It is a behavior.

Yes, people who act "tough" are just stupid. You can't act it.

Yes this is what I think of as tough -- physical toughness. There is also mental toughness as well. Basically, the ability to keep "getting up" after getting knocked down. Do you lay down or do you keep coming? And coming and coming and com...

As far as talkers go, it is the silent ones that hold the grenade.

 

[IRON37]

You dont have to dress like a monk
and drive a station wagon to be
"tough" lol. Nor do you have to be
humble, although it would be an
advantage I guess sometimes.
Some people can be mentally tough
or be able to keep withstanding
punishment.. but might not be
able to dish it at all. And vice versa.
You just never know, its not all
black and white imo.

...and who types like this?

 

[kid1dakota]

Toughness is Tapout shirt and Tattoos amongst the youngsters around here.
Also facial piercings and a baddddd look on your face.
I know it scares me

 

[aussiebulldog]

I thought that all you have to do to be tough is to wear a tapout shirt.

 

[tkav1980]

I always thought that really being tough was doing what needs to be done when your terrified to do it. I cant imagine how scary it must be to be in a war zone. But we have, for all intents and purposes, a bunch of well...kids for the most part, over seas in what amounts to a living hell griting their teeth and dealing with the situation so the rest of use get to stay here safe and not deal with it. Thats pretty tough to me.

 

[myosin]

Rocky Balboa

Yes this is what I think of as tough -- physical toughness. There is also mental toughness as well. Basically, the ability to keep "getting up" after getting knocked down. Do you lay down or do you keep coming? And coming and coming and com...

As far as talkers go, it is the silent ones that hold the grenade.

"It's not about how hard you can hit! It's about how hard you can get hit and keep getting up!"... or something like that.

Thanks for the post, Al... "fake" is something I truly cannot stand, but also must watch my own life to make sure I don't fall into it as well.

 

[myosin]

I tell this to my daughter...

I always thought that really being tough was doing what needs to be done when your terrified to do it. I cant imagine how scary it must be to be in a war zone. But we have, for all intents and purposes, a bunch of well...kids for the most part, over seas in what amounts to a living hell griting their teeth and dealing with the situation so the rest of use get to stay here safe and not deal with it. Thats pretty tough to me.

I tell my 6 year old daughter- "Being brave DOESN'T mean not being afraid. It means that even though you are afraid, you still do what you are supposed to."

 

[norbit09]

Very true.

My dad aways told me "its not the guy that talks the loudest ya gotta worry about ...... its the guy that doesnt say ANYTHING".

BC

 

[btech]

YouTube - Cheeseburger Josh - a fat failing loser at mcdonalds / whataburger

"God bless America"

 

[gassy]

"there is a guy standing on top of a bar holding a machete screaming he's gonna kill the next motherfucker who walks in here, another guy is sitting quietly in the corner reading a book- who u gonna watch? while your watching the quiet ones I guarantee a loud one will fucking kill you" George Carlin. Couldn't help it, I just heard this again the other day

 

[machola]

Jesus and Gandhi are two of history's tough guys. People who can stand up for what they believe in no matter how big the opposition, never give an inch of compromise, and risk death for it; that is toughness to me.