There is this guy I know, not very well, but somewhat. Let's call him an acquaintance. He was having trouble with his neighbors who were young black me, the kind with cornrows and gold-teeth. He is white, short, and thin, let's call him Bob. These neighbors played loud music at odd times of night and had visitors who would would drive loud cars with big speakers into their quiet neighborhood. Occasionally they would say stuff like how good his wife had been in bed the day before when he had been at work, just within his earshot. So, I'm sitting in Bob's garage one night, me, my wife, his wife, and him, just smoking and talking. Bob points across the street and tells us about his neighbors and then says that if they did anything he would go borrow a friend's sawed off shotgun, go over there, stick it under somebody's balls and blow them off. Bob has a god job, the house (which is, not surprisingly, up for sale now) is not bad either. It was all bullshit, of course, just the posturing o a weak man unwilling to take action, who instead chooses to rescue his manhood with meaningless, pointless, threats.

What was wrong here?
The first thing is that he would have to borrow the shotgun. Would a man who was willing to use violence to protect himself and his family need to “borrowâ€ï¿½ a weapon? Hey, Ricky, my wife is being raped, can I come over and borrow a gun?
Secondly, there is the dumbness of the fantasy. It's hard to imagine the situation where you, singlehandedly, would be able to place a shotgun near an able-bodied man's testicles. I have a hard time picturing Bob being able to hold a shotgun steady under peaceful circumstances, let alone one where speed and pressure are involved.
Thirdly, there was no question of him being violent just because of a little trash-talking and loud music. He had a family, a house, and two cars at risk, so the statement was always going to be absurd.

The truth is that people who intend to use violence almost never make threats, nor do people who see it as a viable option in a given situation. Threats are the province of people who watch too many movies, and take cinematic violence without the necessary grain of salt.
Violence is a tool, an instrument. When properly used it can remove a threat or an obstacle. When you know how to use a specific tool and there is a job that needs to be done with that tool, you just do it. It's that simple.

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