ImmortalFlame
Woke gremlin
Aw, man. That's an album cover right there.
Why am I only now hearing that Jesus was metal?
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Should fighting sports be legal? Are they moral?
- Thread starter Mr. Muto
- Start date
Why am I only now hearing that Jesus was metal?
Twilight Hue
Twilight, not bright nor dark, good nor bad.
If two people mutually agree and decide to beat each other up, I'm not going to get between them or try to stop them. Let them fight, if that's what they wish to do. As a sport, I actually find it to be rather boring.
Twilight Hue
Twilight, not bright nor dark, good nor bad.
I advocate nonviolence too but I also see a value in things like Bushido and Shaolin where a Code of Honor exists alongside the training in facing conflicts.
It reminds me of the martial arts parody, "Boot to the Head".
That isn’t the case, ethical codes in the bible build on earlier written codes (e.g. Hammurabi’s). More generally, people were living in complex societies long before the bible or ideas about one overall god were codified, and for a long, long time before that lived in groups who had their own ideas about ethical behaviour.The Bible is pretty recent in terms of human history.
But the issue at hand isn't whether boxing and MMA are moral; it's whether banning boxing and MMA is moral.
You'll get no objection from me if you want to use your personal moral code to guide your own actions. If you don't want to do boxing, I certainly think you should be able to choose not to do it.
But what you're talking about is using your personal moral code to guide the actions of others against their will.
This is a different ethical situation than just deciding for yourself not to do boxing.
... and something to keep in mind: I - like I'm sure many other people - find your religion deeply immoral. The main reason I don't try to suppress Christianity is this general idea that we should respect the choices of others. However, if you decide that this principle should be abandoned, I - and anyone who agrees with me - would have no reason not to impose our will on you without your consent.
This idea is also expressed in the Bible (specifically in Matthew 7:12).
I think it's interesting how the "bushido code" generally developed after the era when samurai were facing conflicts on a regular basis.
When you're a warrior in the midst of a war, there's no question that you're a warrior: you're literally engaging in war, so it's obvious.
But in peacetime when there were no wars to fight, the samurai had an identity crisis: what does it mean to be a member of a warrior class when there are no wars? Samurai were working as civil administrators, accountants, etc... effectively, the samurai decided that they could retain their warrior status if they maintained a warrior ethos - an accountant can still be considered a warrior if he does his accounting "like a warrior" - which meant deciding what a "warrior ethos" entailed.
And for Japanese martial arts, the post-WWII occupation had a major impact on martial arts. Narrowly-focused combat training ("jiutsu" - techniques) was suppressed unless it had a philosophical and ethical component ("do" - way) that the allied occupiers considered acceptable. Sometimes, this was a matter of bringing forward and emphasizing older philosophy that really had been part of the discipline and sometimes it meant creating a philosophy basically from scratch.
Secret Chief
nirvana is samsara
I'm no fan of violence as a spectator sport. The rest of the animal kingdom don't go in for it, but clearly it's unique to homo sapiens.
Clizby Wampuscat
Well-Known Member
Who is harmed? If both fighters are willing and know the risks then let them do it. I don't like it so I don't watch it.
Twilight Hue
Twilight, not bright nor dark, good nor bad.
No it isn't unique to humans. Other animals aside from ourselves have been observed and documented to hunt for sport.
12 Animals That Kill for Fun (Surplus Killing) - Wildlife Informer
Secret Chief
nirvana is samsara
I meant as a spectator idea. I'm well aware of what my cat is capable of.
Your argument doesn't work with us moral relativists.
Morals & ethics aren't absolutely true things.
Instead, they result from consensus.
Ideally, morals & ethics will be consistent with each
other, & be useful, ie, optimize justice, peace, & prosperity.
Twilight Hue
Twilight, not bright nor dark, good nor bad.
Our other Ape cousins do it. They tease and hit and even bodyslam to provocate a response and enjoy the reactions.
Secret Chief
nirvana is samsara
Well if it's a commercial spectator practice I'm against it.
Twilight Hue
Twilight, not bright nor dark, good nor bad.
And that's your right. Others however do enjoy contact sports.
Secret Chief
nirvana is samsara
They do, I was simply expressing my opinion. Contact sport is of course not equivalent to fighting.
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Twilight Hue
Twilight, not bright nor dark, good nor bad.
I used to be afraid of the blood and all that and then realized that there are still plenty of rules to help protect the athletes but injuries in any contact sport is always going to be a factor and in the vast majority everything is really just fine to keep injuries superficial as humanly possible as well as medical personnel at the site in case things do go a little bit more roughly then expected but I think that's part of the nature of contact Sports.
Hell even racing can be included as well.
Personally, I have more of an issue with the non-commercial versions. NCAA sports - including football, but not just football - are pretty exploitative toward their players. They involve:
- lots of risk to the players without proper compensation for that risk,
- lots of profit but very little of it shared with the athletes, and
- no real safety net in the event of a career-ending injury.
If @Mr. Muto is looking to make sport more ethical, the NCAA would be a good place to start.
☆Dreamwind☆
Active Member
I have no problem with wrestling, boxing, or martial arts competitions. They're legal, all fighters enter into the competition of their own free will, and as long as they're following the rules and regs that's fine. If you don't agree with it, don't watch it. Simple as that.
Subduction Zone
Veteran Member
I remember when George Foreman was making his very late comeback in life when he was almost 50. I was watching the fight, inwardly complaining about how they were letting an old man abuse his name to get a few bucks in some matches that he could not win. The fight was rather sad for most of it. Poor old George spent most of it just covering up. He did not throw any punches at all that I could remember. And then all of a sudden he threw only two punches, one right after another. And the fight was over.
Instant George Foreman fan.
Instant George Foreman fan.