smart people that murder don't call their victim and leave a death threat... they make it actually hard to find out. novelty?

Criminals generally aren't that smart. Ask any cop.

If I came home and found death threats on my answering machine, I'd hand the tape over to the police and explain the situation. People who think I was a pansy because I called the cops wouldn't be people I hang out with to begin with.

In addition, anyone who won't be friends with you because you called the cops on someone because they issued death threats aren't worth the effort of friendship to begin with.

I wouldn't be so quick to brush off Vinny's advice. I'd try that, and if your apology is reacted badly to, then call the cops.

Why should he apologize? He didn't do anything.

Considering they left messages on your answering machine, I press charges (if possible at their age) for death threats and slander. As well as a slander charge to your ex-friend, who is evidently moreso guilty of it than the twins.

Well, he could only get the ex-friend if the twins confessed.

Who cares what other people think? Protecting yourself is life's first priority. You seem to be under some false assumption that death threats are never real when your in high school. Look out into the world and see if that holds true. And in an effort to save their own asses, they probably would.

What's more important? Your pride or your hide? 'Sides -- Vinny's advice was to apologize for anything Stinkywrix may have done to them. IF he didn't do anything to them, then technically he's not apologizing at all.

Or he can protect his hide and pride and contact the police. If calling the police only escalates the situation, what do you think showing that you'll give in to them when you've done nothing will accomplish?

... not getting beat up or killed...

Yes. Sometimes people do irrational things. That doesn't make them stupid.

(to Freelancer) ...or simply encourage them to continue their harassment. As Stinkywrix pointed out, they started doing this without any initial provocation on his part.

What's wrong with turning the tape over to the authorities? These girls need to learn that you can't do stuff like leave death threats on people's answering machines and get away with it.

You insult girls by making that comparison.

So in other words: Be a coward!

Some people like to be able to defend themselves without running to others (Police) for help. I would rather get beat the **** out of and still have my pride then be a little pansy coward girl and run to the police whenever my safety is so much as threatened. But to each his own I guess.

Err, learn Kung Fu, like I am, and then chase your ex-friend to a volcano and have a climatic duel, with some dialog like this:

STINKY: Atlas, I catch up with you, and now you will pay for taking the twins from me

EX-FRIEND: You've done that your self, for beating me so many times in halo 2!

STINKY: I have brought peace to my house, now it time to bring it to my life!

EX-FRIEND: Stinky! You're parents don't own that house, its for rent!

STINKY: Don't make me kick your butt!

EX-FRIEND: Only a censored guy says butt.

Then you kill him by throwing a pan of boiling tomatoes on his head.

... You aren't funny.

At all.

"WOW, THAT GUY SURE IS TOUGH FOR GETTING BEAT UP."

There's a difference between bravery and stupidity. Bravery is taking a necessary risk. Stupidity is taking an unnecessary one.

It's not being a coward if he's avoiding a pointless confrontation. There is no reasonable, rational, or logical reason for him to retaliate. What does it solve? What does it prove? What does it gain? Respect? If you need to get into a fight to earn the respect of others, I feel sorry for you. I'm sure you'll look really tough when you get locked up. People will totally respect you when you can't get a decent job because you're an ex-con. Or when you get your face beaten in and need to spend months recovering in the hospital.

You want to look tough? Go fight a war. Go and join the fire department. Go and risk your life for something meaningful. People like that have real, true courage and bravery. They actually succeed in gaining the respect and admiration of others. Getting into a pointless highschool brawl won't.

It's not cowardly to avoid a pointless violent situation. It's intelligent.

Go ahead and take pride in thinking that you're a "tough guy", that you're so brave because you get into idiotic, meaningless fights. Your pride won't help you later on in life.

I take pride in the fact that I'm smart enough to avoid such situations, that I don't need violence to gain the respect of my peers.

I never said any of that. Freelancer recommended that Stinkywrix APOLOGIZE to them, even though he didn't do anything, just to appease them and prevent that confrontation. THAT IS BEING A COWARD.

And yes pointless violence is stupid, but it's not always pointless. Sometimes it is the best route of action. And one more thing, avoiding any dangerous sitations doesn't make you intelligent. Even the stupidest animal knows how to run to save itself.

In this case, it most likely isn't.



And yet many humans frequently and pointlessly put the lives of themselves and others in danger. Maybe animals know something that society hasn't caught on to yet.

Thats probably true. I wasn't advocating violence in this situation though. I simply said apologizing for something he didn't do to avoid confrontation is cowardly.




Thats just it. The difference between animals and humans is that animals don't know anything beyond survival. It's not that they are intelligent. They just have primal instincts to save their own skin.

Yeah. That's all animals do. You're brilliant.

I disagree in calling it "cowardly." I call it a "bad idea." You're simply showing the people that do this kind of severe stuff that you'll roll over for them and take it. When people get to that kind of level, you have to take action - in this case, inform the authorities. Why? Because that's why they're there.

Retaliating escalates the situation, and simply means that you'll probably get into trouble with the same authorities. Ignoring it has a 50/50 chance of making the situation worse, and apologizing has an extremely good chance of making the situation worse.

So, call me cowardly if I go and hide behind the police. But you know what? That's what they're there for. That's why I pay my taxes.

Wolfy's right. Best way to handle the situation is logically turning the tape over to the police and explaining the situation. Immature's need to learn that this type of thing is unnacceptable, and they must pay the price.

It's equivilient exchange.

Then how is that not cowardice? Your basically throwing away your honour and dignity by apologizing for something you didn't do, just to appease your enemy so he won't hurt you. And you don't think that is cowardly?

"Hey, look, I'm sorry if you think I've done something to offend you. That certainly wasn't my intent. So, can we call a truce or what ?"

"What" may of course be replaced with "do I have to open a can of whoop-***" or whatever else may be deamed appropriate to the level of testosterone present. God, what I wouldn't give for my problems to be as trivial as those of a teenager!

Fair enough...but you must be joking if you think he would get any where with a question like that. They would ridicule him further. See, you have to realize, when dealing with immature little bastards, mature talking like that isn't going to work at all. You have to use language they understand (ie:fists)

Use a language they already understand, and they will never learn how to understand different and more civil languages.

Im with Raoul on this... and all you people talking about a 'price to be paid' for their actions... sigh, this is not life and death... Trust me on that, and alot of you are cowardly in your approach to this situation. Also why not straight up kick your ex-friends ***. I mean that should send some sort of message. Its wierd how all of you are taking this so seriously. Most cops would just say well if he does it again then report it.

Uh, no. Not with death threats. Serious or not, the cops would be on their asses in an instant.

As for fighting back. Are you people unable to comprehend logic? Someone pushes you. You push them back. They throw a punch, you punch back. As long as you retaliate, the situation will escalate. FIGHTING BACK WILL SOLVE NOTHING.

lol dude... i think you need to fight back your conservative shelteredness a little...

1.) I seriously doubt the cops would do anything. They would dismiss it as kids being kids (WHICH IT IS) and nothing would happen besides a warning

2.) if you seriously think that about the fighting back part I feel sorry for you. You are a true coward.

Far from it.

I'm sorry that I don't conform to your idea of "toughness". Throwing myself into pointless fights wouldn't bravery; it's stupidity. I fight for things that actually mean something, not trivial, idiotic highschool drama. I would not hesitate to put my life on the line for the greater good. But showing how "tough" I am by getting into a fight is not the greater good.

A coward is someone who is afraid of all danger, not someone who avoids unnecessary danger.

You already agreed with me that pointless violence is stupid. So tell me, what would be the point of getting into a fight in this situation?

to beat some **** talking teenager senseless... he learns his lesson, you have a good story, the world spins...

...but as everyone keeps pointing out, fighting back will only escalate the situation. And there's a good non-violent solution. If you kick the **** out of them, yes, they might stop, but they also may take it to the next level. You can never be sure.

I fail to see how cops "won't do anything". Maybe they'll just say "kids will be kids" if you say "waa some kid at school said 'shut up or I'll kill you!'" leaving death threats on an answering machine is a totally different situation. And if they DON'T do anything about it, what happens? Nothing. If they respond to the situation, the kids will most likely back down. If they take it to the next level, you call the cops again.

I fail to see how the "calling the cops will only make it worse" argument has any validity. Fighting back will only escalate the situation to that same point anyway. If they are seriously thinking about killing you, beating them up probably won't stop them.

i had a similar problem. contacts help.

otherwise, just talk to them. explain the situation. say you didn't do what they think you did, tell them the truth. but don't apologize. it's their right to be wrong, and their right to be stupid. if it doesn't help, then deal with them in ways most appropriate.