Before we get to the video where this stupid prankster gets knocked out, some background.
A while ago, I was talking to my teenage daughter about how the world is so different now from when I was her age. One of those differences is the internet and how it changed our society. For instance, now, you can make a living off being a “Youtube celebrity”. Just get tons of people to follow you on Youtube, and eventually you’ll attract sponsor, advertisers and so on. I don’t consider it a worthwhile career path, except for the few lucky ones, which is what I wanted to point out to her.
In and of itself, this phenomenon is not a bad thing. In fact, there are many YouTube professionals that offer a lot of valuable information for free in just this way. But there are also people who should be protected against their own stupidity and others who should be put in jail for the nonsense or misinformation they propagate. Case in point, the stupid prankster that gets knocked out.
You can watch the whole thing, but if you want to skip to the knock out, it’s at 2min10.
There’s obviously the stupidity of the prank itself: provoking people like this is a surefire way to get knocked out, or worse. But what’s worse is how he seems all proud of getting knocked out, as if it’s an accomplishment. The prankster probably doesn’t realize that a knock out like that can leave lasting damage or even kill you outright. When blunt trauma to the head happens, that’s always in the cards. The fact that it didn’t happen here doesn’t mean the danger doesn’t exist. Go ask an ER doctor about this if you think I’m exaggerating…
The other guy also might have hit him at an angle so he would have fallen forward, off the grassy slope and onto the concrete. An unconscious face-plant from that height usually means lots of surgery to put your skull back together, at best. But hey, it was all just a prank, right, so it’s OK…
I’m getting older and am probably turning into the typical curmudgeon youngsters see when they look at a guy my age. I’m fine with that. I just want to point out one thing:
I did stupid shit when I was young, all my friends did too:
- I made a big-ass fire in an abandoned house and could have gotten killed if it had spread.
- I drove a car at high speed in the woods in the middle of the night and then switched off the headlights, just to see what happened.
- I lipped off to a bunch of people much older than me and narrowly avoided getting beaten to a pulp.
- Much, much more, but the statute of limitations period has yet to expire.
I get it, we all do.
But what I can say I did differently than some of today’s young idiots is that I a) didn’t broadcast it to the entire world and b) didn’t try to make a living off doing stupid shit.
So to all the stupid pranksters out there, cry me a frikkin’ river when you get beat up, stabbed, shot and end up dead for pulling your juvenile crap in the hopes of “hitting it big” on the internet. Here’s a free self-defense tip: don’t want to get beat up?
Don’t do stupid shit.
John says
A couple of things I notice from that video.
1. From reading Rory Miller he talks about how people will sometimes tell you how to get out of the situation before it turns violent. Here the puncher keeps repeating to the guy ‘Back the fuck up nigga’ so the prankster had the opportunity to leave.
2. Reaching for the little toy in his back pocket looks like he was reaching for a weapon. He is really lucky that people didn’t react to that movement and hit him much sooner. From their view a guy would have bumped into them, confronts them, asks them to kiss his ass, he then reaches for something in his back pocket.
Wim says
Marc likes to call it “Violence comes with instructions.” Very often, there’s a way out of such a situation but the prankster is obviously not interested in that.
I agree about the pocket reaching. He could have gotten shot or stabbed over that.
Verner says
Good post, Wim!
You got to admit though, It’s pretty damn funny. Not the idiot asking people if they want to kis his stupid ass, but the part when instant karma hits :-)
Big lesson here: Insulting people is NOT a prank. A prank is something that’s surprising and funny.
An insult like that, in most cases is punished by ignoring the insulting person, or a stern look, may a ‘fuck off’. Thats mainstream, functional societies. But if you meet a member of a more violent subculture, the above will happen. And, in extreme cases, can get you killed for disrespecting someone. If your target decides to put a Status Seeking Show a lá Conflict Communications you can kiss your own stupid ass goodbye. There are people out there who will pull a knife and stab you, or put a gun in your mouth a blow your brains out over an insult like that. I doubt, however that this guy had a brain to be blown out to begin with.
Wim says
Thanks Verner.
Some people need to learn a lesson a couple of times before it sticks. I’m betting this guy is like that.