"Beat It" and False Definitions of Strength

In his early-80s heat "Beat It," Michael Jackson wrote, "Strong is just fight, it doesn't matter who's wrong or right." That was a very irresponsible statement, and the reality has shown just how wrong that attitude is.

What is encouraged here is stupid, directionless, uncontrolled violence. And stupid, directionless, uncontrolled violence is one of the most destructive forces in the world. It is also one of the most self-defeating forces in the world. All one does is make life bad for his own people, whereas the rest of the world looks on with contempt.

Self-control is a major part of all real power. Self-control keeps one from doing stupid things such as beating his wife, getting into bar fights, or shooting up his 'hood. Whereas strength that is not controlled becomes a runaway stupidity that pisses into one's own pool, makes life ugly for people who love one, or assaults the people who try to be of help.

In martial arts, the point is to become so good at fighting that one doesn't need to fight. The purpose of martial arts is being a good enough warrior that one can keep the peace. As the line from a film goes, "Fight not good, but if you do fight, win." How much better would be the lives of inner city residents if they understood this. How much better would be the lot of black people everywhere in the world.

The same applies to a number of other populations. Middle Eastern people do not understand such things either; the result being that they become severely violent to people who cannot defend themselves (such as their wives and children) while being hopeless against real armies. In both cases we see completely unnecessary, destructive and self-defeating brutality; and in neither case do we see real power or real strength.

These cultures need to rework their definition of strength. A strong man is not the man who keeps going around beating up his wife or shooting his neighbors. A strong man is the man who has enough strength to stand up to real aggressors and enough discernment to leave everyone else alone. A strong man is the man who stands up to abuses of power and lets others live peacefully. A strong man is the man who has enough self-control to know when to fight and when not to fight. Most importantly, a strong man is in charge of his strength and never lets it get out of control.

There are workable models of real, disciplined strength both in the Eastern and the Western societies. Both black people and Middle Eastern people will gain vastly from learning these models and applying them on their home turf.