[Bobbiejo]

I will be contributing to a defense fund for the line dancer.

Since moving to The Villages in 2005, this line dancer has contributed thousands of hours to help make living here the amazing place that it is. She wasn't drinking - intermediate and advanced line dancers cant drink and do those very complicated dances! She wasn't letting a child run around unsupervised. She wasn't breaking any rules. She has been dancing on the square, off to one side so as to leave plenty of room for others, for years without incident. Her husband wasn't video taping the incident...(setting up for a bogus lawsuit?)

Should she have just called 911? Sure. Should she have left the square? Well, that would have pleased the taunter. It is never okay to hit. But when you're being harrassed repeatedly by a person who has been drinking, who is in yelling in your face, chest bumping you and your friends, and then comes at you with a swift grabbing motion... well, you just might react instinctively to defend yourself, just as she did!

[dbussone]

Originally Posted by Bobbiejo

I will be contributing to a defense fund for the line dancer.

Since moving to The Villages in 2005, this line dancer has contributed thousands of hours to help make living here the amazing place that it is. She wasn't drinking - intermediate and advanced line dancers cant drink and do those very complicated dances! She wasn't letting a child run around unsupervised. She wasn't breaking any rules. She has been dancing on the square, off to one side so as to leave plenty of room for others, for years without incident. Her husband wasn't video taping the incident...(setting up for a bogus lawsuit?)

Should she have just called 911? Sure. Should she have left the square? Well, that would have pleased the taunter. It is never okay to hit. But when you're being harrassed repeatedly by a person who has been drinking, who is in yelling in your face, chest bumping you and your friends, and then comes at you with a swift grabbing motion... well, you just might react instinctively to defend yourself, just as she did!

If there is a defense fund being set up, it would lead me to believe there is more going on than I thought. I can appreciate your standing up for your friend, but is a defense fund really necessary?

[cahvillage]

What about the drunken woman that was harassing the line dance teacher...How did she get off the hook? There's a lot more to this story. The line dance teacher should have let the drunk hit her and call he police right away with witnesses and they would have carted her away. It's normal to defend yourself when someone is in your face...Glad all her friends are giving her the support she needs.

[Madelaine Amee]

Originally Posted by dbussone

If there is a defense fund being set up, it would lead me to believe there is more going on than I thought. I can appreciate your standing up for your friend, but is a defense fund really necessary?

The fund is to offset the cost of having to hire a criminal attorney, which is very expensive. Yes, there is much more to this episode than any of the people commenting on here know. Yes, she was wrong to strike the other woman and if she had been smart, she would have called 911 and had the husband and wife arrested for harrassment, but it's too late to second guess.

[dbussone]

Originally Posted by Madelaine Amee

The fund is to offset the cost of having to hire a criminal attorney, which is very expensive. Yes, there is much more to this episode than any of the people commenting on here know. Yes, she was wrong to strike the other woman and if she had been smart, she would have called 911 and had the husband and wife arrested for harrassment, but it's too late to second guess.

Thanks for that info, MA. It is obviously not the "minor" incident I originally believed.

[graciegirl]

Originally Posted by dbussone

If there is a defense fund being set up, it would lead me to believe there is more going on than I thought. I can appreciate your standing up for your friend, but is a defense fund really necessary?

Nice girls don't need defense funds. Perhaps Madeleine Amee, you could tell us the ins and outs that would allow us to want to contribute to a person hitting someone on the square instead of sitting down, buying a soft drink and chatting up their friends for a song or two.

All of us have choices every day. We can escalate a problem or walk away from it. One of the first things I learned as a kid was never argue with a drunk. The drunk will win and you will look like an idiot.

[dbussone]

Originally Posted by graciegirl

Nice girls don't need defense funds. Perhaps Madeleine Amee, you could tell us the ins and outs that would allow us to want to contribute to a person hitting someone on the square instead of sitting down, buying a soft drink and chatting up their friends for a song or two.

All of us have choices every day. We can escalate a problem or walk away from it. One of the first things I learned as a kid was never argue with a drunk. The drunk will win and you will look like an idiot.

Or worse, as is apparent in this case.

[tomwed]

In my mind a bully is a person you are going to see all the time, at work, at school maybe a neighbor or God forbid, a spouse. You can't easily change your predicament so it must be addressed.

Everyplace else, I agree with those who say just walk away. At our age you can almost always anticipate how events might play out well in advance. That's how we got to be here.

[BS Beef]

Boy this is quite the conundrum. I can see both sides of this (at least from what I've read here and a little bit on the news site not to be named). I guess ultimately I'm going to fall on the 2 wrongs don't make a right side. I feel for the line dance instructor. I'd like to think she wishes she had it to do all over again. Not sure that's the case though if the report I read on line where she readily admitted to punching the other woman. Just unfortunate all the way around that it had to escalate to this level.

[gatherer47]

One reason I seldom go the squares anymore is children "dancing"-my eyes are drawn to them wondering if they'll get hurt or cause someone else to be hurt-it's always a relief when they leave and I can relax-to me this unsupervised child dancing was the cause of the whole incident-glad I wasn't there to witness this-I'd be having nightmares

[outlaw]

I think where this line dancer went wrong was that she didn't get any backup from her friends. There were enough line dancers to beat this drunk into the ground and then go beat the drunk's husband and take his camera/smart phone with the video and throw it into Lake Sumter. Then they should have called the cops first and all stated that the drunk and her husband attacked them, and they defended themselves; and "what video, we didn't see any smart phone?" See, no planning is what gets people in trouble.

[graciegirl]

Originally Posted by outlaw

I think where this line dancer went wrong was that she didn't get any backup from her friends. There were enough line dancers to beat this drunk into the ground and then go beat the drunk's husband and take his camera/smart phone with the video and throw it into Lake Sumter. Then they should have called the cops first and all stated that the drunk and her husband attacked them, and they defended themselves; and "what video, we didn't see any smart phone?" See, no planning is what gets people in trouble.

There you are.


Sometimes it is hard to get all facets of the scientific method of problem solving working, when the situation is rapidly changing.

[Laurie2]

Originally Posted by outlaw

I think where this line dancer went wrong was that she didn't get any backup from her friends. There were enough line dancers to beat this drunk into the ground and then go beat the drunk's husband and take his camera/smart phone with the video and throw it into Lake Sumter. Then they should have called the cops first and all stated that the drunk and her husband attacked them, and they defended themselves; and "what video, we didn't see any smart phone?" See, no planning is what gets people in trouble.

No planning, huh. Oh my. How very judge-y of you. Luv it.

[tomwed]

When my Aunt Mary was a member of The Rockettes this sort of thing use to happen all the time.

[Jima64]

Why does the bully seem to win. Here at the square and even kids at school. Too much effort in not dealing with the problem person.