In the year 2020 we have found ourselves in an increasingly divided world. Mask wearing, protest views, and political beliefs have all become hotbeds for interpersonal violence. The acts of violence by what would usually be a group of law abiding people has begun to increase. But much of this is avoidable...
Stow the ego:
When we are looking at fighting as a last resort, why do we insert ourselves into emotionally charged situations? People have been attacked for their lack of mask wearing, their presidential candidate shirts, and even if they refuse to support a local protest. The desire of people to find their peers and demands are their opponents is always real and it comes back to one thing: ego. We are all the hero of our own story and that makes us "right", and through that "righteous" in our actions. When taken to the extreme, this belief suggests that harming people that have not harmed us is still justified.
NO! Letting our ego get the better of us means that our higher functioning brains have been hijacked by emotion. We cannot become subject to our desire to be proven "right" if it means that our actions are morally bankrupt.
On the other side, if you are confronted by this attitude, a great many people wish to assert their view of "how the world SHOULD be" on others. While this is noble in theory, it cab be dangerous in practice. Telling other people (heroes of their own story, remember) that their beliefs and actions are evil and wrong is a great way to escalate an already charged situation. And we forget that the way it "should be" is only our views of the world. If all of these beliefs are subjective, how can we go to violence to defend our brand of a perfect world?
Don't make something an issue that doesn't need to be. You may find yourself in a situation in which you cannot retreat. It sounds like what your mother used to say: violence is not the answer to a difference in opinion. Finally, remember that if you let the other person dictate that this will be a fight, you have already lost your ability to choose.