The Origins of Civil Behaviour

It's not generally known that violence, or rather the potential for violence, is at the root of all civil behaviour. We shake hands before commencing a meeting to show that we carry no weapon in our hand. We greet people with a friendly good day to express the absence of intent to harm. In Europe, when greeting women friends, we lean forward, touch cheek on cheek, and give a courteous kiss in the air as a sign of respect and affection. All of this is to demonstrate that we are in no way intent on doing anything violent or hurtful.

Implicit in this is that we can be violent if we so choose. We could smash in some skulls and force ourselves on women. But we don't and we won't. We're peaceful, respectful, helpful and friendly unless someone approaches us in ways less than civil.

Civility is for this reason something different from submissiveness. A civil person is peaceful out of respect, while a submissive person is peaceful out of fear. A society full of fearful people isn't civil, it's submissive, and herein lies my great annoyance with many of my fellow men. Everywhere I look, I see submissive men hiding in fear.

I refuse to go along with this pathetic behaviour, and I have for this reason spent some time in pursuit of a dress code of sorts. After much back and forth, I've come to the conclusion that we have to step back in time and revive some of the references to violence that still remains with us.

First off, there's the stick. It's a reference to the club used to fend off unwanted intruders ever since the age of the caveman. A guy carrying a stick is a dangerous man. That's why men used to carry a cane as recently as the Victorian age. I have no cane, but I have an umbrella that can double as a parasol. If anybody asks, it's in case of rain or sun as the case may be. But in reality, it's my stick.

Second, there's the coat. Old fashion coats carry references to armour. My grey coat is perfect in this respect. It's reminiscent of metal armour. It makes me look taller and stronger than I do in more contemporary clothing.

The reference to the medieval knight is further accentuated by my sunglasses. The eye protection is in place. In the event of something unpleasant, I'm ready for a fight.

Finally, there's the mask of the beast which I currently wear just below my nose. The hysteria has reached such levels of insanity that masks must be drawn that high in order to avoid unwanted attention. But a happy side effect of this is that the reference to the medieval knight becomes all the more apparent.

However, it's not enough to dress right, we must also carry ourselves correctly. There's no point in dressing up like a knight if we don't follow this up with the correct posture. Hunching down and scurrying off in fear is for peasants. Knights walk with their backs straight and heads high. We look at people without fear. We walk the streets expecting to be treated with civility, but fully prepared to deal with those who don't respect this.

Should anyone approach me in the street and reprimand me for wearing my mask incorrectly, I'll pull my mask up, walk up to them with my umbrella in hand and ask them what they want of me. If all they wanted was to reprimand me, I'll tell them that they should be careful about their behaviour. I'm not always in a forgiving mood, and when I'm not, ugly things happen to those who get in my way.

Ready for a walk about town