Feminism: chat
Men fighting in the gym
IceLace100 · 25/09/2021 14:20
Just went to my local Pure gym. I was running a 5k when an argument turned into a fight at the weights machines.
15-20 men in their teens 20s and 30s.
Squaring off, shouting, people pushing and shoving and escalating to punching, some people holding others back etc etc.
I alerted all the people in a world of their own with headphones on then left, along with the majority of other people, (ALL the women left).
Question 1:
Why oh why do some men utterly fail to behave themselves in public spaces??? What the actual fuck is wrong with them. I just don't get it.
I mean, I was just trying to quietly run my 5k ffs.
I'm so fucked off. Since lockdown eased, I have joined 2 gyms. First gym a man shot another man right outside the entrance of it. I turned up one day to police vans and tape. So I stopped my membership and moved to puregym. Now there has been a fight there- is nowhere safe from male violence?
Question 2:
Shall I move gyms AGAIN and inconvenience myself by travelling further because of male violence? On one hand why the fuck should I have to? On the other hard, I want to be safe.
For those of you thinking I should complain to pure gym, oh you worry, I have!
Hellocatshome · 25/09/2021 14:34
Why oh why do some men utterly fail to behave themselves in public spaces??? What the actual fuck is wrong with them. I just don't get it.
Some men are twats, the same way some women are twats. Our local PureGym is fill of middle aged and older people where as there is another gym that seems to only attract teens and 20 something year old men who spend most of their time strutting about and sometimes causing trouble. Try to find one that doesn't attract the idiots.
IceLace100 · 25/09/2021 15:24
@Hellocatshome
"Women's twattiness" has never ever made me fear for my physical safety.
Men shooting each other and fighting in public makes me scared.
The number of Women shooting people and brawling is vanishingly small. Unless you have stats to show equal numbers of women involved in shooting and brawling? No? None?
Back under the bridge.
IceLace100 · 25/09/2021 15:42
@Hellocatshome
Ok stay at the gym where you feel unsafe just to prove some sort of point. You asked if you should move gym I suggested you should as not all gyms are the same and some attract more unsavoury people than others.
I also asked why some men are violent (shooting and fighting) and you responded by saying some women are twats too.
Are you fucking joking? As if men shooting and fighting each other are the same as women being twats.
Give your head a wobble love. Crikey.
ComtesseDeSpair · 25/09/2021 16:04
“Why can’t men behave themselves” is I suppose most easily answered by “because testosterone” and “because society is generally relatively tolerant of male violence, particularly in certain contexts, and because men are socialised to think of aggression in pastel with masculinity and strength.”
In fairness, the likelihood of seeing somebody get shot outside of Puregym again is vanishingly small, and no more likely than seeing somebody shot outside the pub or the local shop. I wouldn’t factor that into whether I stopped my membership. In terms of the fighting, I’d want assurance from the management that they’d banned the offenders and were putting appropriate surveillance and, if necessary, security personnel in place to make sure that it didn’t happen again and to protect other gym goers. My branch of Puregym always has staff on patrol who have clearly been trained to calmly break up any disagreements about who got to what piece of equipment first or whatever before it turns into a full on argument.
Tanith · 25/09/2021 16:10
I would ask the gym what they are doing about it, and how they will protect other users.
Their answer will tell you whether you need to change or not. If these idiots have been banned, you risk moving from a now safe gym to one where they've started a membership.
Elieza · 25/09/2021 17:56
How awful OP. What’s wrong with people they have to fight.
Is there cctv in the room? Is it likely they have been identified and action taken? I’d email re my safety concerns and find out what’s happening and what they are going to do in future to prevent gym members being scared for their safety on site.
TwooThirty · 25/09/2021 18:26
Some men are twats, the same way some women are twats.
Not ‘the same way’ at all @Hellocatshome. Female twattyness doesn’t injure or threaten or cause negative ramifications to others, statistically speaking, to anywhere near the same level or the same frequency as as male twattyness.
Some Gov 2019/2020 statistics:
‘As at 30 June 2019, the majority (95%) of the prison population were male. 5% of the prison population were female, this proportion has remained stable for the last 5 years.’
IceLace100 · 25/09/2021 18:38
@Elieza
Is there cctv in the room? Is it likely they have been identified and action taken? I’d email re my safety concerns and find out what’s happening and what they are going to do in future to prevent gym members being scared for their safety on site.
I've emailed explaining what happened and have asked them to identify and ban those involved and confirm to me in writing that they have done so.
DillonPanthersTexas · 25/09/2021 18:51
My inner snob coming out here but Puregym and other £15 a month budget gyms don't always attract the most refined crowd. I used to be a member of one as it was the only option near my place of work and there was always a shower of love island wannabe sleeve tattooed fluorescent teethed orange skinned monosyllabic roided up gym monkeys in the free weights area trying to out alpha each other.
IceLace100 · 25/09/2021 20:17
@DillonPanthersTexas
Lol you're not half wrong.
Sadly £15 is my budget right now.
TreaterAnita · 25/09/2021 20:33
I think steroid abuse is relatively prevalent among men in their 20s and 30s who go to the gym to weight train. Not all obviously, but more than you might imagine. So ‘roid rage’ is probably part of it.
As to whether you should move gyms, I’d be seriously considering it if I were you. I don’t think Pure Gym is a bad chain - I’m a member and have never felt unsafe in either of the 2 that I go to, but they each have a noticeably different clientele so I can easily see how a particular branch might end up attracting a bunch of people that you’d rather avoid.
deydododatdodontdeydo · 25/09/2021 21:16
@ColorMagicBarbie
Why did everybody leave? I'd have just cracked on with my jog and left them to it.
In my experience, when men are fighting each other, women are usually ignored.
Funnylittlefloozie · 25/09/2021 22:10
@ColorMagicBarbie
Why did everybody leave? I'd have just cracked on with my jog and left them to it.
Ooh, look at you being so cool around group violence in a confined space. Arent you just AMAZING?
WeAreTheHeroes · 25/09/2021 22:17
Not a fight, but I was at a railway station today when a group of mainly young all male football supporters were escorted through by police to the far end of a platform to wait for their train. They were chanting and it was menacing - there was no joy or fun to it. I asked one of the police officers what was going on as it wasn't apparent at first and he said, "they're just football fans and we'll be with them all the way through". Alright for him - he was 6'7" and with other officers. I found it intimidating.
Ijustreallywantacat · 25/09/2021 22:27
Ooh, look at you being so cool around group violence in a confined space. Arent you just AMAZING?
Not saying I'd have stayed as its obviously intimidating but I think the point she's making is that If two blokes are knocking lumps out of each other because one of them nicked the machine or whatever, they're unlikely to attack some random woman on the treadmill.
As for why it happened...testerone and hormone fuelled blokes put next to each other more likely yo become angry I guess. I doubt its an everyday occurance. I hope the staff were proactive and that the offenders were banned.
Scautish · 25/09/2021 22:36
@ColorMagicBarbie
Why did everybody leave? I'd have just cracked on with my jog and left them to it.
Maybe you could just crack on - I’d have thought the same of myself. But on the one occasion I was inside and a mass brawl broke out it was absolutely terrifying. Sure I didn’t feel like any would be going for me, but the atmosphere was so threatening (like dogs who can sense fear, I’m sure as humans we have some sub conscious detection of “violence hormones”). As chairs and bottles were being thrown, there was also a real risk of getting hit unintentionally.
So I think you are completely minimising what the OP experienced. But maybe you’re just super brave and unfazed by anything and in that case well done, but watch out.
myheartskippedabeat · 25/09/2021 22:49
@DillonPanthersTexas
You need to be going to a
Nicer gym with better clientele
Try somewhere like a David Lloyd more if a family type of place we never have issues there
Divebar2021 · 25/09/2021 23:00
Presumably the people who think they would just carry on as normal have never been near a mass brawl… even the sounds are sickening. Those guys certainly wouldn’t give a moments thought to any bystanders who might get swept up in it so I’m not surprised everyone left. My experience of Puregym is that it’s not manned 24hours by staff so they do have CCTV. They definitely attract a lot of young people in their teens and 20’s. I found it a pain just trying to get near the free weights with all the sitting around on phones and selfies going on. I moved to an independent gym which is more expensive but the experience couldn’t be more different. No difficulty getting in the classes and no poncing around in front of the mirror. Sorry I can’t help out with why men behave like that… who knows. Imagine what they’re like drunk ?
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