You're jumping to some extremely fucked up conclusions here buddy. Also lmao at asking if people are American or European. (because european is obviously one thing and not 700 million people spanning 35+ countries and about a billion different cultural groups)

I wouldn't get involved in people's personal shit. I know it seems like you should, but I've heard and witnessed too many horror stories where a couple is arguing, they get a little physical, a stranger comes and tries to help the woman and the dude beats him the fuck up while the woman yells at him too and tells him that's what he gets for not minding his own business.

Unless someone is actually calling out for help or is obviously being physically victimized (and no, I don't think a heat of the moment shove to the ground followed by immediate regret and backing off counts) don't step in. It's not a time sensitive emergency situation yet and nobody has asked for your help. Call the cops, call security, but stay out of it unless you just really wanna act like Batman. If so, good on ya. I don't think anybody should feel bad for avoiding an unnecessary risk though.

Another thing I immediately thought when I read your story was that I've known women in abusive relationships and they sure as hell don't yell at their abuser in public, and they sure as hell don't chuck their abuser's sunglasses on the ground. For all you know this could be a one time thing for them. My guess is that it's probably less abuse and more just dysfunctional. Did you ask her why she was crying? For all you know it could be because their relationship is imploding, or because she cheated on him or he cheated on her, and have little to do with the shove itself and more what caused it and what it means for them. If I were in your place, the only thing I would've done differently is ask more questions because you were in a great position to do so since she broke off from him and came to you. Things like:

• Has he hurt you like this before or was this an accident?
• Do you feel like you're safe around him?
• Do you need a cab or a place to stay?
• Do you need to call anyone? Do you have a phone?

@cale: i'm dwayne "the rock" johnson

Quite, living in a world where escalating a situation always seems like the right thing to do is not only short sighted, it's also dangerous for all involved. And these sweeping generalizations come off as sort of bigoted and extreme.

If someone is in clear need of help from physical violence I will intervene, however if the guy and his girlfriend are having a heated argument and he shoves her then walks away clearly regretting his action, what am I supposed to chase him down slap him in the face with a glove and challenge him to fisticuffs? Get fucking real.

I mean... You could have done worse, but you could have done more too.

She came near you and you were able to talk. You could have asked if this was a normal thing. You could have offered to call a cab. A person's initial reflex to "Are you okay?" is almost always a "Yes" no matter the situation. I feel like a few more questions would have been the right choice.

Confronting the man could have ended poorly. I've definitely been in similar situations. Being raised the way I was, I've seen mistreatment of people and gotten into physical confrontations because of it. I soon realized that whenever that happened it usually just made things worse, so avoid that.

Don't beat yourself up, though. It's not on you to perfectly handle this type of stuff. It just shouldn't happen.

Bad people exist, and they are all over the place. It's something I realized upon moving to a more urban area after growing up in a rural one.

Maybe I'm not a very good person but the way you describe it I would have done fuck all. If he was actively beating her (repeated strikes) I would call the police.

I'm in decent shape for my size but I'm still kind of a small dude. I'm not pushing my chips forward and getting stabbed because some dumbass couple can't control themselves in public.

By your own account, it sounds like the guy regretted what he did, and they both walked away from each other, helping to defuse the situation. You confronting the guy would have only escalated things and would have been the wrong move. The most you could have done was contact security and ask if she was ok. You did the latter.

If it were a prolonged situation, then yes, you could have gotten more involved, but that wasn't the case here.

It's best not to get involved in situations like this other than calling security/911. You can get in trouble for physically intervening. Don't risk your life/freedom by trying to be a hero.

Clearly? Based on what? the paragraph someone on the internet wrote about a situation he only saw part of? I think you're making a lot of assumptions based on your preconceptions.

I'd say you did the right thing. This instance really is a "not your business" one, so don't sweat about it, and on top of that, gauging from his immediate reaction, I kinda doubt he meant to push her with that amount of force and had any true intentions to hurt her at all. However, if he had taken it a step further, and let's say started punching her, then yes, you should have intervened because, as a rational morally inclined (you seem like one) human being, it is indeed your business to stop crap like that from happening. Well anyways, hopefully you enjoyed your game and this didn't bother you throughout it.