Georges St-Pierre recently retold a moment from a night out that showed how quickly a normal interaction can twist into hostility.
According to St-Pierre he went to the restroom during a night out when a girl approached him and started a friendly exchange. She asked where he was from and he answered Texas. She refused to believe him which was harmless enough but a nearby man overheard the exchange and suddenly inserted himself with a remark St-Pierre described as
“very bad like something racist very bad”
St-Pierre said he immediately sensed aggression from the man and felt the hostility had nothing to do with the conversation itself but possibly jealousy over St-Pierre talking to the girl.
“I cannot let it slip because I felt that he wanted to beat me up or something and I didn’t do anything to him maybe because I was talking to a girl”
He responded by telling the man to step aside with him so they could talk. Because the shared area between the two restrooms was crowded he moved into the men’s restroom. The man followed which signaled to St-Pierre that the situation was escalating. Drawing on past street experience he acted first.
He struck the man which caused him to lose consciousness. St-Pierre caught him before he hit the floor then sat him on a toilet and woke him up.
“Hey you okay you okay?”
The man said he was fine so St-Pierre walked away.
St-Pierre had recently undergone surgery which made the situation more complicated. He limped back to his seat and told his friends,
“I just had an altercation I need to get out”
He explained that he didn’t want to spend the rest of the night with his back against a wall watching everyone who came near. He also noted that the venue played hip hop music which he said tends to attract groups he did not want to get mixed up with especially since he had no idea who the man was or who he might be with. For safety he chose to leave the club with a friend right away.
The moment showed how even someone with St-Pierre’s calm public presence can be forced into split second decisions when confronted with hostility and prejudice in everyday places.
