Ben Fields: Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight! (ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä)

And it's kind of a good thing, too, because, these days, if you get in a fight, someone is recording it and it will wind up on social media. 

Take, for instance, the laughable showdown between two MAGA influencers in a parking lot in Phoenix last year after a Turning Point USA conference. If you don't know what Turning Point USA is, good for you. Stay that way, you sweet, sweet angel.

All you really need to know is that it's how MAGA grifter Charlie Kirk makes money, and his conferences are attended by other MAGA grifters and a few true believers. They all have a good time whining about whatever the latest grievance is (probably Cracker Barrel at the moment) while also claiming to be alpha warriors. 

There's also some sketchier stuff that happens in hotel lobbies and around the host cities after the conferences wrap, which is sort of why this fight is back in the news in some media pockets. 

Anyway, one of these MAGA influencers upset another MAGA influencer and they decided they needed to fight. Hilariously (or sadly) enough, this was mostly instigated and then arranged through social media posts and messages. The Bulwark has a breakdown of all of that stuff, if you really care about the details. 

So, the video (because, of course, there's video) shows these two grown men squaring off in a gravel lot somewhere in Phoenix. They start swinging at each other, and it's pretty hilarious, because neither can land a punch and they're throwing themselves off balance with these wild attempts to connect. Finally, one guy tries to lift the other dude up, which I'm guessing he thought would be easy because he probably watches pro wrestling. It went terribly wrong, and he wound up on his back with the other guy on top of him, punching him in the face. In desperation, the guy on the ground went for the groin shot. 

As I said, I haven't been in anything that could loosely be called a fight in well over 35 years, at least, so I wouldn't claim to be up on the etiquette or code of such engagements. However, I'm guessing going for the groin is still considered poor form (as is going for the eyes -- the "groin of the head" according to Dwight K. Schrute -- or biting one's opponent). 

But boy is it effective. 

After taking the shot to the crotch, the guy who was on top immediately leaps off his opponent and runs away with an awkward gait, clutching his wound and justifiably complaining about foul play. He also calls his opponent a gay slur, which is clearly uncalled for but it's Turning Point USA, so what do you expect? 

After all of this happened, the guys went back to trashing each other on social media, each claiming to have won the fight. The quite silly-looking fracas solved nothing and is preserved forever on video. Hardly seems worth it. 

Similar types of fights, whether they be after a political echo-chamber conference, in the stands of an NFL game or between two nuns after bingo, apparently happen all the time and the video footage is thrown up on YouTube to prove it. Most of it is pretty ridiculous and, I guess, racks up views because watching people who think they're mixed martial artists flop around in public, occasionally halting to pull up sagging cargo shorts, is funny. 

Like everything, though, there's a darker side to it. 

Earlier this month, a video of a man attacking a woman on the ground, then punching another woman out as she tried to pull the guy off her friend went viral. It happened Aug. 9 in the parking area of a concert venue near Pittsburgh after a Jason Aldean show. The video is official proof that just about everything about bro country music is awful, including that particular bro. Weirdly though, it was dubbed a "fight" and, in some cases, viewed through the lens of just another dustup that was captured and posted online.

Now, that view was not shared by everyone. Most realized this was not a fight; it was assault. 

What exactly caused the incident is unclear. Various outlets reported the man could be heard saying he was defending himself. However, what was captured goes way past self-defense. Media reports said one of the women was hospitalized with a broken jaw, broken ribs and a concussion. Police are investigating the incident, but no charges have been filed so far. 

What's particularly disturbing is that so many people were just standing around watching it happen, more than a few with their phones out. Documenting something so heinous is important, but you have to wonder if some of those videoing the incident were thinking about evidence or spectacle. The fact that this guy just walked back to his truck with no one doing anything is pretty messed up. Sure, some people were probably in shock. Some were likely afraid. 

When something terrible happens before our eyes it can sometimes take a minute to believe it's really occurring. Perhaps that response has been exacerbated because we're so used to seeing such things in an almost detached manner; removed from them by a screen and lacking context. Yet, you'd hope someone would've done something, anything, during a horrible incident like that.