invisible robbie rule

This article was so popular in Martial Arts Mastery, that I am immediately republishing it here, for you. You see, a “Robbie Rule” is in place at my child’s middle school. At first glance, it seems like a great idea; in the following self-defense article, I’ll tell why it doesn’t work, and then … we’ll turn it around into an adult, defense safety consideration for the real world.

Sound interesting?

Robbie’s Rinkydink Rule Revealed …

And How to Turn it Into A Martial-Arts Principle

by Keith Pascal

The principal, who is not quite the gem that she thinks she is, of my daughter’s middle school just issued a reminder about bullying, behavior at the shopping center nearby, and … Robbie’s Rule.

Apparently, the school has an “invisible person policy.” The kids have to pretend that there is an “Invisible Robbie” in the group, and they have to leave a spot for him or her. This applies to standing in a circle in the hall, forming a group on the benches for lunch, and so on.

What this does is to provide a physical opening to encourage social interaction. Any kid can join any group, because there is always spot just for him or her, so to speak.

Before we move on to the dangers of this rule in the “real world,” let me tell you what the kids think of the rule:

I asked my “kiddling” about it; she told me that it was a dumb rule, made by a du … never mind. Anyway, her point is that the principal has now created a way for the obnoxious kids to be more obnoxious.

In my daughter’s opinion, the shy ones never take advantage of Robbie’s Rule. The jerks of the world now know that the group can get in trouble if there is any perceivable ostracizing. These rude types have been just given a pass to go anywhere, take over the conversation, and destroy any social dynamic.

My daughter hates the rule, and my she is one of the “nice kids.”

Hmm.

As mentioned before, it’s time to shove Robbie out the school door and see how the rule fares in the real world….

Saturday Night Out

Two nights before I wrote this, my wife, the best man from our wedding, and I went to a downtown venue, to see a cover band perform Pink Floyd with the Wizard of Oz movie playing on a screen in the background. (See Dark Side of the Moon with Wizard of Oz, aka Dark Side of the Rainbow.)

It was a fun performance….

When we arrived, we had several choices of where to sit. There was a big table with lots of chairs, some benches towards the back, a couple of booth-type tables for dining, and a couple of tables with 4-5 chair around them.

We chose a table with four chairs. According to the Robbie Rule, having three of us with four chairs was an invitation to be joined.

Note: I am not necessarily a “more-the-merrier” type of person, all of the time. While I wouldn’t classify myself as completely anti-social, I “am” fairly reclusive.

Sure enough, we were joined by a couple of other guys …one found a chair to pull up next to our table. And as you might have predicted, the big table, towards the right, filled up with rowdy, beer drinking hoot-n-hollerin’ types. Loud. And lots of drinking. (Many Robbies.)

The music ended by around 11:30 pm. As we walked outside, I saw a circle of cigarette smokers huddled outside. As I peered more closely, I saw an “Invisible Robbie” (open space in the circle).

We turned to go to our car; I looked back. It looked like a homeless guy was heading right for “the spot.” Nothing against the homeless, but many times “our” mall rats are a little overbearing, and not very honest.

The RAS in my brain was firing … I noticed “Robbie opportunities” everywhere. Our table with an extra chair, the big, loud group, and
the circle of smokers. I started thinking …

I wonder if, many years ago, two drunks started hassling me among my martial-arts peers, because there was a Robbie opening. We were
standing outside the pizza parlor; they had followed us out.

All of a sudden, I was the center of their attention.

Was this because I had left an invisible spot for my imaginary friend?

As a self-defense measure, should we be more conscious of closing indirect, unintentional invitations to potential dangers?

Last Thought

What if consciously … or UNCONSCIOUSLY … my daughter’s school is training kids to grow up and leave dangerous openings.

I’m super in favor of making this world a better place, and I like to give everybody the benefit of the doubt during first meetings, but …
“I” am able to take care of myself.

What if Robbie is doing us a disservice?

Tags: children's safety, invisible friend, inviting creeps, robbie's rule, school rules, self-defense