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Missouri rule change would allow senators to challenge each other to a duel (www.newsweek.com)

submitted 11 months ago by [email protected] to c/nottheonion

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[–] [email protected] 53 points 11 months ago (1 children)

And what happens when the Democrat tells him to fuck off?

The first rule of dueling was that a challenge to duel between two gentleman could not generally be refused without the loss of face and honor

"lol" said the Democrat, "lmao".

[–] [email protected] 19 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (1 children)

In truth, there were several reasons that one could decline a duel without loss of honor. For example if the duel challenge was issued with obvious quarrelous intent.

Eg:

"You're a liar"

"No I'm not. What are you talking about?"

"Ah, so you deny being a liar?"

"Yes, wtf are you getting at?"

"Then by your denial, you accuse me of being a liar! This insult shall not stand. I demand satisfaction."

"Lol, fuck off"

Another case would be if one duelist was not of sufficient station to match the honor of their opponent. A freshly-minted bourgeoisie vs a nobleman, for example.

Lastly, duels might be turned down if it were obvious to all that that a significant skill mismatch were at play. For example, a military officer might not be allowed to duel a civilian with sabres. Guns, however, were generally considered more egalitarian.

[–] CheeseNoodle 2 points 11 months ago

To be fair only because pistols at the time were so innacurate that even the worlds best shot wouldn't have been able to garauntee a hit. Modern pistols would be a different story.