Hmmm...
ludicrous, eh? Personally, I believe
everyone should at least get into at least one
fight during their life, should at least throw one
punch; it
builds character.
Really. Don't believe me? Hear me out.
I've always been a geek (currently debian, perl, and dead languages are guiding forces in my life), and so naturally I got picked on a lot. I quickly came to the realisation that if I never fought back, I'd be picked on for the rest of my life. So I fought; I've only ever started a fight once (though it was more of a brawl, actually, and involved a soccer team, and it's twice if you count that little scuffle over the state of the Russian military during the cold war), but if someone hit me, I had no problem decking them. I've also seen others, who decided pacifism was the way to go; most of them work middle management, and go through life whipped and broken.
I don't mean to promote violence, because it's not just fighting. Even if you lose against that gorilla in the locker room, you'll at least have learned to punch back, and not keep the anger saved up for a sniper rifle later. And high school, where 90% of the people hate you anyway, is a good place to learn.
These days, I hate jocks, passionately and with a Dead Kennedys-like disgust. But now I'm 6'2" and weigh 200 lbs, so getting into fights is rarely an issue (though picking on frat boys is still a hobby of mine). But it's all about attitude. Bullies rarely pick on people who they know will sock 'em one right back. So go ahead; pacifism bites.