Family loyalty

How many of you have made an enemy with either someone you know, or haven't known just because of a conflict with a family member? Say a brother/sister/cousin etc. It happens all the time, but sometimes does it go a little too far?
It's natural for us to defend members of our family, and we tend to have a stronger sense of loyalty to them rather than our friends, even if we get along with our friends better than our family. I'm not saying it's a bad thing, Family loyalty is an important part of having a family, and I'll defend mine no matter what. But there are times where it does get taken too far, and the situation is made ten times worse than it was before.

Remember when you're like ten and one of the biggest threats was 'I'm gonna get my brother on you' etc, a few months ago some kid asked me if I was 'Scared of his parents,' it made me think back to the time when parents were scary and older brothers and sisters were the same. But when a family member is in the middle of something, and you want to help them out, then what is the best way to stick up for them?

People are too quick to get into arguments these days, and especially when it comes to sticking up for a sibling etc, people are naturally really defensive towards them. I made quite a few enemies in secondary school for shouting my mouth at people who were bullying my little brother. And I watch all the time, whether it's in town or over facebook, people arguing with loads of their friends just because they've got a problem with a member of their family, which is a perfectly natural thing, but how involved should you be in their situations? Especially when it comes to arguing with your own friends?

I can't help but feel very defensive over my brother, but over the years I've learnt that the only thing I'm bothered about the most, is when arguments turn physical, all of his arguments and stuff, it's his business, I've learnt that another mouth shouting a load of crap usually does more harm than good, and this can be related to any kind of loyalty, if your friends are in the middle of a drama etc, and I take the same approach with my friends as I do with my brother. Arguing with a load of people, no matter how good your intentions are, will probably only escalate the situation. Everyone has arguments at some point, whether they're small or big, but when it comes to our family, we're so much more defensive over them, but it doesn't always help.
It always makes you feel a little more secure when you have people defending your side of things. But I've seen over-protective siblings etc go to real lows over it.
My ex, who was 17 at the time, liked to think of himself as a bit of a big man, thought he was a little better than everyone else etc, he had his stories of when he 'took out some guy' because they were being horrible to his friends etc, but the only guy I ever saw him be like that to, was his 11 year old sister's friend. Someone of his age pinning up an 11 year old kid against a door by his neck is pretty disgusting right? He's reasoning for it wasn't even justified.
I'm not saying everyone is like that, but that's just an extreme example for my next point.
How quickly are we to also turn a verbal argument into a physical one, whether we actually mean that we're going to turn physical or if it was just an empty threat, but I know of many arguments when someone doesn't back down, the other one is ready to 'apparently' start throwing punches etc?
Again escalating the situation....

One thing I think is a real shame, is when friends fall out over siblings/cousins etc, yes I understand family comes first and it should always come first, but why can't you have both? Why do you have to fall out with someone over their differences with your family members? It feels like sometimes we do make our lives a hell of a lot harder over things like this.
If someone has done something that bad towards a member of your family, then yeah, it's natural to fall out with them, but most of the time it's over silly little things, and people are too quick to step in and unintentionally make the situation a lot worse, instead of just saying 'You know where I stand on it, I don't agree with what's going on etc.' You can stand up for people without falling out with the other person...

Family members are amazing for dragging you out of trouble, and that's really where it should stay in my opinion, I would never let anyone touch my brother, but if he was having an argument or something with someone else, I wouldn't be able to help but keep an eye on it, but I'd try not to get too involved, because usually when other people start getting involved, the situation escalates, especially when people are so defensive as they are when it comes to their family.

What do you guys think? Comment below, or contact me on my facebook/twitter (linked above) or if you wish to email me, my email is Shaneyxcakes@gmail.com