I don't mean to go off on a rant here, but ...
... whatever happened to old fashioned fist fights as a way for kids to settle their disputes?
This past week, family came in to town to visit and made it to the Taste for lunch -- getting out before the violence started later that night. As these stories now seem to all start: a group of kids ran into a different group of kids, and one of them was a backstabber -- of the literal kind, as the accosted youth lie in the crowded streets with a knife in his back -- when the two groups of teens just couldn't get along.
So whatever happened to the art of fisticuffs (as opposed to this knife-ticuffs or gun-ticuffs)? Admittedly, my experiences being bullied in any way were from grade school when it was harmlessly hurtful and I certainly never had to come home from school to put a frozen steak on my eye (even that image seems all black and white television-y). The closest thing I had to an injury was that one time in Mr. Schweingruber's seventh grade science class when I was kicked in the testicles by the girl in our grade with anger issues who was lashing out at men in general (and why does that memory stay with me years later?).
Even as I aged and got a bit more of a mouth on me, I still usually just confused any aggressors -- plus I did wear the kind of spectacles that would cause any potential pugilist to think twice before striking for fear that all of the breaking glass might slice a tendon or two in his fist. I can still recall DJ (he was like a brother to me), shaking his head and saying how much I needed to be beaten, but still allowing me to say things to him that no one else could get away with. (Could it be that even when I'm angry and hateful, I'm adorable?)
And, as always, I'm advocating for moderation and balance. I'm not saying that all youth should explore, embrace and embellish their ultimate fighter instincts ... but I would rather have a rite of passage be the occasional beat down instead of the shopping trip to replace your funeral suit from having worn it out prior to graduation!
YOUTH STABBED AFTER LEAVING TASTE:
http://www.cltv.com/news/wgntv-taste-stabbing-july1,0,48557.story
THE RULES OF FIGHTCLUB:
http://www.angelfire.com/ny2/russkafin/fcrules.html
NEVER BRING A KNIFE TO A FISTFIGHT:
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/NeverBringAKnifeToAFistFight
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