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| September 26, 2011 |
School Yard Gladiators
You can’t be a punk as a young man in Compton. When you get tested, you have to defend yourself. If you don’t, people take notice and will continue to test you the same. As I look back at those days on the Emerson elementary playground, I think about all the school yard tussles I had. It wasn’t many. I an only remember a few of them. I can’t remember what they were about but I could tell you how fared in each of those bouts. There were a few that stick out in my head. The only reason I remember them so well was because they were extremely violent. I wasn’t the only one having death matches in school either. Some of my friends back then were involved in some wars as well. Keep in mind; all of the stories are about elementary school kids. Let’s go back to one of the most violent years that I can remember. 1992.
Walter Vs. Jonathan
I don’t know what they didn’t like about each other but they had a pretty intense feud going on. The fight started on the playground when we were playing an extreme form of basketball called “nigga ball”. In “nigga ball”, if you missed a shot everyone on the court had to punch you until you reached a collectively pre-selected “base”. I decided to play this time. I knew Walter and Jonathan had beef, so I wanted to see what would happen if either one of them missed a shot. Walter missed first. Like an opportunist, Jonathan was the first to run up. Walter immediately ran for the “base”. Jonathan was able to catch Walter and delivered a hammer fist from hell to his back. You could feel the thud in the air. The blow was so hard Walter fell to the broken glass riddled pavement. Not only was he hit in the back viciously, he now had glass in his hands. Walter was so upset that he started to cry. No one touched him as he got up from the ground. He ran over to Jonathan who had already started running, Walter jumped in the air and delivered a jump kick to Walter’s back. Jonathan hit the ground and bounced right back up to defend himself. Fisticuffs ensued. We were at the North East side of the playground. There was hardly ever any supervision on this side. The two could battle without any interruption. It was hand to hand for about a good minute. Usually, when kids are fighting, all the other kids gather around and chant “Fight! Fight! Fight!”. The fights are then quickly broken up by a teacher or other adult. Not this time. We were all silent because this needed to happen. Everyone knew that Walter and Jonathan didn’t like one another.
Once the alarm sounded to signal the end of recess, Jonathan made a dash for Walter’s jacket for some reason. He grabbed it and ran as fast as he could. I didn’t get a chance to follow them because I went to go stand in line to go back to class. By the time we all went back to the classroom and sat down, Walter and Jonathan still hadn’t emerged. Next thing I know, Jonathan had run into the class room to seek refuge. He turned the corner out of the doorway to run for the teacher but Walter had grabbed the jacket which prohibited Jonathan from going any further because he was holding it in his hand. They struggled for the jacket. The teacher was demanding that they stop. Walter was able to snatch the Jacket from Jonathan. With just the sleeve of the jacket clinched in hand, Walter delivered 2 blows to Jonathan’s head. Jonathan stood the motionless. The whole classroom was silent. We starred in awe as blood poured from Jonathan’s face like a spike had been driven through the top of his head. The teacher grabbed both students and escorted them to the head office. I cannot remember what happened to them after that but that fight was a bloody violent mess indeed.
Anthony and Me Vs. Courtney and Antoine
Anthony was a chum of mine back in the days. He’s a tall, skinny, glasses wearing genius. Anthony, Endria Smith, Vanish Pope, and myself were in a group called the four intellectual souls. What can I say? We were gifted kids. Out of all of us, Anthony fit the description of your stereotypical schoolyard nerd. Of course, bullying ensued. He was frequently chastised by 2 goons named Antoine and Courtney. However, unlike the stereo typical nerd, Anthony would fight back. Viciously. I even remember Anthony using a book as projectile against a foes one time. He wasn't the type to just let you push him around, even if he was out numbered.
I remember one day we were lined up outside for some reason and the goons were bothering Anthony again. The teacher was in the office for some apparent reason, so we were outside in line unsupervised. It started with a shoving match. Then jackets and shirts were getting grabbed and pulled on. Anthony tried to defend himself with his backpack but it ended up ripping open with its contents flying everywhere rendering it useless. I couldn’t let them do my friend like that. I had to step in. I went for Antoine. It was now a fatal 4-way match. As we all fought, I became enraged for some reason. It may have been because I got a punch to the face which is a pet peeve of mine. I started to attack Antoine with extreme prejudice. I had managed to wrestle him to the ground. From there I grabbed his head and started to smash it on the ground and into the pole he was lying next to.
As I dwell on this now, I cannot imagine why I was so upset. I could have injured this kid permanently or worse killed him. As a matter of fact, why did we all react so violently? I believe it has to do with our environment but also the way men in general handle their physical disputes. Generally speaking, women usually fight to humiliate. Their fights usually consists of biting, scratching, hair pulling, and clothing destruction. Personally, I have never heard of a woman beating someone to death. I believe men fight for survival. It’s a hard wired instinct. When you combine that potential with a harsh environment, I believe the reaction can be many times worse. But how many life threatening altercations could a 10 year old have possibly been involved in to warrant such a hardened reaction? Slim to none. Home and family life plays a big role. Being immersed in an environment where domestic and gang violence is the norm can wear on a child. So these extreme acts of aggression may have been learned. It wasn’t our fault. Having these violent tendencies fit nicely into world of gang banging though. However, it doesn't have to. I didn't spend the rest of my life trying to kill people even though I almost tried to that day. I actually developed quite a thick skin. I don't know what would need to happen in order for me to react like that again. Just don't test me. I personally, don’t know what happened to Antoine, Courtney, and Jonathan. Walter ended up gang banging for some crip set. Anthony is now married with children. He now lives a non-violent peaceful life.
