So last Tuesday I was waitting for the bus when a fight broke out.
Its funny because the week before I had been remembering a time when I volunteered at a youth drop-in in Sarn-hole in 06-07 and a fight broke out that I had tried to prevent. At the time I didn't feel like 'I' was the right person to break up the rumblings of the storm because of my gender and stature.
To this day I keep replaying the scene in my head because I was the only person who saw it coming, instead when I said something to my male counterpart to try and calm the situation he was too lazy to get up and break the two boys up.
The one boy was extremly intoxicated and the other just wanted to fight for the sake of venting his pent up anger/rage at the world on someone else. The fight escalated into a terf war between drop-in kids and skate park kids. I remember standing in front of the sober fight instigator and pushing skater boy's girlfriends off of him because they were drunk and want to get a couple shots in on him too. The fight ended with blood and the cops.
One of the girlfriends shoved me hard from behind, the kids from the drop-in were quite upset by this and asked me if I wanted them to kick her ass, I didn't. Still I was touched by their concern for me.
Anyway I was recently thinking about this past incident and how I just should have stood between the two guys despite my stature and gender.
So on Friday lil o'l me was standing at the bus stop, I had seen a group of guys running around with this wild look in their eyes so I knew something was up. Then at one point two boys burst out of doors near her bus stop. One banged on the glass for emphasis then the boy beside him turned and started throwing punches, shortly after four other boys jumped in and started throwing punches. It was five on one. I thought they would just get their punches in and then walk away... but no, it continued. A crowd was gathering, one girl was getting upset but no one was stepping in to intervene.
So I decided to step in and pull a mama bear because no one else was. I started shouting in my firmest commanding voice "STOP IT, GET OFF OF HIM." I tried to weasel my way in and break it up but the punches were flying too fast. Finally two other taller male bystanders pulled them apart. Two guys fled the scene and three stayed to taunt the guy, and try to get in a few more shots. I then stood in the middle of them, the three guys started to circle around to try and get to him, so I stood between him and them. They noticed me and kind of looked at me funny but continued on in their taunts. Finally the wounded guy left, I scolded the two remainders with "you guys are acting like idiots!"
By that time the bus had arrived so I got on. The funny thing is no one would look at me, no one even asked if I was alright, even though I was shaking like a leaf.
When I was interviewing my grandma this week for my Life Writing class about her thoughts on the response of the German people to the Holocaust she said she was ashamed of her elders for not doing anything about it (She is orig from Germany). I told her my story from last week and she was so proud of me. When I told her about the people's lack of concern for me she said it was because they were ashamed that they hadn't stepped in themselves... I'm not sure if she's right...sometimes I think that people are just so desensitized that they like seeing a good fight, its a source of entertainment. I dunno, thats my long story.
