The First Punch

I dont have Tv at home so in Lancaster Ive been re-introduced to LOGOTV by my Aunt Carla. A women who's love of men is almost as potent as mine. (or use to be LOL). I'm watching a story about a boy in the UK living in a small town (like Lancaster PA) and is teased for his feminine ways. His peers thought it would be funny to vote him queen of the town fair and he won and they teased and teased but with the love of his mother and with strength with in his self he road in the parade and the teasing stopped for five minutes.

Growing up in a small town I remember being teased in the third grade for what some of my mothers 'Man friends' use to call sissyfied (usually when she left the room). The class was on a trip to the Charles Chips Factory and three boys who tried to make my life hell by teasing me (I dont remember it affecting me till this field trip.

"Your a Girl" they screamed across the yellow bus seats.

This was an hour bus ride of hearing how much of a girl and how "gay", (A word a did not understand till the ninth grade).

As soon as the bus stopped in the Charles Chips Factory

something swelled up inside of me

and I looked at those three boys

watched their mouths move to the tune of what a girl I was

and My fist started to swell

Little Third Grader Shareef threw one punch at the fist boy who ducked and my fist landed on the the boy with the braces on his legs (Like Forrest Gump).

Mrs. Manners (our third grade teacher) came to the middle of the bus where we were sitting
grabbed my ear pulled me to the back of the bus and said,

"You Hit the crippled boy! Shareef Jenkins your going to sit here for the whole entire trip, and I'm calling your mother!"

Shareef strikes back! what I thought I did. I remember just reacting and throwing a punch. But I wasn't reacting to what was being said I was reacting to the fact that I was being taunted and by three boys who were making me very aware that I was in some way different than them.

At that point I didn't know how I was different, I don't think I even believed that I was different. I don't think I even had a concept of the difference in Skin color. But I knew that I was being disrespected in some way and

I WAS a MAD third grader AND I JUST WOULDN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE!

and I exploded with rage.

Just telling the story I can still feel the passion that I had that day.

When we got back I was to be suspended from school for three days, But having a black mother who sticks up for her "sissified" chile (mostly by denying his sissyfiedness)

She marched in the principles office and demanded to know how if it takes two to tango why would you only reprimand one?

"Discrimination!" and "My lawyer.."

words that a black parent in a white school should have readily at there disposal especially in a circumstance that it is actual and factually the situation.

I learned a couple of things about myself that day in the third grade. I looked at myself in the mirror for the fist time and started to look at the boys around me for the first time and asked myself how am I different and why, and I never thought twice about defending myself when I "FELT" not petty teasing but when I felt that I was being violated by some one from that moment on I retaliated and I couldn't control it.

But what fascinates me about the kid on Logo and the battles in my child hood was violence was never the first or fifth choice in my retaliation especially after I was less ignorant about who I was and what the word "Gay" meant.

Thats another story!