Taunting is of course not a crime but under extenuating circumstances, I could forgive someone for punching someone based on it.

Six guys kicking an unconscious guy on the ground is not acceptable under any circumstances. It has been widely reported that the original charge was attempted murder. Perhaps the story was gotten really wrong but that sort of error is hard to imagine to that degree.

I will agree that the aggrieved victim stance often taken by American blacks is not healthy for them or anyone else. It becomes an enormous chip on the shoulder that hinders any real progress.

In Berkeley about a year ago, a few young men tried to gain access to a party w/o an invite. It was in a black neighborhood and the story implied all involved were black. Eventually they bullied their way in - the father of the house noticed what he thought was a gun in one of them's belt - he took it and ordered them to leave. A few minutes later, the youth managed to re-enter, get the gun, and kill the guy who took it from him. The excessive pride involved in an incident like this is troubling. Hip hop has a vibe of way over the top, belligerent self esteem.

There are no easy answers for a lot of this stuff but unfortunately, I'm afraid we all need to walk on eggshells a bit to get to the next level, whatever that is.

If you have a few hours, I'll tell you about all the episodes when I was hassled or beat up on by black guys. Then I'll tell about some of my irreplaceable black friends, one of whom was a virtual urban zen master who had a big influence on me. (Yes Bot, thank you so much, some of my best friends are black. So sue me)

Life is strange.

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1986 300SDL, 362K
1984 300D, 138K