You know, back in the day we did have fights at school. Fights that went on for days and months, at times even a year. Fights which were simply meant to prove which bully was the worst or which gang was the maddest. School kids were always at each other’s throats; strangling the dear life out of each other so that only one warrior remained or a single group or gang stood tall in the whole neighborhood. Despite all this, these fights used to be genuine fights. It was either territorial brawls or a battle to see who kept the best and beautiful ladies in the area.
What made me think of all this is the manner in which young people these days have lost their minds and morals in the name of proving who is who in a schooling environment. Nowadays kids fight over petty things. Some would even beat the life out of another kid simply because he has a new uniform and they don’t. Their reasons for fighting at school have changed from what we used to consider ‘reasonable’ to completely and absolutely absurd. As much as any kind of bullying and fighting in school can never be justified, kids always fight; whether in class or outside, away from the watchful eye of a teacher or staff members.
As I was traveling over the weekend, on one of my many expeditions around the country, I sat next to a young lady, who has just completed Grade 8 at a school in the township. As we went on to chat and talk about life’s experiences, I found myself asking more about the situation at her school. As if I had foreseen it, this young lady had recently been a victim of bullying, abuse and armed robbery at her school. Hers was not your typical armed robbery case that you read of in the paper or watch on the news. She was attacked by a person she once considered a friend; a fellow colleague. His reason, she says, was simply because this lad had heard that she had money that day and so he attacked her just for the money and the phone. Her assailant was so violent that he had the urge to stab her with a man-made knife, which landed her in hospital where she received treatment for days and after being discharged, attended counseling and trauma classes for months.
This made me think deeply about the current situation in schools these days. Kids seem to be becoming violent and violent with every minute of the day, it’s like they are merely replicating scenes from movies like Jeepers Creepers or Scream. Their fights are no longer fights we were used to as we grew up, but they have become so violent and dangerous that they are nothing short of being labeled attempted murder and murder cases. Some students have even turned into serial killers overnight, having tried several times to kill fellow classmates, not once but on several occasions.
Although she survived this ordeal at such a young age, it is safe to say her attacker is behind bars, as the police continue with investigations into the case.
(Due to her current situation, and for her own safety, she requested that her identity and that of her assailant be withheld, and details of her case not be revealed)
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