FRIGHTENED MAN: WHAT SCARES THEM THE MOST

One thing about frightened man is they make lots of noise.

They’re loud, yet never ask, “Can you hear me?”

Instead, they keep the volume turned to eleven. How can you tell, besides the noise, if a frightened man is also nutty as hell?

Fear crosses most lines of reason. Everyone has their limits to when it’s time to run away. Most of us learn the ropes in early teen years.

That’s when the grade school bully who doesn’t have the genetic growth to keep up with their sprouting classmates gets a reckoning. Sometimes it comes with a kicker.

On the first day of eighth grade the kids all came to school with their best look. Some had planned for the day all summer. Which shoes, which pants, which shirt.

Some of the kids milled around after lunch. One of them had an older brother that was a star athlete, a high school varsity pitcher and quarterback. Little brother was a powerhouse, too, and he had new shoes.

Peer Group Education

In those years junior high included seventh through ninth grade, with sophomore the first high school year. After lunch a few freshmen were feeling the power. One of them wore a Che Guevara t-shirt and old jeans. He was older than his years.

The kid in the Che shirt was chatty, showing off to his freshman friends by trying to intimidate the eighth graders. Except, the kid with new shoes wasn’t having it. Besides those two getting worked up, the rest of the group was quiet.

The guy in the Che shirt was testing the water, checking himself to see how far things could go. He challenged the eighth grader, who took him up on it. Both groups walked to the side of the school for a fight.

They were just a bunch of kids, but it was a small town junior high in 1969. Older brothers had been drafted for the Vietnam War. Some came back, some didn’t, but the protest hadn’t arrived yet. The Che shirt was a signal of enlightenment. Fight the man, man.

Frightened Man Fighting In The Far Corner

The boys squared off on the first day of school. Che was going to pound some sense into another kid. That he picked a younger boy was telling. He was a bully looking for an easy score.

And he was wrong.

The small group of boys watched their leaders step up. The older boy made a move and the younger boy pushed him down. All fair and square. In most fights, if one kid falls, he gets a chance to get up. Those were the old rules.

There was silence among the fight fans. However, the younger kid’s Hush Puppies were about to bark.

While Che was in the process of standing up, he got a surprise. He didn’t pop up like a football player, stand up like a wrestler. Instead, he took his time. But it was a fight he wanted, and a fight he got.

The younger kid stood and watched his opponent carefully. At the right moment, he stepped in and kicked him in the face. It stunned the small gathering. You could kick someone in the face while they were getting up?

Now You Could

It was a ‘one kick in the face’ fight. In other words, one kick ended the fight. Nothing broken, no teeth to spit out, just a new awarenesses of resources. It was okay to kick someone in the face after that. Before, no, but after.

The saving grace were the shoes. Hush Puppies are not Doc Martins. You’d break a toe if you tried a classic stomping in Hush Puppies. The kick delivered that day was like punting a football. It was the broad top of the shoe contact, not a toe kick for maximum damage.

The older kid bled a little while he walked off with his friends. The younger kid brushed off his shoes.

In the end, a frightened boy wanting to fit in took it too far. The kick may have been the boost to becoming a frightened man. It also helped the kids learn about Che.

The next time you see an older man screaming into a microphone while making the sort of faces that belong in Hollywood slasher films, think of their past. Instead of filing them into the nutcase file, consider their probable history.

It’s not weakness to feel sorry for a frightened man. Even if they run roughshod over normal manners and behavior and try to normalize their racist, bully, behavior. Try and understand why.

Then put on your Hush Puppies, pick up a pen and a ballot, and kick them the hell out of office. Vote like it means something.