In seventh grade I punched a boy in the face. He deserved it and I didn't regret it afterward; I actually felt pretty good about it. After taking his verbal and physical abuse for what seemed like forever but in all likelihood was probably only for a marking period, I stood my ground.
It happened in Mr. Sakowitz's seventh-period chemistry class. I was minding my business as usual, walking to my desk, when a hand touched my butt. It was his, the boy who always felt as if he had free rein when it came to teasing and touching girls.
At that point, enough was enough. I yelled at him and continued to walk to my desk. But as I was about to sit down, he pulled the chair from underneath me. Thankfully, I caught myself before I fell. At that point, my blood was boiling. My temper was about to explode. I looked around, and it felt as though all eyes were on me. I fought back the tears because I was fed up. I balled my fists and remembered what one of my uncles had taught me: Stick and move.
The boy fell to the ground. Mr. Sakowitz took a sip of his coffee and puffed on his cigarette (yes, my teacher smoked in class … occasionally) and started his class. There were a few laughs. The boy eventually got up. And I stood there and dared him to do anything. But he immediately sat down. After that day and through the rest of middle school and high school, that boy never made eye contact with me again.
There's only so much a person can take, especially when he or she is being verbally abused and harassed. And it's amazing how racist white people have grown cojones the size of watermelons ever since President-elect Racist McRacist Face was elected.
On Thursday a video of a cashier being accosted at a Miami Starbucks went viral. A man, who presumably was upset about the amount of time his latte was taking, not only berated the black cashier but also yelled that he had voted for Racist McRacist Face.
On top of that incident, there was the Baltimore schoolteacher who went berserk on her students and said they'd end up being "broke ass n—gers who are going to get shot."
Since the election, it seems as though racist white people have lost their damn minds. All while black people have seemingly shown restraint. But how long will that restraint last? How much will a person have to be pushed before he retaliates?
One of these days, a racist white person is going to run up on the wrong black person. And that black person won't be the "turn the other cheek" type. Like myself, there are some black people who weren't taught to turn the other cheek. I was taught to stick and move, as well as Hammurabi's Code.
I commend the woman at Starbucks for not throwing that coffee in that man's face. I also commend those kids in the classroom for not throwing a chair at that teacher. And I commend those children's parents for not meeting that teacher at the school's doorsteps.
When black people start retaliating, I don't want to see President-elect Orangina on television or Twitter condemning us. Because if anything goes down, it's his fault.