Fight Club

"If you are reading this then this warning is for you. Every word you read of this useless fine print is another second of your life. Don't you have better things to do? Is your life so empty that you honestly can't think of a better way to spend these moments? Or are you so impressed with authority that you give respect and creedence to all who claim it!? Do you read everything you're supposed to read? Do you think everything you're supposed to think? Buy what you're told you should want? Get out of your appartment. Meet a member of the opposite sex. Stop the excessive shopping. Quit your job. Start a fight. Prove you're alive. If you don't claim your humanity you will become a statistic. You have been warned........Tyler."

I guess last week, the students at my school took this advice to heart. Through Wednesday, over 10 students had been suspended as a result of fights. Sadly enough, nearly all of them were girls, fighting for simple, petty reasons.

That b**** was messin' around wit' my man!

That b**** was haggin' on me in 2nd period.

That b**** was lookin' at me funny in da' hall!

Don't nobody tell me to shut up, especially that b****.

I only had to break up one of them, the others happened to be at the other end of the building, but I'm sure grateful for the help from the Chemistry teacher. Everybody else was willing to let them go to the end. Apparently they want to live in a "Fight Club" world, but are not willing to play by the rules of Fight Club.

"The first rule of Fight Club is you do not talk about Fight Club. The second rule of Fight Club is you do not talk about Fight Club. Third rule of Fight Club, someone yells 'stop', goes limp, taps out, the fight is over. Fourth rule, only two guys to a fight. Fifth rule, one fight at a time, fellas. Sixth rule, no shirt, no shoes. Seventh rule, fights will go on as long as they have to. And the eighth and final rule, if this is your first night at Fight Club, you have to fight."

I really can't understand the need that some of these children have to fight. I can even sit down with them and explain things to them, explain that they don't have to fight. It's not even a reactionary thing that they are doing. They are consciously choosing to commit this type of behavior, knowing that there are consequences and even knowing what those consequences are.

I told one student this and she replied to me, "Mr. Madson, I know they gonna suspend me for fightin', but I don't care. Don't nobody gonna' talk to me like dat."

My only guess is that it has some sort of primeval instinct tied into power or pride or something of the sort. But heck, for all I know, they are just following the advice and example of Brad Pitt's character from the movie Fight Club, Tyler Durden. "How much can you possibly know about yourself if you've never been in a fight? I don't want to die without any scars."

They are definetly doing alot of "self-actualization" recently. So much, in fact, that the principal made an announcement on Thursday that any fighters would face immediate 10-day suspensions and their cases would be turned over to Juvenile Court. I was reluctant to believe that this would actually happen, but I ran into one of the girls that was suspended for fighting, who just happens to be one of my favorite students, and she confirmed to me that she had already been to court, but the other girl involved in the fight failed to appear, resulting in a delay of the hearing. I was happy to hear that things are being done to curtail the violence. Since the mandate came down from on high that fighters will face the maximum sentence allowed, the number of fights has declined sharply...not surprising for only being in effect for one week, but hopefully we can keep the fights down for the rest of the year.