What ever happened to not tattling?
Time was at least when we were kids the absolute worst thing and the only thing that would guarantee you a lonely lunch table even if you had extra chocolate pudding was to tattle on another kid to a teacher.
Fight breaks out on the play ground, no one saw nothing, no one heard nothing, no one was even there. It held true for witnesses but more importantly to the fighters. It was a question of honor. Call it 4th grade omerto.
We are still positive every kid we got into a fight with deserved a punch in the nose especially Donnie “The Dork” Libendorfer. But as far as Mrs. Hawks and vice principal Welch were concerned me and Donnie were such good friends we didn’t even wipe the lip of the soda bottle we shared.
The reasons behind this code of silence were pretty simple.
First justice is fickle. Experience taught us since the second grade that no how self evident that we were in the right ALWAYS, teachers were deaf, dumb and blind to the facts that were staring at them in the face. Blame the other kid for starting the fight and the odds were even that we would be the one in trouble.
Second group punishment is a bitch. If a teacher had to break up a fight, recess for everyone would be canceled maybe FOREVER. That’s what they told us anyway.
So we kept our mouths shut and that black eye and bloody nose we got from tripping on our shoe laces.
We wonder just when did those morons still pressing charges in the little League Football Fracas forgot this honor code.
The consequences of their tattling still apply.
Prosecutors and police can be just as “blind” and teachers make a complaint write out a statement and they just might put the handcuffs on you once they hear from the other guy. And if self incarceration doesn’t do it, think about this: If this case does go to court it could very well kill little league football in Wendover FOREVER.
We don’t care how right you believe yourself to be or how wrong the other guy is, this will kill little league football.
Yeah maybe things just might shake out and you will see the other guy pay with more than just a lifetime ban from coaching. Maybe he will do time, lose his job, his life savings, his home, perhaps his marriage.
Fitting punishment for one bloody nose, eh?
And let’s not forget the no football thing and the fact that where ever you go in town kids will point at you and say “Because of that man we can’t play football FOREVER.”
But justice must be done damn the consequences right?
After all what is really important here, kids playing football or a pissing match between grown men who should know better.
For the record we still can’t stand Donnie “The Dork” Libendorfer but we are okay with not slugging him now. Guess we both kind of grew out of that stage.