Young Male Violence and the Communities that Nurture It Essay examples

Jerry sat nervously at his desk, staring at the clock while about twenty pairs of eyes momentarily glanced over or glared at him. The seconds were slipping by far too quickly as the teacher finished explaining the homework assignment for the next day, and Jerry could feel the sweat slipping down his back in just the same way. All day long he had heard second hand threats from the other kids at school that Tim Stern was going to pound him before the day was through, and Tim sent vicious looks his way to reaffirm the rumors. The bell rang and Jerry darted from his seat; he ran down the hallway to his locker where he grabbed his skateboard for the ride home. A couple of his friends ran into him, and together they began sprinting out of the school building. One of the teachers yelled after them, â€Å"Slow down boys! There’s no fire!† They hadn’t been fast enough, because Tim and his friends and a whole group of onlookers were already waiting in the alley just beyond the school parking lot. Jerry threw his things on the ground. Tim was furious because Jerry had verbally humiliated him the day before in a restaurant most of the kids at school hung out at; to make matters worse, Jerry had just started dating Tim’s ex-girlfriend. The crowd was excited because both of the boys were pretty well built; bets had been placed, and the cliched chant, â€Å"Fight! Fight! Fight!† spilled out before Jerry and Tim could even exchange words. Without hesitation, Tim threw the first punch and Jerry, stumbling backward, tripped and fell to the ground. The crowd of kids roared and Tim shook hands with some of his buddies. While no one was looking, Jerry sprung up and dealt a hard blow to the back of Tim’s head with the trucks of his skateboard. T... ...minance. If you will recall, in the beginning of this report I stated that a teacher was calling out to some young men, â€Å"There’s no fire!† However, in reality there is a fire, and this fire takes the form of the pressure on young males to be violent members of our species. Whether it is an urban community’s physical violence, a suburban community’s mental violence, or the sexual violence common to both, it is interesting to note that so much of it is strongly upheld and created by the working culture of men. Much of the violence has to do with the pressures on males to be providers: something we often think has disappeared. Ultimately, it is exactly these kinds of pressures, norms, and customs in combination with a general need for acceptance that amount to the stress on young men to make it to the top. This is what fuels the fire of young male violence.