Notes

On a set of stairs outside a crumbling house, in a rundown neighborhood on the edges of Chicago, 4 boys sat in a circle talking. To an outside observer, these boys seemed slightly hostile, and no one wanted to interact much with them. While there was nothing specific about their looks or actions that seemed particularly aggressive towards others, the way they held themselves and the expressions on their faces made them look uninviting and ensured them relative privacy. These boys were known amongst those in the neighborhood as troublemakers, and they had a disrespect for rules. While they did not necessarily seek out fights with other people, they were not known to back down, and once angry things often turned violent.
On this hot afternoon, this group of boys were gathered together talking, when another group of boys passed by on the street. This new group, also of 4 boys, very obviously had much more money than the first group, and they paused and looked in disgust at the group sitting down. The groups recognized each other from previous meetings and disagreements that they had had, and they did not get along.
“Look at those dirty, uncivilized losers,” a boy from the new group sneered to his friends.
The other boys in the group laughed, and one responded, “yeah, look at them sitting around uselessly. “
“No wonder their neighborhood sucks so much.” The group continued, walking past the house with sneering looks directed at the boys sitting on the steps. Their sense of superiority was clear from the way they were walking and looking back at the group.
They boys they were laughing at glared after them as they walked away. “I’m going to beat them up one of these days,” one of the boys, John, said.
“Little rich boys,” another, Mason, said, shaking his head. “Doubt they’ve ever had to work for anything, and yet they call us useless and lazy.”
The group decided to ignore them and do their best to put it out of their minds, and temporarily dropping the topic, they went back to what they had previously been talking about. They were left alone for the rest of the afternoon.
Later that week, the group of rich boys could be found walking in their own neighborhood. This area had noticeably nicer houses and did not look rundown like the other had. It was obvious that the people who lived here had more money, to be able to afford such nice houses. The boys, having grown up in such a wealthy neighborhood, were accustomed to privilege, and tended to think poorly of people who lived differently, by choice or by necessity. They lacked compassion and understanding, and they often did not consider the consequences of their actions.
The boys began to talk about the group they had passed earlier in the week. From their conversation, it was clear that they had very little respect for the other group. They referred to them as violent and uncivilized, remembering some of their past interactions, although the other group had never tried to start a fight.
Late in the evening, the rich boys found themselves in a dark area with very few lights. They all had a lot of energy and were feeling rather aggressive because of a fight they had had early in the day. Caleb, the leader of the group, noticed another group of people on the other side of the street, and pointed them out to his friends. They all glanced over, and one of them remarked that they looked familiar. Looking closer, they realized that it was the group of boys they had passed earlier in the week, in the rundown neighborhood.
Laughing amongst themselves, the group began to insult the other boys among themselves, making fun of the way they looked, the way they acted, and where they came from. The volume of their conversation grew, becoming louder and louder, eventually catching the attention of the group across the street, who looked first in curiosity, then in anger when they realized who it was. Once the first group noticed that the others were paying attention, they started shouting out insults directly at them.
The second group, from the poor neighborhood, got angry at the insults shouted at them, and began to walk towards the other group while shouting back insults. The first group thought they looked aggressive and got angry at the idea of people they had no respect for approaching them with insults. They looked at each other and started to move quickly into the street towards the others, getting ready for a fight.
The two groups met in the middle of the street and began to spit insults in each other’s faces. The rich group said that the others were uncivilized, worthless, unorganized and violent. The poor group replied by saying the others had never had to work for anything and thought that they were so much better than everyone else even though there was absolutely nothing special or impressive about any of them.
Anger and tensions ran high, and eventually the two groups started physically, violently attacking each other. Both groups punched, kicked, and wrestled each other, while continuing to insult the other. Suddenly, Mason and Caleb were on the ground, screaming and shoving and kicking at each other. They rolled over a few times, never stopping the fight. The boys continued to insult each other, and suddenly Caleb felt a fit of rage, and grabbed a rock that was lying on the street next to them.