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December 10, 2006 06:44 PM

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot

Something really upsetting happened to me today. I'm totally OK, just shaken up. Please send email instead of calling.

I was walking down 21st from my house to elly/oof's for brunch. It was totally a nice day, I'd just finished an 8 hour work shift, and was enjoying the walk instead of my usual drive, and thinking about the success of Santacon yesterday.

As I walked by the little taco stand at 21st and Treat, I passed a group of about 5 kids. Maybe 14 years old. Totally normal kids, talking in the normal BS way that kids do. As I walked by the last one, he commented to his pals that he needed a haircut and then turned to his side and punched me in the face.

Totally out of nowhere, totally unprovoked, a complete and total random act of violence.

I stood there in shock, my ear ringing, noticed my broken (new) glasses on the ground. My face was a little cut up from the sunglasses breaking into my temple, but I was reasonably physically ok. The kid didn't even run. He just stood there, not really spoiling for a fight, but just knowing that he could get away with it, and nothing happen to him. I calmly picked up my phone and dialed 911. His friends were goading him on a little bit; it didn't seem like a 'gang' thing in any way, just some dumb kids. He stood around, and eventually it sunk in that I was, in fact calling the cops. He trotted off, thinking I wouldn't give chase, and then three blocks later was at full speed, with me right behind him (just to id to the cops, not to do anything to him). (also, yay for ritual espresso + adrenaline)

His friends told him to duck into the Mission rec center, and as they ran off the other way, I gave chase up three flights of stairs, and onto a teen basketball game on the court. I thought that he was boxed in, so I went out front to wait for the cops, like they told me to on the phone, but at this point, he seems to have run out the back of the building.

A bit later, two cop cars came up on Harrison, and I spoke to the first pair, gave my information, and in they went to the Rec center to try and find them. Some parent-in-charge to the cops at this point that the kids had, in fact, run through and out the back side of the building. I spoke with the second set of SFPD, gave my information, and tried to better describe the kid. Sadly, my focus (after the shock wore off) was more on following the kid than on ID'ing him later, so my description was pretty useless ("Uh, he's a skinny latino kid wearing a long black tee shirt and jeans, with short black hair and a baseball hat"), essentially describing the entire neighborhood. heh. In hindsight, I would love to go back and take a cameraphone picture of him, but I wasn't quite quick enough at the time. oh well, that's not so bad for the revisiting-the-event-afterwards.

The cops were sincere and really decent to me, and didn't talk down to me or anything. They were great (four women!) and professional and all that. I basically told them that I didn't want to arrest the kid, since I didn't think that would actually help anything by putting him in jail, I just wanted someone to scare some sense into him. They were understanding, but basically said since he had run off, my only option was to file a citizens arrest form, should they find him.

I'm sure he's gone forever into the mass of 14year old kids in the neighborhood, but it just hurts me so deeply. I don't even care that I have to shell out another $100 for sunglasses, and that my face is swollen; it's just such a loss in faith in humanity. What's wrong with society that this behavior is condoned? How does this even happen? It's such a risk for me to become a racist from this one awful experience. More than anything, I don't want either of those things to happen. I don't want to judge any other kids based on this one ignorant brat, but it will be quite a challenge for me to avoid.

I didn't say a word to him or any of his friends. I didn't bump into anyone or cause anyone any harm. This was just a total shock.