Let me be clear at the very beginning; Instinct Magazine nor I condone violence or acts of physical assault. That said, when I saw this story today about an incident that happened on a train in the UK, I immediately recalled words of wisdom taught to me by my mother when I was a boy. It was a simple anecdote that I still live by to this day: “Don’t let your mouth write a check that your ass can’t cash.”
To those of you not from an urban hood or raised by southern black folks, that expression might sound completely foreign. For the rest of us, we know what it means. Recently, a massive-sized racist, mouthy bloke on the London tube sure could have used some of my mom’s down-home wisdom. It might have saved him from getting knocked out in just one punch following an initially non-physical confrontation with three young, male train passengers.
In a now-gone viral video shared by TMZ, a strapping, tall caucasian man on the train can be seen taunting other riders. At first, it’s not clear who he is speaking to as other passengers look on agitated at the man and reprimanding him for making racist comments. It then becomes evident he is talking to people of color when he makes disparaging comments about “blacks.”
The man’s racist taunts infuriate two, white female passengers who call him out angrily, telling him to stop making racist comments toward the men. One woman further suggests that the man himself better get a DNA test because, for all he knows, he could have African DNA. He continued to taunt the men out of the frame insulting their heritage and nationality.
It seemed for a moment as the train approached a stop that this ordeal would come to an end. Three black youth step into the frame as they get up to exit when the train’s doors open. It’s clear then, they were the recipients of the man’s abuse throughout the encounter.
The man who had been spewing hatred, curled up his fist in what seemed to be a fighting stance to intimidate the three men as they made their way to exit the train. It’s worth noting, the three men were visibly smaller in stature than their burley aggressor.
Within a second, with one foot already off the train, one of the men stepped back in with no warning and flattened the guy with one punch.
The truth of the matter is this was a physical assault and quite a dangerous one. The man fell and hard. He looked dazed and unconscious. The young man who punched him could easily be charged with assault or worse if the man dies. I have no idea what happened to the man who was punched, afterward. However, it is telling that as violent as the assault was, people on the train were applauding, with sentiments of, “You asked for it!” “You were the one being racist!” A passenger could also be heard saying, “Well done, well done!”
https://youtu.be/-2Q40x-SYPs
It appeared the man wasn’t moving, which was quite unsettling. That’s when the passengers came to his aid, and by then the three young men were long gone.
I honestly hope this man is okay and was not seriously injured, but it reminds me that we all make choices in life. This man chose to harass and verbally assault three strangers with racial insults, and there are consequences to our actions.
I am not saying I support what happened to him in any way, but I am saying maybe next time he’ll think twice. Perhaps next time he’ll choose just to sit there respectfully, riding the train – without being a racist *sshole. Like my mama used to always say, “Don’t let your mouth write a check that your ass can’t cash.” Make sense now?
This piece is an opinion piece by one Contributing Writer for Instinct Magazine and may not reflect the opinion of the magazine or other Contributing Writers.
