That's What Friends Are For

It's been said that if your homeboy or your homegirl is in trouble or in a fight, it's your duty to step in and fight with them. If not, you're a weakling and a traitor. My question is this: does this have limits? Is it ever okay to not jump in? I'm a lover, not a fighter. My cousin told his friends in reference to me "Brandon ain't the type to fight. Brandon has a brain and would be wantin' to reason with people..." I smiled to myself because its true. Too often nowadays do people end up dead over common rounds of fisticuffs. It's nothing for people to tuck guns in the waist area of their pants, ready to point and shoot like a disposable camera. Is every friend you have worth your life in ANY situation?

Say I get there just as the beating starts. I see 3 guys beating up on my friend. I get in the mix and we fend the guys off, but we're battered and bruised as a result. I talk to him afterwards, and he tells me they were jumping him because he slept with one of the guy's girlfriends. At that point, I'm like "what did I just get my ass whipped for?" Something like that is straight up nonsense, which is WHY I choose to reason and figure out the root cause. I refuse to put my life on the line because you were foolishly cutting up and flapping your gums, thinking you had me as a bodyguard in case they get physical.

Now, of course there are scenarios where you WILL throw down to the bone bristle. Emminent harm to your immediate family (as in the family you're the head of) is a no-brainer. Harm to my wife and kids is NOT going down. Conspiracies and setups to people VERY close to you could be another. Random jumpings because you went somewhere you were told not to go, though, is not one of those conditions. The way I see it, every beating has a story, and I'm the one who wants to know all about the story before I put my ribs in the fire.

-B