Escalation in all types of violence is not only natural, but generally worsens the outcome. Below is an example of the type of violence that is still common, and commonly unpunished—and never reported unless death results—in Black Baltimore. Although in lower class white neighborhoods the presence of a woman has usually reduced the length and severity of the encounter—for she will usually try and break it up—the presence of black women in black on black altercations and attacks, usually results in an intensification and lengthening of the encounter.

This is but one example of the fact that culture is not solely the result of income, which, in our materialistic society, is generally the belief. Award winning sociologist Elijah Anderson, for instance, in his study of Germantown Avenue in Philadelphia, In his book Code of the Street, reviewed in ‘Beam Me Up Scotty’ insisted that Latino and black behavior was identical with the only difference being skin tone, although he cited a clear example of the difference between the two communities, which supported the common Latino opinion that blacks and whites are more alike than are blacks and Latinos.

Although every black man I know can cite an example of an incident like that below from his personal life. No Latino or white man I have known or interviewed has experienced behavior like this from women of his kind, indicating that there is a cultural difference in the black community from other American communities, which is not accounted for by income. For instance, there are more poor white women and more poor Latina women than poor black women [though not as a percentage of the population] and they do not engage in combat with men as a matter of course, as do black women.

64-23 to 26: night, various, first-person

This encounter occurred at Asquith and North Avenue, one block from the Northeastern District Court House, right around the corner from a dog fighting venue, and a bus stop where I was once shot at by a teenager with a .25 auto for no apparent reason other than that I was there. The follow up encounters happened down the street in Sandtown, where Freddie Gray was famously arrested in a fatal fashion by goon cops, who freaked out when they found a knife in his pocket. After reading the following, one might wonder why every black dude in Harm City does not carry a knife in his pocket.

Jordy was standing over another man beating him in the street when he was attacked by two female relatives of his victim. While the two women pinned him to the asphalt the man picked up a brick in two hands and smashed him in the chin, breaking his jaw.

About two weeks later—jaw still wired shut—Jordy was feeling pretty sore about having to eat with a turkey baster, when he saw the other man on the street. He pursued him, but when he caught him, the man had produced a bat, and clubbed Jordy across the jaw. He was hospitalized, and his jaw rewired.

That week Jordy and his brothers ambushed the man and bricked him in the face, breaking his jaw. All parties declined to cooperate with the police so that they would be free to pursue their vendettas. A truce was eventually called, by the men, though the women called for continued escalation.