Disturbing

There was fight - actually more like an assault - at a local high school the other day that was brutal and violent in nature.  Normally these kinds of things don't make the news - and this particular incident didn't - but there were enough students talking about it online that drew my attention.  It turns out that apparently fights are pretty popular events for students to not only witness but also to attend, given the large amounts of fights posted on YouTube. 

Beyond the overall violence of this fight in particular - "sucker punch" attack, possible broken jaw, lots of blood - what really disturbs me is the response of students to these spectacles.  There is almost a joyful glee that there was "finally" a fight in school and that this one was especially good because it involved blood.  Then there are guys that brag about their past fights and tell others where to find them posted on YouTube.  It's as if a fight is no big deal, just a simple event that can break up the monotony of an otherwise boring day. 

At the expense of sounding like one of those older guys who is out of touch with our culture and teenagers, I must admit that I don't understand this fascination with fighting.  Sure, I knew guys who liked to get into fights when I was in high school but I never witnessed any of them.  If I had, I would have done my best to break them up in an effort to protect my friends (in fact I did once break up a fight when I was in high school, but that's another story for another time).  Maybe if the internet and all of this video technology existed in the '80's then some of these fights may have been posted online.  Regardless, fighting was something that we avoided at all costs.

It speaks to the very heart of sin to want to witness others beating the crap out of each other.  UFC and other venues are vastly popular, and maybe there are too many wannabes out there who think that a schoolyard brawl will one day punch their ticket to fame.  Yet for the believer, none of this should delight or excite us.  The thought of one of my children getting in a fight like that one day turns my stomach, and as a parent I am resolved to be as involved as I can in the lives of my children so that I can teach them to avoid these confrontations.  Our Lord takes no delight in sin, and for us to do otherwise grieves His heart.