Don't Kick Her Sharkeisha

I would summarize my middle school experience with World Star Hip-Hop. These videos hit very close to home. I was constantly being shown videos from the sight and the “live action” versions were fairly frequent. Shamefully enough, I even had a friend on it once.  Every time there was a fight, kids would rush to the scene leaving class to see the spectacle. By the school rules, you could receive a referral for watching a fight, but it was never enforced because they’d have to give them out by the dozen. A lot of it, though, I think has to just do with the spectacle of it all. It’s two people going wild, giving into emotion and attacking each other. In a sense, you can feel superior, having kept a cool head. Still, that can’t be applied to every situation. Many of the fights that were planned ahead of time. These spars were still heavily attended, in spite of being scheduled well in advance. You see someone getting the mess kicked out of them and think “glad that's not me.” The relief felt is released in laughter.  

However, I think this mainly applies to these school fights. We all knew there wasn’t really going to be too much of a risk.  With some very notable exceptions, things never really got too out of hand or even had the chance.  The resource officer would be on the scene soon to break it off before anyone could get the other pinned, á la Sharkeisha. At the very least it was two consenting parties. It was a short diversion from the dullness of class.  Maybe Sharkeisha gives me nostalgia. In other situations, one might feel compelled to act to prevent things from going too far.  One may be able to laugh because there isn’t anything they can do. That’s a big part of the vine culture. You’re removal from the instance allows you to laugh.  There’s nothing you can do about it now. It’s like when people say to vegetarians, the cow’s already dead (though there’s usually a little more to it for vegetarians).  

Sharkeisha is a different story. It wasn’t a fight, it was an assault. The other girl was looking away holding her backpack and phone/iPod when Sharkeisha sucker punched her. The danger really lies in the celebrity that Sharkeisha became. People began glorifying the actions of beating a girl like that. The victim now has to live with getting beaten and then being treated as a punchline (pun very much intended) rather than a victim.