Racist Retaliation  I go into a fourth grade classroom with other students. It's the end of the day, maybe the last day of school. We wait around in a line near the door. There is a Chinese kid names James in front of me in line. My grade school classmate Jerry Kasper makes fun of this kid, saying he has bugs in his hair. I walk over to Jerry, who is near the wall with the heater vents. My grade school classmates Eric Stoner and Tim Nimen are there. I grab Jerry's hair on the top of his head. None of his body is visible: only the portion of hair that I pull up on can be seen. The hair is where a heater vent would be, coming out of the vent. His head is effectively the top of the vent. I threaten to hurt Jerry for his racist comments. I quarrel with Eric and Tim. I go back in line. James thanks me for what I did, saying I didn't have to. I tell him to forget it. What I don't say, but now realize, is that I was not acting on behalf of James in particular, but was reacting against the instigators because the principle they were supporting, racism, is unfair. Tim is wearing full football pads and gear. He runs by us brushing our clothing to scare, intimidate, and provoke us. I'm poised, and don't flinch as he does this. Eric, my classmate Patrick Bergman, and others gang up on me. I'm slightly afraid, but don't let it show. I'm mostly afraid of Tim. There is a fight about respect. My high school teacher Jim Richardson, the teacher of the class, is in the hall outside the door. He does nothing.