“So what do you feel like doing now?”
You look ahead to see two Caucasian males shadowing each side of a Hispanic male. The two shadows do not stand out like the Hispanic male who is wearing a flat-rimmed hat, a bright yellow jersey and loose fitted pants that sag way below his waste.
“Anything;” you blurt out quickly because you feel as though the conversation was neglected while focusing on an exemplary stereotype.
“I think we’ve experienced the pub scene; it is one thirty in the morning… We are limited.” The response is good and soothes your distracted mind. The males who once seemed so far away approach and are within fifty feet of walking straight into you and your pleasant friend. The shadow to the left pulls his hand fast up to his face then presses his fingers against his mouth to produce a loud wolf whistle call. The male in the center wearing the fashion statement says very colorful language to your friend; implying consummation of various sorts.
“F*** you,” she yells angrily at the rude insinuations as they pass by.
“F@%* you bitch! I’ll f@%* you real hard-” The anger fills your mind as this obnoxious hip hop impersonator offends her once again. Physical confrontations you try to avoid and the last one you experienced was in a high-school marching practice years ago. You are pissed though and the once well-behaved geochemistry sciences senior in college transforms into a beast- you tell yourself this. You are a tenth of a second from blurting out a line that will illustrate your great charisma- A line that is comparatively powerful to Patrick Henry’s: GIVE ME LIBERTY OR GIVE ME DEATH!
“F@*& off,” your voice squeaks a little and you look down to the ground. Your ears register the scuffing footsteps plaguing towards you. You catch her eyes one last time glancing at you. You turn your body quickly to see the man with the odd clothing step towards you and square off with a puffed out chest and fists packed full of heartless insecurity.
“What now bitch?” His eyes shuffle up at yours. Your once agile body is frozen in a traumatized state. You start to say:
“Leave us aloo-” he takes advantage of your vulnerable stance and interrupts your rebuttal with a fast, right-hook punch to your temple.
The metallic colored stars possess your eyes while your stiff body tumbles backwards like a fallen tree. Through the blurred vision you see her kneeling over you and screaming bloody murder. Your eyes are glancing ferociously attempting to adjust and then they roll up. Darkness protrudes.
The paramedics rush quickly, adjusting a neck-brace to straighten your limp head and strap you to the board-like structure. Mom, dad, your two brother and two sisters sit with you for eleven hours in the Intensive Care Unit. None of them can fathom how you got here but can’t wait for you to get out. The sadness fills the room as you take your last breath of fresh air and exit your body to transition into the after-life.
You the reader have the ability to exit this scene but this is a reality that people of all walks of life are experiencing. This story is inspired by the short, courageous life of Eric Ernest Benson. The Hispanic male dressed with the flat rimmed hat, yellow shirt and baggy pants was later identified as twenty year old William Googins. Googins has an extensive juvenile record for similar acts and is currently at the Cumberland County Jail facing the charge of aggravated assault with a posted bail of $100,000. The lives of all who knew Eric Ernest Benson are forever changed from the hands of his attacker. Googins will experience a life of great depression and remorse because he tragically possesses the life of a good humanitarian on his conscience forever.
William Googins Courtesy of Portland Press Herald Society should learn from such atrocities and prevent future acts of violence by addressing the issues that continue to arise within consistent offenders. Every member of humanity has a voice. Speak loudly, never be vulnerable and let sad stories like this be the fuel to the machine (you) that ends random acts of violence.
THIS ARTICLE IS DEDICATED TO THE LIFE OF ERIC ERNEST BENSON AND GREAT EMPATHY IS DIRECTED TO THE FAMILY AND FRIENDS.
REFERENCES
Hench, D. May 25, 2010. Portland Press Herald. Gray man, 20, charged in deadly assault.
