I am Jack’s disgust at the expelling of Nine 6th graders for a “Fight Club”

Nine sixth-grade boys were expelled from Stewart Middle School in Tacoma, WA on Monday after officials at the School learned about their suspected participation in a so-called bathroom "fight club."

The News Tribune reported that “The fight club” came to light after officials at Steward Middle School in Tacoma viewed footage from a video on a student’s cell phone. One of the boys had supposedly recorded approximately 15 such fights using his phone. This leads me to believe that generation Z really does have a decreased ability to watch and retain information, for surely if this young member of our society had been a true fan of this incredible film (as I am), then said boy would have know not to keep a record.

"I was horrified. I kept expecting one of them to go into a wall. Those bathrooms are very unforgiving on a 12-year-old boy's body," an aunt whose nephew was part of this fight club told Fox News.

Tacoma Public Schools spokesman Dan Voelpel said the boys (friends albeit) would set up after-school fights in the boys’ restroom or at their own homes, to see who was the toughest. Voelpel added that the fights were timed and had specific rules, like “no hitting your opponent in the face”.

The boys were given “emergency expulsions” with the length of their punishment to be determined on a case-by-case basis. District officials also alerted school principals throughout the city to be on the alert for these kinds of incidents.

Stupid boys, wasn’t the first rule of Fight Club that “You do not talk about Fight Club” with the second being “YOU DO NOT TALK ABOUT FIGHT CLUB” let alone capture it on your cell phone for the world to see? 

So, I’m not advocating violence in any way, shape or form and I don’t know how bad these fights really were because it is never ok to have organized fighting unless it is in a ring and someone is being paid a lot of money. Certainly young boys should never be egging each other on to see how much they can hurt one another but I think I am having a few problems with the expulsions (which I think is rather dramatic) for a number of reasons:-

• These were friends – isn’t this what all 11/12 year boys do? The fighting was by consent - I mean are we so naïve to think that boys don’t fight? In their bedrooms, in the playground, in the shower?!? I mean, are we going to start expelling young girls for braiding each other’s hair next? 
• Apparently none of the boys’ parents had reported the incidents to school authorities before the video aired – isn’t that because they know that this is what young boys do? 
• Wasn’t it better that these young boys took their measured aggression out on each other by choice vs. finding another kid to bully or harass? (c’mon, the fights were timed) and they got a good bit of exercise doing it no?

What are we teaching these kids by expelling them? Are we saying “Fighting is no good?” – well the physical kind at least because it’s not like the mental kind isn’t taking place all over the world or “Don’t harm others?” - they had the good sense not to hurt each other’s faces or are we saying that “It’s only ok to fight if you don a spandex suit and do it under the supervision of an adult and for the glory of your school?” (give me a break, I just watched “Win-win”.

There you go, nine little boys are probably sat at home playing with their Xbox 360’s because they’re not allowed to be outside doing something physical with their mates and worse still, they’re probably playing Halo 2 or splinter cell or worse still Grand Theft Auto Double Pack – is that better?