I've Seen It, Still Not Afraid of Clowns.

Last summer I wasn't afraid of The "Rapture"...it is now 2012, and they're saying that the world is suppose to end. I am not and was not afraid of either of these occurrences, so why would I ever fear another human being, especially one from the area in which I'm from. I grew up off Minnesota Avenue in DC until I was about 8 or 9, then I moved to Silver Spring in a funny little neighborhood called Great Hope. People in this area take Silver Spring lightly because it's apart of Montgomery County, but this specific neighborhood, wasn't tough at all, but it had enough edge and personality to shape what is most of my personality today. I never had any huge fights or been in any real trouble, probably because of all of the bad examples of what happened to the youth in the area who engaged in such activity, but I never feared anybody from around my way or even Mayfair, which is still, and was then a lot tougher. Today, I am 22 years young, and I am seeing the same shit with a different perspective and an entirely different attitude. I was on the Metro Rail the other day, when I saw these three young dudes get on the train. They were loud, obnoxious, rude, and of course they were immature. Never mind the fact that they were probably those kind of dudes who would label themselves a "original" in their Twitter Bio's or claim a hood in which they are not from at all. One thing I will say I absolutely despise about some of the youth in the DMV is the way the clothes are worn, and how EVERYBODY who thinks they're fashion savvy all look the exact same. It's like a fucking militia of trolls on the bus or trains some days on my rides back home from work. I saw a lot of the tourist and evening commuters begin to clutch tightly onto their book bags or purses, with the mindset that one of these NIGGAS were about to do something really stupid and rob them or make a huge scene out of nothing, but they only continued to make go-go beats on their chests and play fights while yelling out random bursts of broken DMV slang. i think I heard the phrase "AYE MOE!" About 45 times in a matter of five minutes from these dudes. While I'm looking at the passengers on the train and these fools disrupting my ride, I begin to think to myself, "why in the fuck are people afraid of them?" I certainly knew I wasn't. It's not even the fact of the matter that I'm use to seeing shit like this on a daily basis, or the fact that I probably outweigh all of those skinny lil fuckers by 20-30 pounds at least, but I digress. Writing this now, I think I finally have an answer, I am simply not afraid of anyone, especially these young ratchet niggas who feel that it is their civic duty to annoy people for the sake of having a good time, nuh uh, that ain't me. The actions, the fashion, the side-show that comes along with all of the fuckery involved. I have seen plenty of shit that i should have feared or should have been smart to avoid, but I refuse to be afraid of any of these clowns in this area. I can't even tell who's real or fake in this area anymore as far as proving who's tough. In the DMV, the burn outs and unks are more threatening than any of these "thugs" around here.

After Great Hope, my family and I moved to Prince George's County after spending a very tough summer in DC with my grandmother, and then we made our way to a place that I would have a fearful and curious respect for, Largo High School. It was Largo High School that taught me that none of the people or most of the people in the PG area who claim to be "hard" or tough really aren't about that life to begin with. A lot of the people in Largo claiming that they were from a hood were really some music video inspired suburban thugs who had both parents, a big house, along with a two-car garage and a dog named Cornelius. I must admit that I was culture-shocked when I first got there. The day my mom and I pulled up into this school, I thought I was going to prison! The main entrance had no windows! The classrooms had no windows!Then, I got a better glance at the building, and there were windows in the classrooms after all, they were just incredibly small, so still, NO WINDOWS! We walked into the school and the first thing I see besides the stuffed lion, which is probably still there and overly decayed and old, was a girl cursing out an adult who I later found out was an administrator. I could not believe my eyes. Montgomery County had either spoiled me, or I was just not prepared to even imagine such a place. The lobby smelled like Pine-Sol and pee, and there was not a sign of school spirit around. We went into the guidance counselor's office and got my schedule and my first day date, luckily hurricane Isabel was around the corner so I got an extra week to sit at our new house and sit on my ass. A week after the storm, it was time for school...oh joy, oh bliss. My first day, I saw one fight, and that was in the locker room, and it was about some dumb-ass neighborhood beef between Forestville and Largo, rival towns, but suburban nonetheless. I had experienced minimal neighborhood beef in Silver Spring, since the only time there was a "neighborhood beef" in my middle school or around my way was if two people from different neighborhoods ended up not liking each other based on an incident or something like that, no one ever fought or disliked a person based on where they lived or came from; we understood that school was the place for much foolishness, but never for something as ignorant as violence over nothing.

Over the next three and a half years, I would witness many fights, people getting jumped; I even got into scuffles myself. Some dumb fucking punk tried to rob me when I capitalized on selling CD's in school, I use to make a killing to, so I see where the hate came from, but he damn sure knew not to fuck with me anymore. I didn't care how big or tough this dude looked, I knew I was going to walk away fine and with every dollar I had earned. He wasn't getting shit from me, or breaking me down for that matter. From DC, to Montgomery County, to PG County in Largo, I learned many lessons about what should be feared, what should be laughed at, and where lines should be drawn. I'm not an advocate for violence, but if someone threatens you or could possibly bring danger to you, you have the right to stand your ground (no Zimmerman) and kick their ass. Leave those knives and guns at home and in the kitchen. Deliver and ass-whooping, or take one, because the whole killing each other to settle petty differences trend needs to end ASAP! But I digress, after my years in PG County schools, living in the area, and getting out often seeing what the city beholds I have learned that these barks are only as loud of the weed and the bites from these mutts. I fear no man, especially not in this area, the DMV. People here spend too much time putting on a fake ass facade instead of actually dedicating their time and energy to something that matters and can sustain them throughout life. I have seen It all, and I know for sure that I am not afraid of the clowns here.