If you’ve been following along with any level of attention, you may know that I spent a year in high school at Worthington High School in Worthington MN. Tenth grade to be exact.

There were a fair number of Laotian kids in Worthington, due to a “boat lift” in the seventies. In any event, they generally stayed apart from the other students.

Yet, being mostly farm-like, these kids in Worthington upheld their father’s grudges. As a result, some of the greasiest epithets came out about these Laotian kids who were obviously neither Vietnamese, nor old enough to have taken part in the Vietnam War.

Mostly, they bore the verbal abuse, like any bullied kid would, I guess. But physical abuse (like shoving them into lockers, or whatever) was their line which may not be crossed. Once taunted in this way, they would invite the transgressor to fight. And if agreed, the Laotian kid would request a chance to “prepare”. Preparations included stretching, and stripping down to their underwear.

If the mark of a man is that he knows his limits, these kids were mentally men. And because most of these same bullyinh white kids were afraid of touching someone who was mostly undressed, hardly any fights ever materialized.

I have no doubt that those Laotian kids were hapless fighters, but they knew to play off the white kids’ homophobia (or similar).

I was in Worthington for only one year (1986-1987), yet so much was so different that I can remember so much! And like all the other random stuff in my head, those memories come back at weird times. This one was while I was grading papers.

Anyway, I hope you’ve enjoyed this short stroll down racism and creative problem solving lane!

Comments?