Author: Mark Bolton. Images: ChatGPT
Dear Carolynn. let me tell you a story about a Kenny Rogers song that came out when I was younger. It’s a sad tale, but it has an unexpected ending.
This story may or may not be an analogy, but that is up to others to decide.
There was a young man named Tommy who, when quite young lost his mum and dad. He lived with and was raised by his uncle, who was a really good guy and took care of him. Before Tommy’s own dad died, he made Tommy promise him one very important thing: “Son, always try to walk away from a fight. You don’t have to fight to be a man. If they won’t let you walk away, negotiate your way out.”
And Tommy was really good at keeping that promise. No matter what happened, if someone was mean to him or wanted to start a fight, Tommy would just put his head down and walk away. A few times he was followed, so tried the art of negotiation. On these occasions, the bullies pretended to go along with it but when Tommy turned his back they beat him up.
The bullies would sometimes get grief from their girlfriends because they saw Tommy as quiet and kind. Like the brave boys they are, the bullies told their girlfriends to stay away from Tommy because “he is a rapist who was planning to murder women for the thrill of it.” The girlfriends knew these were lies but went along with them anyway.
The bullies gave Tommy a mean nickname: they called him “Rogue Nutjob,” and spread rumours that the townsfolk were in danger… and “the women in the whole county were facing imminent danger,” even though Tommy had shown no signs of doing anything of which he was accused. That must have hurt his feelings so much, but he kept his promise to his dad.
Things got better for a while. Tommy met a really nice girl named Becky, and she liked him just the way he was. They were happy together.
But then, one day, something truly awful happened. While Tommy was at work, two mean and ugly brothers, the Gatlin boys, went to his house and hurt Becky. They hurt her in ways real and brave men don’t hurt women.
When Tommy came home and saw Becky so sad and hurt, his heart just broke. He felt a fire inside him he’d never felt before. He looked at a picture of his dad, and he remembered the promise… for just a second. Then, he decided he had to fix the problems, and negotiations were no longer part of his plan.
He went straight to the bar where the Gatlin brothers were. When he walked in, they all laughed at him. “Look, it’s the Rogue Nutjob who never fights back,” they yelled. Tommy turned around, like he was going to leave, just like he always did. They laughed even harder.
But this time, instead of leaving, Tommy reached back and locked the door.
All those years of being bullied by the two Gatlin’s and others, all that sadness for Becky—it all just exploded out of him. He wasn’t going to take it anymore. He was a man who had to protect the person he loved. He fought both brothers and he won. He left them on the floor.
Then, he looked up at his dad’s picture one last time and said, “I tried to walk away… but sometimes, you have to fight back to make sure it doesn’t happen ever again.“
The Gatlin brothers were so badly hurt they were no longer able to bully anyone. They also faced serious charges and were forced to flee not only town, but the entire county. They weren’t free long.
The brother’s: Donny and Benny—along with James-David, John, Marco, Pete, Stephen, Scott and Howard were found guilty and will spend the rest of their lives behind bars. Five girlfriends, Caroline, Tulsi, Susie, Pam and Kristi were sentenced to twenty-years each for their part in the crimes.
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