Some recent strange run-ins have inspired me to think more deeply about the role of violence in our lives
I woke up to three guys around me, yelling and threatening me. It was all a daze. They yelled that I couldn’t sleep here, on a public beach. I slowly realized I was bleeding from my face. No thought of fighting back occurred since there was three of them and I was feeling super foggy.
I got dressed and grabbed my things and left the beach. It wasn’t until I got to my car and looked in the mirror that I realized that not only did I have a number of cuts on my nose and lip I was indeed missing my top left incisor. Later I realized I had a bunch of cuts and bruises on my legs and arms, and two toes were sprained.
Violence is a low vibration. Literally. It’s slow. But if you’re sleeping on a beach it doesn’t matter how slow someone kicks you in the face you’re not going to do very well dodging it.
I’m not a fighter but I did wrestle in high school, took some karate way back when, and am generally an athletic guy who people don’t “mess with.” But none of that applied while I was sleeping — and while a guy was hopped up on meth.
I’ve not been in a fight since I was nineteen and even that was more of a shoving match than a fight. That was during basic training at Fort Sill, Oklahoma.
A lot of thoughts went through my head during and after.
Why me?
What did I do to deserve this?
Was I dumb for sleeping on a public beach in Kona?
Would it have happened if I wasn’t alone?
What should I do when “the universe” kicks me in the face?
Should I seek him out and take revenge?
Why are the police not taking this very serious assault seriously? [July 2 update: I have since been in touch with the police and they are investigating and taking it more seriously than I first thought]
Who is this guy?
There were three of them but as far as I could tell only one inflicted violence on me. He was maybe late 20s or early 30s, about 5'10", white guy, brown hair pulled back in a short ponytail. White tshirt (I think). And pretty clearly hopped up on meth. This was 6 AM and I can’t imagine anyone being so violent as to kick a guy lying on the beach at 6 AM if he wasn’t on meth or something similar.
I feel like the world is going a bit crazy. More polarization, more wars, more bizarre politics. Strange things are happening to me with more frequency. Is this a message to me or just a message about the world going more crazy and for all of us to be more careful?
While I ponder these imponderables I’m working on getting the police to take this seriously and taking action to ensure that future incidents like this are indeed taken seriously.
I’m working on getting my tooth replaced, which is going to take a while because of the multi-step process required. It’s too bad too — I kind of liked that tooth.
And I’m working on adjusting to looking like a 6-year-old who just lost a big tooth. Or a hillbilly who just got in a fight. At least I’m funnier now than I was — because I look pretty funny.
I’m also working on having empathy (somehow) for my attacker. Why would he think this was ok? How much has life beat him up to make him this way?
While I ponder these thoughts I am also doing my best to make sure he goes to jail for a while, less out of vengeance than from a recognition that I’m very likely not his first or last victim. He needs to be taken off the street and treated.
If you have any tips please email me at tam.hunt@gmail.com or leave a comment here.
