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I Forge Iron

the weird blacksmith


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So now it comes out that he's the principles nephew. Intresting. You did the right thing and in all honesty for throwing the first punch he rightly should have been the one on a weeks suspention. If my old coach had heard that one of his players had done what he did. He would run till his legs fell off. If I were your parents I would take this information to the school board and hire an attorney.

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I agree with Bryan. Go to the school board with this. That principal sounds slighly bias.

Anyway, on to my hight horse. Fighting is never the awnser. The bigger man proves it by walking away, not fighting,

End of high horse.

The main question is why are you even friend with these people on facebook?

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When my daughter was having issues with the school administration---including asking to see the documentation on the policy they were trying to enforce---they didn't have one. And pointing out that what she got in trouble for---wearing a mohawk---was done by the football team as a group later and they receive *NO* problem from it; one thing I told here was that HS was training for living under a despotic system. As a student you have little recourse from arbitrary rulings and personal power decisions.

If the principal holds a grudge you can be in trouble to watch yourself and document everything!
(Like what you posted above! Who, What, When, Where. if it every comes down to it; having a paper trail can make all the difference!)

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And if you do Lawyer up, remember they will find anything you write on the net about this incident and try and use it....so stop posting about it. Just a friendly reminder to anyone who has done something.....

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A good fight,.... sometimes brings friends you didn't you could have. You may have a new friend, even if the two of you don't know it yet........... But, he may be a complete xxxxxxx, in which case....Forget him

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Just a note here, Joshua lives in Canada. Lawsuits are far less common here and gun violence is quite rare as well. As well, the principal would have some pretty heavy duty explaining if anything else happened to Joshua. Yes, there is accountability in the public school systems in Canada.

I'm just saying that he probably doesn't have to hire a lawyer or prepare for the apocolypse or start packing heat. It was a schoolyard fight and he got a week off. It sounds like he can take care of himself physically. If this escalates into something else a quick call to the school board would probably create ripples the principal doesn't want.

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Well I'll throw my $20.00 worth in (amount adjusted for inflation). Joshua, sadly we live in an age where being a man's man is looked down upon by some usually by those who have either no desire or no home training to become a man's man. Not everyone needs to be a brawny blacksmith or an accomplished woodsman but the respect for these types of trades and skills is still scorned by some who feel intimidated by it. I'd say that the hockey players are probably a bit jealous of your talent and skill. Ask yourself, "How common are hockey players in my area?" I bet there quite a few less blacksmiths. On the issue of taking the matter into your own hands... youth is the time in life where this usually carries less serious consequences so being far removed from the situation I don't know whether you did the right thing or not but the wild heart in me hopes you did and I smiled as I read your post.

Most people I meet that discover I blacksmith as a hobby are interested and fascinated but then they are mostly adults. I would assume that these hockey players are simply envious of your craft so why not shake hands like men and offer to teach them. You may just win a few converts to the art of blacksmithing and make a few new friends to boot. In any case carry on!

For what it's worth,
Bill

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thanks everyone for your comments, the paper trail was started off the bat, sask mark has it right, but when i told the parents about the principals call he and i took a trip into the school and spoke to her in person, im still gone from school but it is abbolished from my record and the other kid is suspender for as long as i am, good enogh for me

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I got in a zillion fights as a kid over my stuttering. Stopped when I discovered girls... Not really the best way to solve things but necessary sometimes. Wayne may have a thing there. Next time you see Mr. Toughguy alone ask him if he'd like to come by your shop..Don't humiliate him or embarrass him in front of anybody. Makes for an enemy...

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Weird is good, weird is fun. Be proud of who and what you are. You can be heckled by anyone, but you can only be shamed if you agree with the accuser at some level.

Some of us not only march to the beat of a different drummer, but a bring along a bagpiper as well. (Try showing up in public in a kilt....alone. You get whole isles in the grocery store to yourself. :lol: ) There is power in numbers, and this forum is the proof. Like the moral of Alice's Restaurant: "...and if three of you do it, its a movement!"

Allowing yourself to be attacked and abused without defending your body and your psyche sets a bad precedent, no matter what "authority" says. Do what you have to, but no more.

Maybe next time he will pick a fight with the Chess club instead.


PS: High School and the hassles with the other inmates may seem like a big deal at the time, but it quickly fades as you get on with your own life. You will find that the only thing you had in common with most of them was geography and a four year sentence.

Even though I still live in the same neighborhood, I have only been back for one reunion. What a mistake that was. I married the only person I wanted to see again from my class 35 years ago. :wub:

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I'm sure this issue is already settled, but I admire you for sticking up for who you are and waiting until he decided to start it. I was in highschool just a handful of years ago and I distinctly remember dealing with the social alphas. At 5'8", I was a hand shorter than most guys, but deceptively solidly built and with a bit of boxing experience. I found once you knock a few heads, they know not to mess with you. It would have been SO easy to get dragged into pointless competitions to prove who had the biggest di...ego.

In the end, it's about knowing who you are and taking the course of actions to fit that. It won't win you any popularity contests (and may get you in trouble more often than not), but it will always give you the satisfaction of doing what's right and knowing what it's like to be a real man; humble, hardworking and having no need for excessive force. It's a virtue that's missing among many people our age.

Good on ya!

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Although I think violence is a last resort it is sometimes necessary, when I was in middle school, 7th grade/year for those not in the US, a kid that sat in front of me made life miserable for me for about 6 months. I finally told him to stop it, his response was "you wanna fight?" so I hit him 5 times in the nose and mouth, we both got disciplined. He actually admitted to provoking for months to the vice principal, we got suspended for a day because of that. Afterwards we actually became friends.
I like the idea of offering to show the other fellow what a day at the forge is like. Offer an olive branch, you have already proven you can dominate him physically, try to find a common ground.
I should say that in college I spent a lot if time and had many friends among the hockey, rugby and lacrosse teams. Violence can gain you respect, but is that the kind of respect you want? Also once you leave school do you ever have to see those ..... expletive... people again?
Remember perspective.... sucking up people calling you names for a while is not fun but a part of school ..... when you move on they do not...
You learned and earned self respect, and defended yourself, you found power, remember to use it wisely, like the tools that blacksmiths use.
The biggest hammer is not appropriate for the finest of work...Good on you for standing your ground, and defending what is important to you.
Just an opinion keep or dump as you see fit,
Cliff

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I think you should forge a hockey stick, then show up at a practice and ask if you can join the team.
My kids grew up with the following advise. Ask them to back off-twice- Tell them to back off-once- Say nothing the third time, just whale the crap out of them.

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It takes a special kind of stupid to challenge a blacksmith. As was said earlier we are basically trained to hit hard, fast, and accurately, and do it for hours a time with a 2+ pound hammer. I think it was more or less he felt he had immunity to punishment because he's the principals nephew and he had a game that night.

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Well with my first name I had my own seat in the principals office. It is a tough place to be in I always let the other person get in two hits and then I finished the fight LOL. Glad to see your parents stood up for you. If it was my child you bet I would mad at them for fighting but I would make sure the other party was held accountable an received the same punishment. That is why I think longfellow has described blacksmiths its right on "And looks the whole word in the face, For he owes not any man." When you get out of High school those people will have little if any thing to you and your life.

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i moved from So Cal to Montana and entered Jr High, I wore cargo pants and surf shirts, road a skateboard or a freestyle bmx bike. they all wore wranglers and road horses. I combed my hair they all had cowboy hat hair. I got beat up everyday but during the summer I started to build my own teepee and killing game and tanning the hides and making my own bows and arrows. I put on 25 lbs and became very able to handle logs, deer, cows, pigs, a bow, knife or gun. I wanted to live out in the forest so i did. I froze at night cooked in the heat of the day and had a ton of chores. when i showed up to the 8th grade one of the kids that picked on me looked at me and said, xxxx xxxx!!!! and took off running lol. I took some revenge but i realized that i was and all around good guy and one tough kid because i new i could live in the wilds and no one can take that from me! So figure out who you are or want to be, dont wast time with fighting and loosers, dedicate yourself to your craft and let find contentment in knowing you!!! Some people spend there whole life trying to figure that out, if you know it at a young age you will be way ahead of the game.

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expending your own energy in any way shape or form to react to ignorant bullies is a waste of your own personal time and energy. They are not worth it. Grin and ignore them. Defend yourself if necessary only. Don't even react by being upset. This expends mental energy that they are not worth. You should not let others control you by their words. But once again, defend yourself.

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So i am starting this topic because i got suspended from school today... i am out for the rest of the week for getting into a fight, i got into the fight because i have been putting pics of stuff i make on facebook... a small group of guys had been picking on me saying that i was a geek for blacksmithing

I quickly and sharply informed them that blacksmiths are alot tougher than any hockey player (thats what they are) could ever be... The captain decided to test that.... long story short i ended up in the office with sore hands and he ended up in the sick room with a bloody nose and black eye (turns out that fighting on ice and on land is very differant)... i tried to explain that he had been bugging me for a while and i ended it but they didnt buy it EXTRA SHOP TIME FOR ME!!!!

so the question is... atany point were you ever ridiculed for being a blacksmith???


Sounds like you're in high school. Don't worry, that attitude will dry right up after graduation. Heck, in later years, some of them will actually pretend that you and they used to be friends (happened to me twice)
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Good topic, good replies. Young man, you have started down lifes road. There will always be someone tougher.

Learning to live within yourself with your own likes and dislikes is a thing some folks don't find. Principles. Maturity. Honesty.

Keep your chin up. I have been haggled in life but never about smithing. I keep a Leprechaun in my pocket but fortunately the little guy doesn't get turned loose often. Occasionally someone gets to see the chain he's on. As has been stated, this is all about growing up. Keep your chin up. Life really is good and sounds like you have the matter in hand. Good advice about no further typing about the issue specific though. We all need to vent but these things can be tracked.

I have indeed made my share of mistakes.

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My shop is in my garage on the front garden in full view of the street due to space constraints. I'm 16, and I get about 100 lads about my age from a bit of a dodgey school down the road walk past every day. I get some odd looks, but I don't think anyone would argue with a guy surrounded by about 5 hammers forging a knife. Not quite sure how you would argue that hammering hot metal is 'nerdy', pretty hardcore as professions go!

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