Violence

No one really gives a fuck about this, and actually it would be better if I didn't mention it. 

But I am going to mention it because I've started now, and I disagree with those people.

The band I'm wearing on my wrist in this photo says S.O.P.H.I.E, which is in memory of Sophie Lancaster, a Goth girl who was killed because of the way she looked. It stands for "Stamp Out Prejudice, Hatred, and Intolerance Everywhere".

They made a charity in her name, and I offered to fight for them and give them any money I raised from ticket sales (which is not much, fighting on a John Rooney promotion, by the way). 

But they said no, and that even if I made thousands of pounds, they wouldn't take my money, because it comes from boxing.

Because boxing is violence. And violence begets violence and violence is why Sophie Lancaster is dead now. 

And I respect that. And I feel that in my heart, they are probably right. But I disagree with it. 

And I know that even if her boyfriend, Robert Maltby, had been a WBC boxing champion or a UFC cage fighting champion or a shaolin kung-fu master, he still would have lost in a fight against five or more guys.

I know all this, but I still think that we, as in, we who are not as others, we who don't fit in, we who go against the grain, we who don't follow the standard template, need to be strong and defend ourselves.

And I feel so angry that this even happened at all, and so sad, that I *have* to do SOMETHING about it. And what else am I going to do? Go teach in schools? Make a puppet show? A writing contest? Unlikely.

 So when I box I wear the S.O.P.H.I.E bands - against the will of even her surviving family - because I disagree, and that's not a popular decison, or even maybe the right thing to do, but that's who I am. I'm never popular. I'm never right. But I'm still here, and I know you all would wish I would GO AWAY. But I DISAGREE. And that's what she did.

So I won't go away. I didn't know her, and I wouldn't presume to know what she would have wanted or would say or would do. But I DISAGREE, because I'd hate to give you, or them, the satisfaction of being conventionally right. Because satisfaction leads to boredom. And boredom is the end of civilisation.

There are tears coming from my eyes now. And I am not ashamed for you all to know that.