fighting multiple guys bigger than you isnt that easy. yea, it may seem easy, but you should try it once. it might be suprising, so dont say that he doesnt have a backbone or that he was being scared, if that happened to u, i beat u would *BLEEP* urself...so really, you might want to stop talking.

Yo this is so unfair but yeah life is unfair too. Oh well i hope hes ok now.

It sounds like you were in a really tough situation there. I can see what you mean, you thought you should have done something, but think to yourself, what could you have done, that wouldn't have gotton you injured as well, nothing. It wouldn't have helped getting hurt yourself, and then making it two people being beat up. You did the right thing by doing over to the kid and asking if he was okay and everything. But apart from that there was nothing else you could have done.

Well if you would have helped the kid, say you got a bat or something to use as a weapon maybe you could have scared them away, but some day they would be back and probably teach you a lesson. The best thing to do in that case would be to help out the kid by being his witness or something, if you had a cellphone with a camera you could record it or something and use it as evidence.

• Confronting the group (without a weapon, just something like, "Hey! What are you doing!?"): I (a); II (a); III (b).
• Going to get help (you were walking home from school and was capable of hiding behind a trash can, therefore placing yourself in an area that can allow you to get help within the mentioned five minutes): I (b, with a very low chance of a).
• Confronting them with a weapon at hand (which you could have found lying around): I (a); II (b, c); III (a, b).

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1. Them leaving the kid alone.
   1. ...and probably coming after him again some other day. (Which may allow the kid to take future precaution.)
   2. ...and quite possibly getting them in trouble more ways than one.
2. Them coming after you and leaving the kid alone.
   1. You, being "muscular enough", should be able run fast enough and far enough to allow the kid some time to escape, even more so if you're driven with fear (assuming they all chase you).
      • You therefore being the savior.
      • ...and quite possibly saving yourself by running into a (more) public area.
   2. Again, you being "muscular enough" should be able to weild the weapon well enough to take on most of them, or at least a few.
   3. Them overpowering you and using the weapon against you.
3. Them splitting up having one half come after you and the other half stick to the kid.
   1. Them overpowering you and using the weapon against you.
   2. Better to go through bad times with someone than alone, right?

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Saying that there was nothing you could have done to save the kid is just a waste of time—time that could have been used properly.

I guess the only way you could have helped alone in this situation is if you knew martial arts. Taking on 5 people with absolutely no fighting abilities would be a breeze, them having weapons or not. The only thing you would have to worry about is hurting them so that they don't get killed.

It all comes down to, what kind of person are you?

There are:
People who would interrupt and help on the spot.
People who would call the cops.
People who would do both.

Of coarse there are other types.

But being not being either one doesn't condemn you. You do what you think is best.

Whoa. This story is really something that I mostly just hear about and not actually see. It must have been extreme to have witnessed it. If I were in your shoes . . . well I really wouldn't know. I would have to be in that situation to know what I'd do. It's completely unfair to think people suffer that every day, but then again when is life completely fair. Hopefully the kid's not being or going to be beaten up anytime soon. This topic was definitely the most interesting thing I've read today and somewhat surprising since it's coming from a hosting site.

Look, Smack has a point. I should have done something, but ... you know, I didn't put this in the post but one of the guys had a bat. Not a plastic, cheap, light little play baseball bat you can buy at a garage sale, it was a thick, wooden, heavy, sturdy, large, hundred dollar bat one could buy at a great sports store. It was for people who interfered with the kid getting beaten.

And the guys.... were huge. Some were overweight, some were just HUGE. Buff. I know that they all had blades as well, and I wouldn't be surprised if the leader even.... had a gun.

If I tried to take the beating for the kid, the guys would have been furious at me and I would have been severely beaten with the bat and with fists. On top of that, I could have been cut with the knives. And even - I could have even been shot although it is unlikely.

These guys were practically criminals. They didn't go to the kid's school - they were just playing basketball there. I had no control over them, and I didn't have my cell with me. The kid didn't either, although I didn't put that in the post.

I know the kid now and he's okay, and they've been leaving him alone. That's good, at least. And I've actually been rounding up a gang of my own in case they bug him again.