Fight! Fight! Fight!

There's been some action at Tent City this week.  Two men got in a fight the other night on the way back from the abandoned house.  The Lubbock Avalance-Journal reported the story here.  The resident who went to the hospital is reported as being in critical condition.  He was still in the hospital as of this morning, and his condition is improving.  All of the news stations in Lubbock reported the story.  All stories are the same except for this one.  The resident interviewed in the video is a younger guy who was evicted of Tent City a few weeks ago for stealing.  He waited the required two weeks and was allowed back.  I'm not sure why he didn't want to be shown on video since the only people he upset were the residents of Tent City who like to drink, and they know his voice.  I think some editing was done in an effort to paint Tent City as an unsafe place, but I would disagree.

Let's hear some brawling music, shall we?  "ROLLING STONES 'STREET FIGHTING, MAN.'  GEE SEVAAWWWN."

I know the two guys involved in the fight, and they were always friendly with each other.  I helped Rickey set up his tent when he first arrived at Tent City, and I know Eric was working on getting back on his feet as he had a job as a welder.  The first news story I saw had the chief of police quoted as saying that the two men were walking back from a bar.  The story has since been taken down. 

I stayed out at Tent City Wednesday night (my tent is still out there), and I got the full story from a few different residents.  A mexican man named Raul caught me when I arrived and immediately told me all I had missed.  Raul is in his mid-fifties with short, gray hair and thick framed glasses which magnify his off-kilter eyes.  He has told me that he just got out of prison where he spent the last twenty years for burglary of a habitation.  Raul isn't quite right in the head and you can tell the minute he starts speaking.  His jaw is displaced about an inch opposite the direction of his lazy eye, giving him the appearance that might have inspired a young Picasso.  He speaks with a slow mexican drawl which probably originated in prison.  "The death rolllll came true here lasss nyte."  I decide to play dumb, and ask him what he means.  "Two duudes were down at tat houssse drink-ing, and dey gahtna fyte on the waaayy back."  The second to last syllable in every one of Raul's sentences is drawn out and the way he talks reminds me of a children's roller coaster, his inflection rising and falling throughout the sentence until the end when the listener is slowly brought over the last small hump and lowered to his destination.  Raul continues: "Dat black duuuude (Rickey) came stumb-ling true the gaate, an I kneww someting waasss wrong.  Then he tripped an hit his heeaaad on dat dumpster aaan jus...wennt limp. "  Raul goes on to tell me that he went to help Rickey up, and that he wasn't moving.  "Someone saaid he died 'bout twenny minutes aago...Sooo where yaaa been?" Raul asks.  I tell him that I've been working out of town and he seems satisfied.  The reports that Rickey had died were, of course, a product of the rumor mill.

Another resident tells me that four residents were walking back from the abandoned house when two (Rickey and Eric) began fighting.  The other two residents eventually stopped the fight and the four continued the trek back to Tent City.  Eric and another resident arrived first and Julius was notified of the fight.  I learn that Julius is Rickey's cousin and he immediately went after Eric.  The two were separated and the cops were called about the time that Rickey came stumbling in.

I can say that I never witnessed any fights at Tent City during my stay, but I heard about a couple that took place before I arrived.  Since I've been gone, I've heard that the police have been called for two fights both involving Julius.  Julius has since been evicted and things seem pretty quiet out there.  This guy disagrees, but he's a gossip monger trying to gain attention in a dying industry, making blanket statements and reporting the sensational.  He comments on a stabbing that occurred because there are no rules out at Tent City.  Neither of these statements are true, but he is correct in saying that there will be more of these incidents at Tent City.  Because this incident occurred at Tent City, it gets more attention than similar incidents which I would guess occur at least once per weekend at the bars in town.  One difference is that Tent City Management calls the police any time something like this occurs while bar managers do everything they can to prevent police from being called.  While these things will continue to occur at Tent City, there is not much that can be done to prevent them other than what is already being done (evicting the offenders).  These types of things will also continue to occur at any place where alcohol is present, but they will probably go unreported.