I grew up in the inner city. Black eyes, fat lip, bloody nose...were all routine back then. Heck you even fought for fun sometimes...although those tended to amp up pretty quick. And Mom's well, they were the Best Nurses Ever. And not just for scrapes and tilting back your head to stop the bloody nose. Sometimes, they taught you things.
So my Sister's name was : Jane Ellen. They put her on Steroids for several weeks to fix something. It made her gain like twenty pounds. Which, on somebody who barely tipped the scales at 70 pounds (she was 12 years old) was a lot of weight. So kids at school started to bully her. And Middle School is filled with potential bullies...it is where they learn that Art.
So they made a play on her middle name and started calling her: Jane elephant.
It crushed her. I knew the kid who started it...Kip. He was an 8th Grader and 13 years old I was 11, and one grade behind my sister.
So tracked Kip down. Let him know what I thought of him, and started to pummel him. Which, he really didn't notice. And then he beat the crap out of me. But I did manage to at least get him winded, and messed up his clothes enough that his Mom would ask questions.
So while my Mom was icing my lip, and pinching my nose, she talked with me. Now this conversation was six decade in the Past...and we all know on RP what our memories are like. So even tho I am using quotes...don't take that as Gospel. As most of you know, we might have the details, even the dates might be off, but the gist of it, and the memory are still sharp. So here we go:

"Mom, Kip made fun of Janie...I had to go stick up for her."
Mom smiled. Brushed some blood off with cool water and a wash cloth.
"Kevin, I know Kip. I also know boys. I think Kip has a crush on your sister."
"What?"
She smiled.
"No. Really, boys that age don't know how to react to their feelings. So they tug on a pigtail, or braid. Or they tease the girls. It is a way to get attention."
"But he was making fun of her. I hate him."
She shushed me. And pinched my nose a little harder.
"Don't ever say that...about anyone. Hate lingers. It can cloud your mind. If you don't like him, fine. But hating anyone takes energy. Lots of energy. And soon that is all you can think about. And you become hateful. Good people don't like being around hate for very long. If you don't like someone, then stay away from them. But don't waste time hating."
She leaned back and squeezed the bloody wash clothes under the cold water tap. Put it back on my face and said:
"Kevin, if you knew just one thing more about Kip, you could maybe forgive him. Maybe he had a bad day. Maybe his home life isn't the best. You don't know him at all. If you learned one more thing than that about Kip...you might understand enough to see where he was coming from. And, if you learned one more thing than that about him, you might even start to like him."
Well, that wasn't what I wanted to hear. But I did listen to my Mom.
So Monday roles around. I find him with the other 8th graders. He had a splint on his finger. Turns out he broke a knuckle hitting me in my hard head.
I felt bad. He looked at my black eye and swollen lip.
"Wow, that's a shiner and a half."
"Yeah, you hit hard."
He held up his hand.
"Your head is harder."
And we laughed.
And it turns out, he dated my sister a few years later for a bit. I ended up going with him and his family for a Family Vacation up to New Hampshire the summer before HS. I lost touch with him shortly after Tenth Grade because they moved to another state. And I missed him for a while.

My Mom was right.