When I was seven a gang beat up some kid I didn't know, for violating
their turf.
Being seven, what could I do?
I went around to all the other kids & said to them, we have to
stop this. And they said "Screw you, shut up. You're only seven."
I said, we have to go to the gang and offer a truce. We'll say to
them, if they let us in their territory, we'll let them in ours. Then
we'll all live better.
They laughed. "If you want us to do that, first you have to
fight us to prove you're right."
I said that what they were saying made as much sense as "Dork
dork, gwump" but they kept saying it. So I ended up fighting
half a dozen of them. I beat all of them, including an eleven year
old.
The gang met us. They said the same thing. You have to fight. So...
Eventually nobody was left on my side but me, against five of them.
But I dragged myself up to walk through their territory anyway,
spitting up blood for a mile.
It worked! We had peace after that.