The Company You Keep

In the movie Ip Man 2, there is a scene where Ip Man, one of his students and one of his ex-foes end up in jail over a fight Ip Man's student got into with a student of another school. Ip Man's wife came to bail him out, after getting money from a family friend. Ip Man having been released discreetly asks his wife and friend if they had any money to bail out the student who apparently had no family of his own. Neither of them had the money but the ex-foe begged his wife for the money.

The entire purpose of that scene, as I understand it, was to show the high character of Ip Man. I don't know if it's true but the story demonstrates the point that's going to be made here: If you hang around with people with high character, when you are in trouble, or if they get into trouble with you, they won't leave you hanging. This brings us to the subject of this piece.

it was a surprise for her grandmother when Mikia, 12, and a friend got into trouble for writing graffiti on the walls of a gym bathroom at Dutchtown Middle School in Henry County last year. Even more of a surprise was the penalty after her family disputed the role she was accused of playing in the vandalism and said it could not pay about $100 in restitution. While both students were suspended from school for a few days, Mikia had to face a school disciplinary hearing and, a few weeks later, a visit by a uniformed officer from the local Sheriff’s Department, who served her grandmother with papers accusing Mikia of a trespassing misdemeanor and, potentially, a felony....

Her friend, who is white, was let go after her parents paid restitution. [My underlines]

While the article this quote is lifted from is focusing on the race angle, I'd like to focus on the company this girl kept. Much like the guy who's back was broken when he decided to roll with a set of bikers who assaulted a man in a Land Rover, this girl, and I assume her family, has learned a hard lesson in being mindful of the company she keeps.

If these two girls were friends, then how come the other family didn't offer to help them? Of course the most logical answer here was that the other family was looking out for themselves and their kid. And honestly that's their only real obligation. But it goes to show, when the chips fall off the table, the greedy only think of themselves.