I'm glad it happened...It taught me many lessons like how disgusting human beings are. How easily led the weak-minded ones are and how afraid bullies can be when they are challenged (I did this later, not as a five year old.) I learned how how to build skills that meant I felt confident and safe. I learned how violent I can be and when not to be. I learned how to let things wash off my back like water, how to go from inactivity to action in a split second and what it felt like to be a victim - which taught me that those who cannot look after themselves must be protected (women, children, the week and elderly). I learned about manners and courtesy, the benefit of silence and the right words to say and when. I learned that crying is ok, and that I can be vindictive. I learned about ethics, morals and standards and I built integrity and a sense of honour and respect.
Might I have learned these things otherwise? Probably, I was raised well, but learning them from the age of five when I was thrust into the world outside of home (school) and the brutal nature of it and people, meant a head start on being the man I am now.
So, thankfully I was terribly racially vilified and brutalised. I'm a better me because of it.
When you see a person reach this high level of maturity and understanding of life, it's mostly because of their background or what they had to go through. And now I've seen a bit of the experiences that played a role in making you who you are.
You really are something, aren't you Galen?
Time or age doesn't bring wisdom, life experiences, trials and tribulations, success and failure does...and the elements required to capitalise upon those things of course.
I'm just an average bloke who experienced some things that caused me to think other things, develop attitudes around them and actions to carry them forward. Totally average.