Today in 1920s Turkey: 12 August 1925 (Turkish Street-Fighter)

(Article, Karagöz, 12 August 1925, no. 1816, page 4.)

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Ninety-one years ago today a writer for Karagöz shared this interesting story of a bloody brawl that broke out “the other day” over a minor disagreement. The fight, which involved three men, a knife, a stick, and a stone, escalated so quickly and ended in so much destruction that the author felt compelled to question the underlining reason for this episode of unwarranted violence. In this, the Age of Reason, the author links the man’s savagery to his undeveloped intellect. There is some wisdom in associating ignorance with bad behavior. Ignorance in its most blatant form manifests itself in daily life through the poor choices and decisions people make. Rational thought and behavior requires one to evaluate a situation, the actions one may take, and the consequences of those actions. Sometimes this process requires one to think several plays ahead and calculate future outcomes; these projections are then used as a guide on how to act in the present. For most of us this method of navigating our day-to-day lives is self-explanatory or obvious but there are also people who habitually neglect to “stop and think.” Here is one of their stories…

English

Oh Ignorance, How I Wish to Throw Pepper in Your Eyes!

The other day in the district of Edirnekapı two, three friends (who were laborers) were going to install a fence at a place and one said to the other:

— Hey, fool. You’ve only increased the height. That’s not how you set up a fence. Give that to me!

And he wanted to take the line. The other became annoyed:

— Look, don’t play around with me, I will [not hesitate to] waste a man’s sweet soul!

And without even waiting for a response he pulled out his large garden knife and thrust it into his friend. As blood squirted out of his leg and he fell to the floor another friend who tried to get involved also got knifed. Laying on the floor, the first grabbed a rock and landed it on the head of the man who cut him. The second one grabbed a stick and hit [the assailant] in the face. Long story short, it unfolded like a bloody tragicomic play. In the end the two with serious wounds went to the hospital and the one with handcuffs to jail.

Now look at this result. Where does the fight come from? A fence can’t be made like that but like this. Who does it, you or me, or whatever nonsense. What makes this happen? Ignorance. What intelligent man would ever try to kill his own friend over something so trivial? A person comes to this life only once! What of it is left to desire when it is spent in prison? What would happen if we just took a well-behaved, sensible, polite path to living? Go and look at a prison, too. Inside are convicts who were sentenced to twenty or fifteen years for manslaughter, half of which were directed toward their own friends over similarly insignificant things. These people probably regret it but it’s too late. One must understand the world and above all not remain ignorant. If not, he will either die over nothing or rot in prison over nothing.

Türkçe

Tebliğ Hususu: Hey Gözüne Biber Attığım Cehaleti Hey!

Geçen gün Edirnekapı semptinde ameleden iki üç arkadaş bir yere tel çekeceklermiş, biri ötekine demiş ki:

— Hey budala. Sen sade boy büyütmüşsün, Tel öyle çekilmez. Ver bana şunu!
Ve teli almak istemiş. Öteki içerlemiş:

— Bana bak, demiş. Benimle eğlenme, ben adamın tatlı canına kıyarım ha!

Ve daha cevab beklemeden çekmiş iri bostan bıçağını, saplamış arkadaşına, o bacağından kan fışkırıp yere yuvarlanırken araya girmeğe çalışan bir öteki de bir bıçak yemiş. Birincisi yattığı yerden bir taş almış, kendini vuranın kafasına yerleştirmiş. İkinci de bir sopa kapmış, o da yüzüne vurmuş. Velhasıl, bir kanlı kavak oyunudur gitmiş. Neticede ikisi ağır yaralı hastaneye öteki de elleri kelepçeli hapishaneye gitmiş.

Şimdi neticeye bakın. Kavga nereden çıkıyor. Tel öyle çekilmez böyle çekilir. Vay sen misin, ben misin, cart curt. Bunu yaptıran nedir, cehalet. Hiç akıllı adam böyle sudan şey için arkadaşını öldürmeye kalkar mı? İnsan dünyaya bir kere gelir yahu! Bunu da hapishanede geçirecek olduktan sonra nesine tama etmeli. Şöyle uslu akıllı efendi efendi yaşamanın yolunu tutsak ne olur. Gidin hapishaneye de bakın. İçerde katl yüzünden yirmi seneye, onbeş seneye mahkum olanların yarısından fazlası böyle bir hiç için arkadaşını öldürenlerdir. Bunlar da pişman olmuşlardır ama iş işten geçmiştir. Dünyayı anlamalı ve herşeyden evvel cahil kalmamalı. Yoksa ya bir hiç uğruna ölür ve yahud yine bir hiç uğruna hapishanelerde sürünür.

(Entire page, Karagöz, 12 August 1925, no. 1816, page 4.)

This post has been updated and modified from its first iteration published right here on Steemit on 12 August 2016. For the original version see:
9. Today in 1920s Turkey: 12 August 1925 (Turkish Street-Fighter)