Feral Before Civility

A family of cubs
Encouraged to fight
Testing mettle

Was a time, when boys were told to go outside and the expectation of no contact for the entire day was acceptable. We ran and fought without permanent damage (most of the time). There were pick up games of street football/baseball. Occasionally we’d head to the school field and play tackle football. No pads or teeth guards. Yeah, some teeth were lost.
We loved our parents and listened to them closely, or suffer the belt, or switch. Stripes kept us in check.
There was an order in the group. The strongest was the unelected leader. We joyfully supported and defended him, unless he was unjust or lacked compassion. In those cases, we walked away.