An allegedly racist comment by an elderly white man sparked a fight on an Oakland bus that has been spread all over YouTube. The comment involved the 67-year-old man asking a young black man to shine his shoes.

"The white guy was asking the black guy for a shoeshine," Iyanna Washington, the student who shot the video with a small camera, told CBS station KPIX. "And I guess the black guy took it as a racist comment, like, 'Why's a black guy have to spit shine your shoes?'"

There was a great deal of yelling back and forth before the elderly man moved to the front of the bus. The younger man followed him, and before long, a fight broke out, but it didn't quite go as expected.

"I guess he hit him across the face once," Washington said. "And then the white guy stands up and lets loose."

To the surprise of everyone, the older white man landed a flurry of punches that caused numerous injuries to the face of the younger man. The young man had a broken nose after the incident, according to Transit Spokesman Clarence Johnson. After being hit repeatedly by the old man, the young man simply laid on the floor in a daze.

The older man left the bus, but continued screaming and kicking at a newsstand. He surrendered when police showed up. Both men were taken to the hospital and reports are that he was off his medication.

Apparently, the young man underestimated the force of an old man who is no longer on his medication. I am not quite sure why this fight is newsworthy, but you have to admit that it's a little bit funny (other than the shoe shine comment, which was obviously inappropriate). The old man has become a legend on YouTube since the incident took place.


Dr. Boyce Watkins is the founder of the Your Black World Coalition. To have Dr. Boyce commentary delivered to your email, please click here.