What stops the boys from beating up a black man in That was Then, This is Now?

M&M stops the boys from beating up a black man by calling them weird for jumping people simply because a person is different.

Shortly after coming to M&M's aid by attacking Curly Shepard and his friend, Mark pokes Bryon and asks if he still is in the mood for a little action. Mark motions towards a black guy who is standing on the corner, waiting for the light to change. Mark suggests that they jump him, but M&M speaks up. M&M tells the boys that they make him sick and says, "You just rescued me from some guys who were going to beat me up because I'm different from them, and now you're going to beat up someone because he's different from you" (Hinton 23). M&M then calls Mark and Bryon weird and begins to cry. Bryon and Mark are shocked that M&M is bawling, and out of nowhere, M&M takes off running. Bryon thinks about running after M&M, but Mark stops him. Mark picks up M&M's peace medallion, and the two boys walk back to Charlie's to give him his three dollars instead of jumping the black man.