I was a punky little Puerto Rican kid from a broken family stuck in a simple superstitious culture that had very little to say about any of Plato’s virtues, Truth, Honor, and particularly Justice, and a lot more to say about reputation, disrespect and retribution, namely revenge. It wasn’t an easy place to grow up, my neighborhood—a low-rent housing project full of disillusionment, anger and brutality. Throwing a fist or two or ducking a few at a full run were my likely responses when confro...