I was the shortest child in every grade, cursed with crooked teeth, thick glasses, and a permanent frown. Yet despite (or because of) my “Wednesday Addams” mien, I was never bullied.
Except for once. My first week of high school, some older girls stomped around the cafeteria at lunchtime, picking out Grade Niners for mild hazing.
Three approached me. Their leader proffered an egg, trembling on a tablespoon.
“Walk this from here to there,” she told me, nodding toward the far wall.
I swatted the props out of her hand. The egg smacked on the floor.
“Clean that up,” I snapped flatly.
No one bothered me again for four years.
I think all of us deal with bullying at one time or another. The important thing is how we dealt with it. I was challenged at the bus stop to a small extent. I ignored it. The next time, with the same guy, was more intense at the same bus stop. I beat the crap out of him with everyone watching, and had no trouble there after. He also wanted to be my friend for years after that. There are no great men, just great challenges.
ReplyDeleteThere are no great men, just great challenges.
ReplyDeleteGood words.
Moved to VERY small town after only one year in Big City - I was ~7.
ReplyDeleteDad was "Church of God" pastor - "turn the other cheek" was high on the list, we were supposed to "rejoice in our persecution." If I raised my hand to defend myself, Dad would use a stiff leather belt to remind me that violence was not the answer.
"Shrimp"
"City boy"
"Preacher's Kid"
"Egghead" (~3-5 years ahead of age-peers)
"Won't hit back no matter WHAT you do to him"
Every school day was torture - an exercise in self-control and pain-tolerance.
None of these little pansies knows what "bullying" means.
Summer after 9th grade, Parents divorced & I moved with Mom to a big town ~90 minutes away. I decided that I was going to establish a reputation ASAP as someone not to be f***ed with.
Homeroom, first day, maybe 2 minutes after the bell... Teacher calling roll and some poor kid said something snarky about my name - I unloaded 15 years of rage on him. He spent a couple of days in the hospital, I had a 10-day "vacation" and accomplished my mission with panache!
The current hysteria over "bullying" is sickening. I had it about as bad as anyone ever could, and it not only gave me an incredibly high tolerance for pain but also made me one of the most emotionally-strong people I know.
The same is true of all the "former victims" I know!
Life can be hard - and those who have known and overcome adversity are IMHO better equipped than most to deal with it~!
Don't get me wrong - if one of my kids was getting what I got, I'd kill every one of the little bastards - but at the same time I see what life has done to my former tormenters, and I know that karma is a cold-blooded BITCH!
Crybabies need to "harden the f*** up" - as the saying goes...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=unkIVvjZc9Y
Of course bullying is not the same as hazing and I'm a firm believer that hazing definitely has a place in military schools. In fact, it was even used in non-military schools such as Episcopal High School/Randolph-Macon College in the form of the Rat system.
ReplyDelete