^This guy... He is dead-on.
I've been a victim of it since fifth grade, and in seventh grade, I had a policy: If you dare bully me or a friend, be prepared to answer to it, regardless of whether or not you're a 'nice' person. I spent a combined total of a week out of school because of suspensions due to fighting. In eighth grade, I cooled off and put it behind me, thinking nobody will do it again. I was wrong.
Actually, now that I realize this, four years and 6 days ago, I was recooperating from nearly the biggest fight I had in my life. Three hours and 40 minutes earlier, I was wrongly accused of hitting a girl. Being an easy target, it escalated within half a minute from "No, you're wrong, I didn't!" to me struggling for air, near-death, and scared. Luckily, a strong round cresent kick to the knee saved me, and my attacker dropped faster than he would've liked. I was then recovering from that and trying to breath through my sore airways (I had flu that Monday, and this took place on a Friday) and was ambushed, nearly gang beat at the water fountain, when the principals rounded the corner.
I woke the next morning with faint bruises on my neck and a gigantic bruise on the right side of my face. I had trouble breathing, moving, and thinking. I was broken.
Afterwards, I thought the agony was over.
Oh how wrong I was.
That next Monday, I went to my locker and within a minute was already being bullied and harassed. People said 'I was better off dead' or called me a p**sy or a woman-hitter. I began experiencing chronic nightmares, usually one or two per night. It was so bad to the point that, by the end of the school year nearly 2.5 months later, I didn't feel suicidal like I did in sixth grade. Instead, I felt that people should move on. That people should just drop it. Or else. I apoligized to the girl and said "I don't know if I hurt you, but if I did, I'm sincerely sorry about it. That isn't me."
For two months, it was agonizing. I ended up failing every class I was in, and hating nearly everyone. It continued on into ninth grade. Two people did it constantly. One was a friend, and the other is now captain of the tennis team.
It now leaves me here, in tears as I sit, with one bitter lesson to tell.
If someone is bullying you, I found that only a vulgar display of power can get them to stop. Whether it be doing something to make them think 'that motherf****r is crazy.' to show people what is going on. Only an organized effort can stop a bully. If there are many people who become negative to a bully, they will stop. Bullies don't do it because they are troubled; rather those are the ones who are bullied. Bullies are attention whores. They pick out the one who has the most 'flaws' and attack. I just got out of a World History class, and just today one of them were following me and my girlfriend around at lunch. They were harassing me, so I simply flipped the bird and kept walking. Well, now, I'm planning on listening for just one good reason to let me punt the kid's head ninety yards. When they ask me why I took that action, I'll simply say "Because I felt like making an example will show that I don't want to be messed with. I came to the Vice Principal in December, and bullying is heavily discouraged here. So why is it that there was no disciplinary action? Well, I just gave him that discipline."
|
)
