Bullies

What to say about bullies.  They are the bane of most kids' existence.  They are also bull stuff.  Of course, this writer does have to tell that to anyone who's ever had one.  These creatures born from iniquity exist only to spread more iniquity.  They use a number of tactics to accomplish this.  The effects of this mental and/or physical abuse can be damaging or even deadly to the victims.

So how does one deal with these devils?  The answers to this question are often as much bull as the bullies themselves.  "Tell a teacher," someone might say.  "Tell your parents," another might suggest.  Yet another well-meaning indivdual will tell you, "Just stay away from them."  These tactics usually fail, as this writer learned as a child.

In this writer's experience a sound, old-fashioned, playground-style ass whuppin' was the best solution.  That's not to say the other solutions don't work.  They may actually work from time to time.  This writer is only saying that this is the only option that always seemed to work.  Seriously.  This writer had to learn that a big, meaty fist often did what words couldn't.

Your parents may tell you to give in or learn to deal with it yourself.  The teacher or principal might tell you to stop being a tattle-tell.  Talking to the bully itself would only get you laughed at, which would be followed by worse treatment.  Escaping does work, but eventually you'll wind up cornered.  What does one do when that happens?

Understanding why the bully does what it does is the business of any adults who may care, not the victim's.  As the victim, you don't what to know the bully's life story.  You want him to leave you alone.  A good beating sends the message, "I don't care if you're a bully, but I won't be your victim."

For those who say violence accomplishes nothing, this writer's gained his best friend by fighting a bully.  It happened in the classroom, right in front of the teacher.  Almost immediately after that, the bully became this writer's best friend.  That fight also kept this writer from getting bullied for two years afterwards, so violence netted a double reward.

Whatever method you use, utilize it early in the game.  Whether you to, run, or fight, do it as soon as you think this person will be a consistent problem.  Let the bully know what he's doing is bull and that it's not going to fly with you.  The goal is to stop the bullying before it gets to the point where people are winding up in the hospital or commiting suicide.

Even after all the, this writer will say that violence should be the last option.  Just don't remove it as an option altogether.  For this writer, the other options became viable only after the fists began to swing.  Only then did the adults step in and try to mediate.

Until next time...