In 2018, being accused of bullying is not on a par with being accused of murder, but it’s close. Emma Gonzalez, one of the Parkland shooting survivors, said this about Nikolas Cruz at the anti-gun march in Washington, D.C.: Since he was in middle school, it was no surprise to anyone who knew him that he was the shooter. Those talking about how we should have not ostracized him? You don’t know this kid. OK? We did! I can’t see anything unusual about that. The popular kids sneer at the geeks, the nerds and the weirdos. Because they deserve it. You don’t know this kid. We did. But when the kid in this case goes off the rails, which “was no surprise to anyone who knew him,” some self-reflection seems to be in order before blaming the usual suspects. I don’t understand the strategy of gun control proponents. Every tragedy… Read more →
EppsNet Archive: Bullying
More People I’m Sick Unto Death Of
People who think it’s okay to insult members of certain groups (e.g., homophobes, people from the state of West Virginia), but not members of certain other groups (e.g., homosexuals, fat women), and particularly not members of groups that they themselves belong to. People who bully others into taking offense at things that they’re “supposed to be” offended by because the bully is offended by those things. People who allow themselves to be bullied into taking offense at things that they’re “supposed to be” offended by, even though it never occurred to them to be offended and they really couldn’t care less. Read more →
A Personal Reflection on Current Events
My best friend in college hanged himself. He wasn’t gay. It broke my heart, but nobody famous took any notice. We’re all against bullying of course, but it’s a fact of life. Everyone gets targeted for whatever it is that makes them different, and if you’re absolutely normal in all respects, you’ll be targeted for being too perfect. I put my son in tae kwon do classes at an early age. I said it was for fitness and confidence and all the usual stuff, but really it was so that any needlessly cruel behavior directed toward him could be addressed via a kick in the teeth. Sometimes you have to beat someone’s ass to teach him how to get along with the rest of the human race . . . Read more →
How to Deal With a Bully
A friend’s Facebook post about bullies in school reminded me of when I was 10 or 11 and the neighborhood bully was menacing a junior high band nerd. All of a sudden, the band nerd hauled off and socked him right in the face and the bully ran home crying. What an impression that made on me! Of course I’m not advocating socking bullies in the face . . . no wait, I guess I am . . . Read more →