tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6586607118525088475.post6231072712892045592..comments2024-02-18T20:48:07.173-08:00Comments on McMurray Musings: BulliedTheresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14217715252564049451noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6586607118525088475.post-51011702627922532682013-11-22T14:13:25.307-08:002013-11-22T14:13:25.307-08:00Thank you for the comment, Michael. While you come...Thank you for the comment, Michael. While you come at it from a different perspective I think there is a great deal of common ground. While on occasion those who bully may simply be "bad people" I think it is far more common for them to simply be people who are behaving in bad ways, and we have to find a method to ensure they are learning to address that behaviour as well as supporting the victim. I don't think we can ever stop bullying if we don't.Theresahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14217715252564049451noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6586607118525088475.post-11325161075686181352013-11-22T13:59:59.151-08:002013-11-22T13:59:59.151-08:00This is one of those rare moments when I am in fro...This is one of those rare moments when I am in front of a computer while scrolling through my twitter feed. First, I enjoy your blog, it is insightful and intimate. Second, the issue of bullying is one that I have experienced but from a different perspective.<br /><br />I bullied a kid in grade 9. I bullied him all year. I called him hateful names. I made fun of him. I snickered and commented on everything he did, all year. Finally in June of that year he attempted to stand up to me and I took it to the next level. I beat him up. I beat him up and then I laughed at him and high fived my friends. Big strong 14 year old me pummeled that poor kid for absolutely nothing. I did it because my friends thought it was funny. I did it because it kept other kids from picking on me. I did it to not be him. <br /><br />Our altercation occurred on the way back to school from lunch. When I got to class, he was in my class, I was surprised to have earned the scorn of at least half the class. I did not laugh with my friends as they continued to laugh at my victim. My mom raised me to be empathetic. That group of friends had changed how I felt about others. It was not cool to feel bad for people. It was even less cool to have someone feel bad for you. I sat for the rest of that afternoon, a Friday I remember, and I thought about that kid and how he must have felt dealing with my constant verbal assaults and then finally my fists. I could see the scuffs on his face and the dirt on his pants. I could feel the shame. It was not on him, it was on me. <br /><br />I never apologized to that kid. I also never spoke to him again. I knew he would never forgive me and I did not want him too. I had earned my scorn. I also never bullied another person. I worked extra hard to be friends with the kind of people other people did not want to be friends with. <br /><br />The fall saw a new school, high school, and those old friends went to another high school. I continued without them and I made a great deal of friends. I never kept in touch with any of those people whom I had compromised myself to be friends with. Their admiration was something I found I could live without. <br /><br />Michael Vickersnoreply@blogger.com