Okay, I'm going to say something that will piss off a lot of
people:
BULLYING IS NOT AN EXCUSE TO SHOOT PEOPLE. IT JUST PROVES YOU REALLY ARE AN ASSHOLE.
Really. Reeeeeaaaally. No, really.
I was bullied sometimes as a kid. I'll bet every single one of us can come up
with instances when we were "bullied." I wore the wrong socks, had the wrong
clothes, knocked out my front teeth so it took forever to get the second set,
rode the wrong bike, listened to the wrong music, participated in the wrong
activities, worked the wrong jobs, drove the wrong car. I was the recipient of an ice ball to the
nose, the brunt of cruel practical jokes, the fodder of gossip, the uninvited
one to parties.
Not all the time, but still.
Does that count?
I was also the bully sometimes. Usually my bullying was to right some social
injustice or personal wrong. I was (and
still am) finessed in the fine art of payback; I have served up several plates
of "eat-shit-and-die" and managed to come out smelling like a rose,
though I'm much better at it now than I was as a kid.
I have learned the virtue of patience because justice is
sometimes a long process. One needs to
be willing to wait because what goes around does indeed come around. When the moment is right, when the golden opportunity
presents itself, and it will, you have to be ready, and you have to possess the
cajones to jump in with both feet.
This may not be bullying in the true sense -- If you bully a
bully, is that really bullying or is it simply planetary alignment?
Sometimes it's hard to tell.
Generally speaking, though, I try to avoid verbal
conflict. Even after decades and
decades, I am still slow on the uptake when people say rude things to me. I'm getting quicker, but still. It irks me when people say stuff to me, and I
just stare in shocked silence rather than saying, "What the fuck is that
all about?!" I hate it when I think
of something clever to say back … ten minutes later. Oh, I'm quick as a whip when it's someone
else and I'm the Great Defender, but when someone personally insults me, I go
immediately to "stunned silence."
Rip-shit" kicks in later when I'm alone. Then I get mad at myself, which is
counter-productive.
Here's the bottom line:
GET A GRIP.
No, truly, get a fucking grip. Life isn't perfect; everybody doesn't get a
trophy; you're not the smartest/coolest/prettiest/strongest. You cannot fall apart nor go off the deep end
every time someone says, writes, shares, challenges, associates crap about you. Life is gritty and sometimes very
unpleasant. Deal; just fucking deal.
Maybe people make fun of you because you say shit like,
"I'm going to lick this cookie on my lunch tray so no one else can eat
it," and it's the high school caf because you're a junior and still doing
idiotic BS like this. Maybe people make
fun of you because you use the top bar across the bathroom stall like it's the
uneven parallel bars in Olympic gymnastics.
Maybe people make fun of you because the words "shower,"
"deodorant," and "soap" are foreign concepts to you
But shoot people?
SHOOT THEM? Kill them dead?
Good god.
And you wonder WHY people think you're a freak.
You're not a victim; you're just a fuckhead. Bully THAT, asshole.
