A group of A-holes.

Ironbear24

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So there's a problem here. I got this friend who was born premature, he is about 4'8. So since highschool is home to the greatest people on the face on the planet, they take it upon themselves to beat him up nearly every day. (According to his testimony) I've seen some of the bruises too.

He asks me to beat these guys up for him, it's a group of 3 inbred cornfed rugby players. I could do that, but you know, then I'd go to prison and prison is not fun. I've told him to make friends that can help him but he says that no one gives him the time of day unless it's to be cruel to him.

Of course the school staff is not helpful because let's be honest, they never are when it comes to athletes messing with people, or getting into trouble in general. I've offered to teach him martial arts and said it will take a while before you can be able to perform well enough to protect yourself.

Even then 1v3 is bad news for just about any person. My question is, what could be done here?
 

Monkey Turned Wolf

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What grade is he in? Advice for someone in 9th grade would probably be different than for someone in 12th.
 

Monkey Turned Wolf

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But beyond moving to a different school...Personally I would teach him how to defend himself, and also get him into therapy. I would bet that there's a huge confidence aspect of it, which both could help him improve on, and without learning something (from either route), he'll probably just end up in a cycle of harassment/bullying/abuse even after high school.
 

jobo

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So there's a problem here. I got this friend who was born premature, he is about 4'8. So since highschool is home to the greatest people on the face on the planet, they take it upon themselves to beat him up nearly every day. (According to his testimony) I've seen some of the bruises too.

He asks me to beat these guys up for him, it's a group of 3 inbred cornfed rugby players. I could do that, but you know, then I'd go to prison and prison is not fun. I've told him to make friends that can help him but he says that no one gives him the time of day unless it's to be cruel to him.

Of course the school staff is not helpful because let's be honest, they never are when it comes to athletes messing with people, or getting into trouble in general. I've offered to teach him martial arts and said it will take a while before you can be able to perform well enough to protect yourself.

Even then 1v3 is bad news for just about any person. My question is, what could be done here?
it isn't all that,difficult to a) provoke them into attacking ng you or b) pick them off one ay a time with no witnesses
 

Kenposcholar

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Physical conflict won't resolve the problem.
First, your friend sounds like he has some self-esteem issues affecting him. This is apparent when you mention that he said, "no on gives him the time of day unless it's to be cruel to him." This simply isn't true unless he has a severely negative attitude around everyone he interacts with or isn't trying. High school is a rough place, but there will always be a click for anyone looking. My recommendation is finding a hobby (e.g. martial arts, painting, music, etc.) to boost his self-confidence and make friends to support him.
Secondly, I have to ask where he is being "beat up". Is he going to potentially dangerous areas? How can he change his route to avoid physical conflict or have other people around to deter violent behavior?

Kempodisciple has a good question, too. What grade is he in?
 

Zombocalypse

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So there's a problem here. I got this friend who was born premature, he is about 4'8. So since highschool is home to the greatest people on the face on the planet, they take it upon themselves to beat him up nearly every day. (According to his testimony) I've seen some of the bruises too.

He asks me to beat these guys up for him, it's a group of 3 inbred cornfed rugby players. I could do that, but you know, then I'd go to prison and prison is not fun. I've told him to make friends that can help him but he says that no one gives him the time of day unless it's to be cruel to him.

Of course the school staff is not helpful because let's be honest, they never are when it comes to athletes messing with people, or getting into trouble in general. I've offered to teach him martial arts and said it will take a while before you can be able to perform well enough to protect yourself.

Even then 1v3 is bad news for just about any person. My question is, what could be done here?



Are you kidding me man? If a kid is actually getting BRUISES from attacks by other kids, someone has to step in. NOT the Avengers, NOT superman, NOT Hulk Hogan, but the authorities. This is beyond harassment. It's assault.

If the school faculty doesn't step in, something has to be done.
 

Xue Sheng

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Are you kidding me man? If a kid is actually getting BRUISES from attacks by other kids, someone has to step in. NOT the Avengers, NOT superman, NOT Hulk Hogan, but the authorities. This is beyond harassment. It's assault.

If the school faculty doesn't step in, something has to be done.

Kind of beat me to it...my answer was going to be "call the police and report the assault"
 

Saheim

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I agree with with everyone who says call the police. I wouldn't get my hopes up about them resolving the situation BUT at least then there would be official documentation of them being the aggressors. That way, when I did go have a talk with them on my friends behalf and if/when it did turn into a situation where I had to defend myself, I'd have a leg to stand on in court. The documentation would also help my friend if he felt he had no other options and ended up bringing pepper spray to school. There would be a (accurate) picture painted showing he had reached a point of desperation, after trying to have the situation resolved through appropriate channels.
 
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Ironbear24

Ironbear24

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Physical conflict won't resolve the problem.
First, your friend sounds like he has some self-esteem issues affecting him. This is apparent when you mention that he said, "no on gives him the time of day unless it's to be cruel to him." This simply isn't true unless he has a severely negative attitude around everyone he interacts with or isn't trying. High school is a rough place, but there will always be a click for anyone looking. My recommendation is finding a hobby (e.g. martial arts, painting, music, etc.) to boost his self-confidence and make friends to support him.
Secondly, I have to ask where he is being "beat up". Is he going to potentially dangerous areas? How can he change his route to avoid physical conflict or have other people around to deter violent behavior?

Kempodisciple has a good question, too. What grade is he in?

12th grade, the guys messing with him are also in the same grade. There are obvious self esteem problems and I don't believe him when he says "everyone is being a jerk to me." Like yeah I get it that he is an easy target being so short and well, small in general, but like you said, not every single person is going to be act that way.

I do believe him when he says he gets beat up, I mean there are obvious signs of it being with the bruises, I haven't told his parents because I just assume they already know, that would be something hard to miss.
 

skribs

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12th grade, the guys messing with him are also in the same grade. There are obvious self esteem problems and I don't believe him when he says "everyone is being a jerk to me." Like yeah I get it that he is an easy target being so short and well, small in general, but like you said, not every single person is going to be act that way.

I do believe him when he says he gets beat up, I mean there are obvious signs of it being with the bruises, I haven't told his parents because I just assume they already know, that would be something hard to miss.

Still would talk to his parents and/or the authorities. Teaching him to defend himself or getting him counseling is not a bad idea, but if he's being repeatedly assaulted, that has to stop first.
 

Steve

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Just me, but I wouldn't not contact the authorities based on what I've read so far.

If I were going to get involved directly in any way, it would be to talk to his parents. Period. Once that's done, you can consider next steps, but that should be step one. And I wouldn't be sneaky about it. I'd go with the kid and the two of us would talk to his parents. If for any reason, the kid doesn't want you to talk to his parents, whether it's embarrassment, fear, or whatever else, the kid has much bigger problems than school bullies. And that would be the issue to address.

Once you've talked to the parents, the ball is in their court. Who knows what's going on? They may be at their wit's end, looking for support. They may be completely on top of this and would really be pissed that some stranger is presuming to get involved.

Parents... I presume this kid has at least one. And by "parent" I am referring to a parental figure, which could also include legal guardian or whatever.
 

Kenposcholar

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I have to agree with Steve on this one. It's also important for someone in 12th grade (17 or 18 years old) to begin learning how to develop self-esteem boosting skills. If the beatings continue and the parents do nothing, it would be worth taking more action.

Just me, but I wouldn't not contact the authorities based on what I've read so far.

If I were going to get involved directly in any way, it would be to talk to his parents. Period. Once that's done, you can consider next steps, but that should be step one. And I wouldn't be sneaky about it. I'd go with the kid and the two of us would talk to his parents. If for any reason, the kid doesn't want you to talk to his parents, whether it's embarrassment, fear, or whatever else, the kid has much bigger problems than school bullies. And that would be the issue to address.

Once you've talked to the parents, the ball is in their court. Who knows what's going on? They may be at their wit's end, looking for support. They may be completely on top of this and would really be pissed that some stranger is presuming to get involved.

Parents... I presume this kid has at least one. And by "parent" I am referring to a parental figure, which could also include legal guardian or whatever.
 

Gerry Seymour

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I'm with Steve on this one, IB. Start with the parents. Until you do that, there's no sense trying to decide the next step.

(By the way, I feel ya'. There's a significant part of me that would very much like to find those punks and.... But that's not something anyone should do. You don't know the whole story - even if he has tried to tell it honestly, his telling is tainted by his reactions. And none of us have the immunity Batman receives, anyway.)
 

Tames D

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He asks me to beat these guys up for him, it's a group of 3 inbred cornfed rugby players. I could do that, but you know, then I'd go to prison and prison is not fun.
I don't know why, but this made me chuckle.
Like you could actually do that... :D
 

MA_Student

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Well best thing is for the parents to deal with this not you. Also don't always believe them straight away. He could be the one causing trouble and starting fights and maybe he gets hit back so then he wants you to beat them up. Not saying that is the case but like I said dont believe everything straight away
 

Martial D

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3 healthy adult sized athletes would likely kick your ***, unless you actually are a Chuck Norris joke come to life.

With that said, it's really not your place to step in in any capacity. You aren't his dad, a cop, or highschool administration. It's also unlikely any amount of martial arts training would bestow good odds upon such a small fellow against said 3 adult sized athletes.

If you feel you must do something, alert the ones that should be doing something.
 

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