Bullying

[Dalum]

I wasn't able to read this whole thread as I got fired up over the topic and some of the posts. Here's my take and a couple of cents...

As a kid in High School I was picked on. Heck, I was in 1 of the 2 Filipino families in a small town that's predominently hick so getting picked on was beyond just High School. It finally came to a head when this group of people (comprosed of ex-friends due to cliques and circumstance and plain old meatheads) started in on my girlfriend to get to me. I finally told them to come on by my house so I can beat someone down. It just happened to be a kid in my neighborhood. They were all worried since his family was all factory and my family was doctors. Like I'd have my family sue over a fight started on my property. Whatever. I told them that it was all kosher. Whatever the outcome, it ends there. They were cool about it and I proceeded to make a patch of grass red with my neighbor.

After that, they stopped picking on the geeky Asian kid... and pretty much everyone else.

My point with this story is that it's going to come down to something like this. It can either happen with or without the school. It can be handled with honor (in the end) like my situation did or worse. I was lucky. Many others aren't. Any fighting is best done when it isn't done at all. The funny thing is that in our student handbook, back in the day, stated that if there is a fight started you can be exempt from suspension/expulsion if you do nothing till 3 distinct attacks have been made. I saw a fellow MA student use that to his advantage in school. A fight started in the locker room and he let his attacker throw 3 swings at his head. All hitting the locker behind him. After that 3rd hit, all he did was side step and sweep him on the slippery floor. The guy bashed his dead on the floor and that was that.

It wasn't that long ago and things have changed so much from when it was somewhat OK to fight in school. Now it's all about knives and guns and revenge. No more honor. It sucks.

 

[Tony]

She did the right thing and luckily violence was avoided but time passes and then the bully will inevitably strike again and if nothing is done the person being bullied will become a victim for the rest of their lives.
I was bullied for many years at school and i was too scared to fight back because i was scared of the consequences, being shouted at by the teachers or facing being punished by my parents but my mother always encouraged me to fight back. And because i developed a reputation for taking everything people did to me they all thought it was ok to do that to me but now i know I should have fought back even if it had meant expulsion. If i ever have chidren and they are in a similar situation and there is no other way then i will encourage them to defend themselves!
If we stand up to bullies we gain respect and we don't become victims for the rest of our lives!

 

[beauty_in_the_sai]

I was picked on in high school after it leaked out I was a martial artist and always tried to go by your daughters approach. Unfortunately, most high school guys are cocky and I did get into 2 fights over my high school education. I ended them quickly, but as they always broke out in crowded hallways, I always had lots of eyewitnesses that told the truth. I never started the fight but always finished it. Fortunately, I had a cool principle that told me "good job" after I won the fight. Usually, some big-headed guy would try to strike me or grab me in inappropriate places, and I would give him a warning to leave me alone, just as my instructor said. When he did it for the second time, I struck back. This happened with two different guys, one trying to punch me, another trying to grab me. All my parents said was that they were glad they gave me martial art lessons. My instructor was proud too. After the second incident, most people left me alone.

Becky