by Tinker » Sat Mar 19, 2011 1:27 am
I wish I'd walloped more kids when I was young. I got in fights not infrequently, but there was always the story about telling authorities.
I just wish I'd crushed Casey's nose with my history textbook instead of tattling. One of my greatest regrets in life. Doesn't matter that he was benching 180 at 13. When he came over to my house to fuck with me, my first instinct was to start up the weed burner. That would've scared the shit out of him, and I probably wouldn't have had to do anything, though they threatened to come back with guns if I brought out any weapons, I only know now in retrospect that if I'd brought out the weed burner the threat of a flamethrower would've had a visceral impact that would've made them think twice.
Going to the authorities for these things is useless. They are actually creating a situation where the victims of bullying are not able to do anything. If they stand up for themselves they are punished and get the 'violent kid' stigma, and are made to go see the counselor and get therapy and such.
My little sister was tormented. She was small, born premature and received death threats as a small child. The teachers were powerless to do anything, and she would've been mauled by these much bigger girls.
You have to defend yourself. I'll teach my kids to go to the authorities first, but if that's not an option they will know how to throw a punch by the age of 5 and how to break an arm by the age of 12.
When I was 17 I was being threatened by a kid who already had a tracking anklet at 15 in the hallway. I just laughed at him in that, "Silly Sophomore", way you learn how to do by Senior year, but I didn't take it unseriously. By that point I had the opinion that authorities didn't have my back, and was a lot more willing to contemplate rolling hard on someone if I had to. I already had the connects to get illegal firearms and such by that point.
I had a well-developed, "I am the kid who might snap and do something you can't handle.", look by the age of 18. That has served me well throughout my life.
The canary didn't die because this mine is dangerous, it died because it's lazy and wasn't raised with a proper work ethic.