Hey there, work, you big sexy galoot, I'm taking you home with me

[minniethemoocha]

Insomnia and woolgathering brane following a hit-the-ground-running day at the office is not perhaps the best way to be at my best for a 7:30 AM meetup for a 3.2-mile run (well, mosey in my case) to be followed by hosting an open house at my office (for which I Accidentally On Purpose forgot that it might be "nice" to call Channel 10 and invite

Comments

[_blackjack_]

Kids who got picked on were disliked by the teachers who were surveyed.

In my case, I was very well liked by most actual teachers. I was disliked by administrators, and by their larval forms, coaches and P.E. teachers.

[_blackjack_]

That said, the fact that the teachers had my back did very little good when the people with actual disciplinary power were convinced I must have done something to provoke it. It wasn't until it escalated beyond the school and into my own driveway that anything was done, and that was by the police.

The funny thing is, towards the end of high school, I probably COULD have stopped the actual harassment if I'd beaten one or two of them within an inch of his life, but by then I was so used to it that I actually figured it was better they should take it out on me than on somebody weaker. The posed no real threat to my safety, and it's not like I was ever going to have a normal social life anyway...

I would never wish what I went through on anybody, but I can honestly say I'm a lot stronger, and a lot more merciful, for the experience. (It did take me a while to stop sleeping in my boots and looking over my shoulder all the time, tho.)

[minniethemoocha]

Around 4th or 5th grade it was really bad for me. That was when I became depressed and started thinking about harming myself. What kept me from it was sheer stubbornness. I decided I wouldn't let it kill me. This was a valuable skill in later years as I developed more internally based unpleasantness.

[minniethemoocha]

Very good point -- management is more the issue.

[vicar]

Your views fascinate me and I'd like to subscribe to your newsletter. That is to say, I agree with what you said but you did such a thorough job that rings so true to me I can think of nothing more to add than "Testify!" or some bleating banter.

I might as well be clapping my hands like a seal at a teabagger rally, only, I actually understand what you said and how it fits into society.

[minniethemoocha]

Thanks. I think about this stuff a lot, and there's more to say on the subject that perhaps I'll address in a subsequent post.

[purejuice]

good one, thank you.

[minniethemoocha]

Still in it. Thanks.

[moominmuppet]

Not much to say except that this is really spot-on.

[minniethemoocha]

Working on it. I'm just glad that this is a topic being addressed in public, which it never was when I was growing up. No more kids should have to die over this bullshit.

[bonzaibeatdown]

Amyamy this was wonderful to read. You are so very correct with what you say! I was teased and picked on like so many kids. I was so confused by kids trying to start fights with me that I would just stand there and blink. Then I would have (as a real example!) "If you weren't so weird and I wasn't pregnant I would kick your ass!"

I also found that there is safety in numbers. Hanging out with other kids who were teased, even if we didn't like one another, helped deter the bullies who enjoyed any successful attempt to separate one from the herd.

[minniethemoocha]

"If you weren't so weird and I wasn't pregnant I would kick your ass!"

Head/desk.

Moving to a school with more than 10 kids in my class really helped. And even there, the culture was different (which was unexpected, since it was an all-girls' private school, where one might imagine the Mean Girls would be out in force).