Bullying

I remember one fine day, I was sitting with my Grandpa. He looked at me inquisitive like.

“What’s eating your goat?” He said, in his deep, deep voice.

“I was just wondering, and all,” I said.

“That sounds like a whole heap of trouble,” he said, smiling.

“I just wondered where bullies came from, Grandpa?”

“Have you been getting troubled?” He asked, worriedly.

“Not me. A friend.”

He looked at me to see if I was lying. But I wasn’t. It was my bud, Shaky. He was getting bullied real bad.

“Well, mostly bullies come from here (he pointed to his heart) and here (he pointed to his head.”

“So you’re born a bully.” I said.

“Nope. No one’s born a bully. Bullies are made. They rely on one thing, though – the fact that words don’t leave bruises. At least not ones that show. But bullies can leave scars in a person’s mind that lasts the whole of a lifetime. You see, the worst kind of terrible is to see another getting success and you ain’t. So you get mean like and maybe a little jealous and you start to resent the other’s luck. So you bully them because you feel that the world must be against you. The real mean ones, bully ‘cause a person looks, or seems different. Those folks are weak. They take strength in looking the same as other folks. But they are mean and they are bad. The world is awash with the mediocre and those are the ones who bully. Now don’t get me wrong, they ain’t mediocre at bullying, that is their one strength. But we are on this planet such a short time, that to bully has got to be the worst kind of sin. In school kids bully. Because they see it and hear it at home. Bullies make bullies. No one is born equal to anyone else. So there are always going to be people who think they are getting the short end of the straw. They ain’t – it’s just seems that way. Two people kiss and a person doesn’t agree with that, or a boy has a face that is different in a lot of ways, or a girl has a mark on her body. So what? So goddamn what? It is the folks who kiss, or the child locked in the room or the girl with the mark who has to face up to the world every day. They are the strong. The bullies are weak. They are the worst of all possible beings.”

“I hear ya, Grandpa but that ain’t going to help my friend.”

“No but you can. You aren’t a bully. You are strong. Remember bullies are weak and contribute nothing to this world. You can stand up and make a difference. We have to stop bullies creating more bullies. We have to stop children bringing their lives to an end because they can’t go on. Bullying is a virus that need to be cured.”

And he was right. Bullying never sleeps. We have to fight it until it goes away for good.

bobby stevenson 2020