Jeroen wrote: > How much worse? Let me put it this way. From the day I first went to school > till I was about 16 or 17 years old, life was *hell*. I have very few > *good* childhood memories (plenty of bad ones, though). It only got > gradually better after that. We are talking childhood *trauma* here, not > just some bad memories. The only words that correctly describe what I have > gone through is schoolyard terrorism. Had I been a bit bigger and a bit > stronger, I probably would have killed someone, or at least done some very > serious damage to certain people (I certainly killed several of them > repeatedly in my mind back then -- and those were no quick and painless > deaths). > > This bullying still happens, and is not limited to red-haired kids. If you > manage to fall into any minority category, you will get picked on. School > staff are notorious for not dealing with it (they tend to look the other > way), but even the government has now recognised the huge problem and has > launched campaigns to fight it. > > That is not going to stop kids from bullying other kids, though. > Fortunately for Tom, he does not have red hair (although most males of the > Van Baardwijk clan have it) so he will be less likely to become a victim. > But if he does become a victim of bullying, his daddy will be there to > teach him The Rules Of Engagement: the first time it happens, give the > bully a warning; the second time it happens, kick the bully where it > *really* hurts. No mercy.
Exactly - after I gave up on rationally discussing the differences I had with bullies, I took a different tack - I stood up to them, and if they threw the first punch, I did my level best to take them out of commission. 95% of the time, I got my a$$ kicked, but 100% of the time, it was decided that I was too much hassle for the benefits gained by picking on me. By 6th grade, I was pretty much left alone by the bullies. My parents are strong enough in their convictions to be pacifists. I' m not. Adam [EMAIL PROTECTED]
