Bullying – My experiences and why it’s a bad idea

I never experienced this until I went to a private school.  I thought it was unique to those type schools but I’ve been seeing a lot in the news about this subject.  Here’s my story.

We called it hazing and don’t see much difference except hazing usually involves only upper and lower classmen but there are always grey areas right?

I was fortunate to have an older brother in the school and he deflected some of my punishment but there was still some going on.   For example:

• Eating – there were times that desserts or other well-liked foods were forfeited.  There were other times we would be forced to eat things.  Some examples: 

Milkshakes (to be drunk as fast as possible)

butterscotch – milk with a healthy shot of mustard;

strawberry – milk with a healthy shot of ketchup; and

vanilla – milk with a heavy dose of salt.

• Beatings – in the recreation room, you would be made to touch your toes while the big part of a pool cue is swung at your bottom.  Mine was pretty boney!
• More beatings – if you were “caught” alone you might suffer at least one punch from whoever is there.  Never usually at the face.  Less evidence.
• Chores – we all had chores to do and there were times when we would be forced to do someone else’s.
• Flicking your ear or hitting you on the head (yes.  kinda like on NCIS) – this could happen at any time so if you were near an upper classman, you would be fearful.
• Showers – some got beat with a twirled up towel in the shower or locker room.

One thing we would always try to do.  No matter what, we wouldn’t cry or give the person(s) doing this the satisfaction that they were affecting us in any way.  As we became upper classmen, we stopped all that we saw.  If someone did it to someone else, we would intervene.  I’d like to think my class had something to do with abolishing this behavior (and thinking) for all those coming after us.

Why does this behavior happen in the first place?  Some of what I’ve described simply happens as a right of passage.  It happened to me so now it’s gonna happen to you.

I think other situations come about due to jealousy.  You have something I want.  You have something I don’t have (like playing an instrument or athletic ability or how you think or maybe even money or article of clothing or jewelry).  You have something I think you have.

In my early years, there was a paddle called the Board of Education for the Seat of Learning.  It was mostly used by the Principal but teachers sometimes used it too.