Free to own guns.
Free to say whatever you want, no matter how offensive, hateful, or wrong.
Free to sell products or run companies that literally kill other people.
Free to influence elections with your money.
But mow your fucking lawn or we'll eat you alive!

America, fuck yeah!

First, I just really want to thank you for sharing something this personal with us. I agree doing nothing and just letting the bullying happen is bad. But I disagree that violence is the only or best solution to the problem. I'm not trying to dismiss what you went through, but you kind of made my point from my post above--this reacting in violence just perpetuates the cycle of violence. According to your own account, those guys that bullied you stopped bullying you and moved on to others who couldn't fight back. And you actually became the (verbal) bully yourself after that kid came back from surgery.

Am I saying you shouldn't have defended yourself? No. I don't know the particulars of your situation. All I'm saying is that when we send the message to kids that "standing up to bullies" means kicking the shit out of them we're not solving the problem at all--we're in fact perpetuating it and setting up tragedies, like that kid whose lip you tore off in your rage.

Just to make it clear, I'm not saying anything you did is wrong. As someone who experienced bullying I totally relate to everything you said--including calling that kid asslips after he got back to school (probably would have done the same thing when I was a kid). I'm just pointing out this video shows basically nothing has changed since you were a kid--kids get bullied, snap, and do things that they might later really regret. The bullies meanwhile move on to weaker targets. They cycle continues. It just seems to me that as a society we need to come up with a better solution than meeting violence with violence.

>> ^enoch:

it depends where you live.
where i grew up if you didnt stand up for yourself they would eat you alive and make your school experience a living hell.
why?
because some kids (who then grow up with the same mentality) crave to dominate who/what they perceive as "weaker" in order to counter their own sense of unworthiness and helplessness.
i was a pretty easy going kid and really had no desire to do violence (still dont) but in 8th grade one kid started working me over..small things at first..and i did my best to avoid any confrontation.
within 3 months i had a list of kids picking on me.
i started missing school due to "stomach aches..mystery fevers etc etc".i was petrified to go to school because of these kids.
understand i was not a small kid,i was already 6" by then and strong as an ox.i just had no desire for confrontation or violence but i have an incredibly volatile temper.
the pressure finally built up to a point i could no longer control my temper and with in ONE week i unleashed all that pent up rage/hurt and fear.
i still remember their names.
i still remember what i did to them.
one kid i beat SO bad and in such a violent rage actually RIPPED his bottom lip off.
they literally had to take skin grafts from his asshole to reconstruct his lips.
my friends would call this kid "asslips" for the rest of the year and i would join in...but i shouldnt have.
because now when i think about it all i feel is shame.
but...no one ever messed with again...ever.
and i learned to never back down.
to step right in to whoever had the misconception they could dominate me through the threat of violence.
i learned that if i merely HINTED that i would bring a hell upon whomever messed with me was enough to make them look for another victim.
this also gave me an appreciation for those who are not violent and wish to avoid conflict so all through high school it was i who intervened for the small dude who just wanted to get to class.
the kid who was a bit odd or different.
because i understood how soul-crushing it can be for a little kid.
to this day i do not tolerate bullying.
so while spoco is correct on moral grounds.those of us who have experienced first hand bullying rejoice knowing that this kid will never be messed with again during his time in this school.
and that is not a bad thing.
both kids learned something.
one learned to stand up for himself.
the other learned that what may at first seem an easy mark to make yourself feel big and important may just be the mark who is going to humiliate you in front of your friends.
it's a win-win.

it depends where you live.
where i grew up if you didnt stand up for yourself they would eat you alive and make your school experience a living hell.
why?
because some kids (who then grow up with the same mentality) crave to dominate who/what they perceive as "weaker" in order to counter their own sense of unworthiness and helplessness.

i was a pretty easy going kid and really had no desire to do violence (still dont) but in 8th grade one kid started working me over..small things at first..and i did my best to avoid any confrontation.
within 3 months i had a list of kids picking on me.
i started missing school due to "stomach aches..mystery fevers etc etc".i was petrified to go to school because of these kids.
understand i was not a small kid,i was already 6" by then and strong as an ox.i just had no desire for confrontation or violence but i have an incredibly volatile temper.
the pressure finally built up to a point i could no longer control my temper and with in ONE week i unleashed all that pent up rage/hurt and fear.
i still remember their names.
i still remember what i did to them.
one kid i beat SO bad and in such a violent rage actually RIPPED his bottom lip off.
they literally had to take skin grafts from his asshole to reconstruct his lips.
my friends would call this kid "asslips" for the rest of the year and i would join in...but i shouldnt have.
because now when i think about it all i feel is shame.
but...no one ever messed with again...ever.
and i learned to never back down.
to step right in to whoever had the misconception they could dominate me through the threat of violence.
i learned that if i merely HINTED that i would bring a hell upon whomever messed with me was enough to make them look for another victim.
this also gave me an appreciation for those who are not violent and wish to avoid conflict so all through high school it was i who intervened for the small dude who just wanted to get to class.
the kid who was a bit odd or different.
because i understood how soul-crushing it can be for a little kid.
to this day i do not tolerate bullying.

so while spoco is correct on moral grounds.those of us who have experienced first hand bullying rejoice knowing that this kid will never be messed with again during his time in this school.
and that is not a bad thing.
both kids learned something.
one learned to stand up for himself.
the other learned that what may at first seem an easy mark to make yourself feel big and important may just be the mark who is going to humiliate you in front of your friends.
it's a win-win.

>> ^Gallowflak:
>> ^rottenseed:
Kill and eat anything you'd like. Chances are whatever you are eating, would eat you if you were below it in the food chain. And they'd probably eat you alive.

Because there's no difference between an animal acting according to its requirements and an intelligent, self-aware, sapient species making decisions that maximize cruelty.


Oh ok...so they're too smart to eat, but too dumb to be looked at fairly?

>> ^rottenseed:

Kill and eat anything you'd like. Chances are whatever you are eating, would eat you if you were below it in the food chain. And they'd probably eat you alive.


Because there's no difference between an animal acting according to its requirements and an intelligent, self-aware, sapient species making decisions that maximize cruelty.

Kill and eat anything you'd like. Chances are whatever you are eating, would eat you if you were below it in the food chain. And they'd probably eat you alive.

>> ^eric3579:
I can't stand how long these rides just sit at the top.

Really? That's the scariest part of the ride. The slow ascent then the anxiety that eats you alive as you look at the earth's horizon anticipating. waiting. dying a little inside. breath weakening. until finally... You scream like a little girl. (Or at least I did my one time on such a ride.)