502 - Who were you and who have you become?

@Tim Gleason wrote a great story the other day about overcoming being bullied in school.

Tim came through it by winning a surfing competition and it made all the difference for him.

Here is the original post: https://bit.ly/3QhWfUV

Isn't sad how shallow people are sometimes? Who raises children to be so callous and hurtful?

I wrote my own lengthy reply in his post about a situation I experienced after being, not so much bullied as, ridiculed.

But more than anything, it got me thinking about the person I was as a child.

I experienced a bit of bullying but nothing that had any lasting affect.

What I do remember are the times I withdrew in fear and disgust of those doing the bullying to others.

I was not strong enough to stand up for those being bullied because I felt I was part of them.

Instead, I cowered and stood by doing nothing. I was speechless and weak.

I remember walking home from school several times with tears in my eyes because I had seen yet another kid get beat up or verbally abused.

It happened to short kids, tall kids, skinny and fat kids. There were white and black kids.

It didn't matter.

Bullies don't care who they tormented, as long as they have someone to pick on.

Bullying must not be tolerated.

Parents who believe their child would never do such a thing, should open their eyes and pay attention.

Not every bully comes from a bad home.

There are many reasons people become bullies.

The reason they remain bullies is that no one calls them out on it soon enough.

Bullies exist within families, schools and in the workplace. Some of them are outspoken and abrasive, while others are quietly poisonous.

Do you call out people on bullying or do you cower, like I once did, for fear of being the next victim?