Member-only story
It’s easy to view the minority as victims; and sometimes to overcompensate.
There are some phenomenons that transcend language and culture, and the school bully is one of them.
In every land where there are kids running around a playground, there’ll always be that one boy who grew up bigger than the rest. And there’ll be that one uncool kid who was scrawny, but maybe smarter. In the innocence of child play the former often leads a group to ostracize the latter. The bullying could be unkind words or exclusion from group play, or even physical blows.
I know, because I was that scrawny kid who was too arrogant for his own good. Throughout my elementary school I was ostracized, and a couple of times it got physical…
So I know what it feels like to be the small guy surviving against an unkind, punitive crowd. But growing up as I look at the world around me I couldn’t help but wonder if we sometimes tilt too much towards protecting the small guys.
Pride
When I was a kid I had perfect eyesight. I put on my Dad’s glasses a couple of times wondering what’s it like to be short-sighted. Of course it was all just a blurry mess. Now I am short-sighted so I don’t have to pretend anymore to empathize.
