Just Ignore it

by Alec
(Oregon)

I've usually been able to fly under the radar and avoid being bullied, but the one time I remember was freshman year in high school. There was this kid who sat behind me in Spanish class who always made fun of me and poked me and kicked my chair and generally just did things to be annoying.

I asked him why he did it, to which he replied, "it's fun." This went on for several weeks, and i fantasized about ways to get revenge on him. My favorite idea was just giving him a good hard kick in the shins someday, but thankfully, that never materialized.


I seriously considered speaking to my Spanish teacher about it, to move me to another spot, but she seemed oblivious to the whole thing, and again I didn't think that was a good idea. I figured that I was being stupid so I just ignored the kid.

And it worked! Within a week, he lost all interest and went on to do other things. Being bullied is not fun! I could have easily struck the kid in retaliation, but I'm really not a violent person, so it feels really helpless to be bullied, especially when you don't have any friends to back you.

At the same time, it’s hard to reason with bullies, because I believe they enjoy inflicting physical or emotional distress on another person. I just hope my story can help others cope with being bullied, and that if they just ignore it or play it off, it will go away!




Response from Dr. DeFoore

Good story, Alec. I'm guessing that much of the time, your strategy is the best. There may be other times when a more assertive response is needed, as other contributors to this site have suggested. Thanks for your contribution!

Believe in yourself, and your own gut feeling about what is right.

You can do this!

My very best to you,

Dr. DeFoore