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Op-ed: Friendship as a Solution to Bullying
Though he’s not gay, LGBT ally and Real World alum Scott Herman knows about bullies, but a recent road rage assault reminds him that people can change.
I grew up being bullied in school by both kids my age as well as my older brother and his friends. When I was 12 I had decided that I wanted to be big and strong like the heroes in my comic books, and thus my journey into fitness began. I thought that if I was bigger and stronger then bullies would leave me alone, but that didn’t prove to be the case. Although I was not picked on as much, I still had to defend myself from time to time, and had to defend my friends if needed. I had always been a very observant person and growing up these experiences taught me that you should always do your best to avoid any sort of physical altercation, but to never ignore a bully, because they will find someone else to pick on.
About four months ago I was involved in a road rage incident that resulted in three arrests, a banged-up vehicle, and a bit of shattered pride. Luckily, the incident did not lead to any bodily harm. When passing through an intersection in my town, the driver of a new truck with dealer plates flipped me off. I thought it might have been a friend—he was with two others—who were teasing me for not recognizing him in a new truck. So when the truck pulled off the road, I approached in my car.
Three men jumped out, and one yelled, “You want to fight, faggot?”
www.advocate.com/Politics/Commentary/Oped_Friendship_as_a_Solution_to_Bullying/
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