General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Have you ever been bullied? [View all]davsand
(13,421 posts)This idiot actually looked me dead in the eye and said it. It was a near thing, and I'm pretty sure he never realized just how close he came to the edge with me. I do know that my secretaries were ready to kick the shit out of him in the parking lot once they heard what he'd said, and my male officemate refused to let the guy anyplace near me the next time he came in. It was THAT bad. I'm 50 years old and I work in a government office. I have been sworn at, threatened, sued, and had a knife broken off in my car tire, but that asshole made it to the top of my "greatest hits" list with that one comment.
Yes, the scars are that deep.
People flutter around and proclaim how awful bullies are, but I really think most of the world has NO freaking clue just how deep that pain goes once you've endured it. My 15 year old has had three different friends in the last year that have either been cutting themselves or have threatened suicide. I have to wonder, had I come up in these times would I have felt that same futility? Would I have given up and sought death? I want to hope not, but I still wonder if maybe my toughness is because of when and how I grew up. My attitude is a refusal to just "take" shit anymore--I refuse to give up and let the assholes of this world win. It took a lot to get me here.
Laura