BULLYING SCENES
Supporting someone who’s being bullied isn’t all that hard. Let me tell you what happened last week. I had finished running laps around the track, and was headed toward the locker room...
Hold up, I’m getting ahead of the story. Let me start by introducing Hal, our track and field assistant. Coach asked him to help us out this season and, even though he’s in a wheelchair, he keeps up with all the equipment and records the “stats.” But he doesn’t just write down our running times at meets, he remembers all the times in his head! He can tell you how far off you are from your best time and when you break a record.
OK. Back to last week....I was headed in from the track when Hal called out to me, “Josh, wait up!. I’ll roll with you into the locker room.”
I said, “Sure. I could use the lift in your wheelchair after the practice I had today.”
Brick, our best lineman on the football team, came around from the back of the field house and heard us talking. He teased Hal by saying, “Ahhhh, that’s too cute! Say Hal, sounds like you are sweet on Josh?
He flicked a towel at Hal’s legs, and in a loud, high voice he repeated, “Oh Josh...wait up. Care to join me for a wheely, dealy?”
I could tell that Hal was upset and didn’t know what to say. I stepped in between Brick and Hal, and said, “Lay off it, Brick. No one thinks that’s funny. Come on Hal, I think we’ve heard enough of Brick’s dumb jokes.”
Inside the locker room, I told Hal, “I’m guessing that wasn’t the first time Brick has hit you and called you name, right?” At first, Hal didn’t want to talk about it. He was holding back tears. I guess he was ashamed. But, he admitted that Brick had bothered him everyday for the past two months--ever since Coach made him the track team’s assistant.
“Brick doesn’t quit no matter what I do,” Hal explained. “This is my problem, Josh, sorry to put you in the middle. I thought if we were together, he’d leave me alone. But I’ll deal with it.”
I didn’t back off. Instead I told him about how Thor used to bully me. [Possibly include 5th picture from the What is Bullying? poster] Like when he stole my running shoes and threw them in the lake.
“Look,” I said, “a kid who bullies is everyone’s problem. We’ve all run into jerks like Brick. Let’s go see Coach and tell him what just happened.”
We found Coach Cruncher on the football field. He gave us a half smile and asked what was up. I started by telling Coach what had just happened, how Brick flicked Hal with the towel and teased him. This was enough to get Hal to tell him about the other things Brick had said and done. We found it easy to talk to Coach Cruncher because we knew from his look that he didn’t like what he was hearing.
Once we had finished talking, Coach said, “I’m sad to say that nothing you said surprises me; Brick can be pretty out-of-control. Hal, I’ll make sure Brick understands that his bullying must stop or he won’t see the inside of the locker room for a long time. And, Josh, you’ve again proven to be a star player, not for running the fastest times but for sticking up for your teammate.”
The next day, I was quick to be at Hal’s side after practice. I helped him pick up the equipment. As we were walking to the field house, we saw Brick leaving in the opposite direction. Coach must have set him straight, because now he leaves us alone at school. We think he must be showering at home after practice these days since we haven’t seen him come near the locker room.
