This Should Happen To All Bullies

[Robert Crisman]

Lennie was gay and liked to vamp with the girls at school; Gunnar, a big, squarehead jock, called Lennie a queer and made rape-o noises, and laughed as his friends stood around and laughed too.

Big bad mistake; Lennie's father had also taught him to box.

Lennie took Gunnar out in the woods by the school and put out his lights--that is to say, hurt him--and when Gunnar came to, Lennie told him, "Take off your clothes."

Gunnar shit in his jeans; he thought--well, you know what he thought...

Lennie then told him to let his mind work on what happens the next fucking time he got stupid.

Gunnar gave it a whole bunch of thought, and stayed quiet as mice the rest of that year, as did the other wannabe bullies, especially when Lennie vamped with the girls at school.

[Robert Crisman]

It's okay for Lennie to kick Gunnar's ass and not the other way around because if he hadn't Gunnar's shit would have just escalated. This way stopped it dead. As for the rest, read my and Mike's comments below. 

The notion that all violence is bad is simply ludicrous. Hell, MLK came to that realization after Chicago...

[Mike Handley]

Because words do not work with bullies. And, in the case presented, seems like Lennie's actions might well result in Gunnar's evolution into humanhood. Knocking someone's lights out is far from maiming, whereas taunting can indeed maim.

[Gita]

why is it okay for Lenny to beat the shit out of Gunnar but not okay for Gunnar to taunt Lenny verbally? Seems to me that the physical violence is an escalation of the verbal. I don't like either one.

 

 

[Robert Crisman]

@Other: I hear you. And all I know is, no other way of dealing with bullying, individually or socially, has yet been discovered. And as for Gunnar, whether or not he had an epiphany is open to question. He at least knows now that going after gay guys could conceivably bring him unforeseen and previously unimaginable consequences. This thought might in turn broaden to include an altered perception of the world in general, which in its turn might hasten the decision to examine his life choices and change up. It's been known to happen.

[Mike Handley]

Cool. Justice served indeed.

[Other]

I agree, some violence is salutary.  The bully will leave you alone.  That's good, but Gunnar has had no epiphany.  Violence rules.  That's just the way it is, huh?  No flaw in the social order that can be fixed.  It's why we have weapons we won't allow other nations to have.  Flex and terrorize.  I'm not saying it doesn't work for me.  I still might like to have my own Nimitz docked, if I could afford it, just in case Gunnar gets one.  What else to do? 

[Robert Crisman]

@Other: You and I are going to have to disagree on this one. The "logic" of the bully is pretty much, I have a right to hurt somebody weaker than me in order to feel that I'm okay. How does fighting back prove that? If anything, fighting back gives the bully the opportunity to rethink his or her assumptions. And if he won't, well, you can always hurt him so bad that the very thought of bullying thereafter will make him vomit. Aversion therapy, you know what I'm saying?

In any event, my experience is, you fight a bully, he's not going to fuck with you anymore, and that's a start. There's violence and violence, and some of it is salutary in this world.

[Other]

The revenge of the skinny guy, however laudable, merely proves the logic of the bully. It's like chortling that the child molester, just sentenced to 20 years, will get his real punishment in the showers with 'Bubba'. Justice is as sick as he is. Why is that? Violence is just so fucking cool, isn't it?  Is there any other way out?  Gunnar hasn't changed, just his victims.

[Adrian George Nicolae]

The "take off your clothes" line made me chuckle.

The fight scene reminded me a bit of "The perks of being a wallflower" although something different happens in the movie.

[Joey Delgado]

Filled me with a strong sense of justice served. Well done, Robert. Thanks for posting this.