Victims

I heard a story last night. Oh, it's not a big story. It'll never make the news, and events like it have already been repeated thousands of times in thousands of towns across the country (nay, across the world) in the time since this event has happened. Although most of them turn out a little differently.

This is a story about a kid named Tommy. I've known him and his family for a few years now. He lives in a town not too far from me. Tommy is 14. He's a little small for his age. Good kid, energetic, smart, funny, he's got a general clean-cut look about him. He got into a little trouble in school last week, but then a lot of kids that age do.

Why'd he get into trouble?

It's his first year in high school, and as I said he's kinda small for his age, and with that clean-cut look he was a natural target for bullies. Apparently a couple of the older, bigger kids singled out Tommy, and started to taunt him, to threaten him.

Tommy played it smart as long as he could. He avoided the bullies. He'd see them coming, he'd go the other way, or just change his path so that he'd give them a wide berth.

But that tactic only lasts so long. In fact, it really only works at all if the torment is arandom, an off-the-cuff event. Once a bully has made up his mind that another kid is the target, the victim...well, avoiding won't work, because eventually the bullies will come looking for their target. No matter how much you try to avoid somebody who is looking for a fight, if he's really looking for a fight he'll find you eventually. And that fight will happen. (And, I suppose, this is as true with civilizations and nations as well as with individuals. But I digress.)

I guess these two bullies figured that they had put some kind of fear into Tommy. They saw a victim. There were two of them, and Tommy's not very big for his age, so it didn't take them long to peg Tommy as being afraid. And it didn't take them long to figure out a prank that would terrorize Tommy, and show him just how strong they were...and just how much he'd better fear them.

The three of them were in a classroom, I hear it was a shop class. The two bullies decided it was time to make their move. One grabbed Tommy from behind, pinned his arms.

The other one pulled out a razor, and advanced on Tommy. I hear the plan was to shave Tommy's head. I guess we'll never know for sure.

Tommy's a little small for his age. A bright kid, clean-cut, energetic. The bullies knew that.

What they didn't know is that Tommy is this close to earning his black belt in kempo karate. He's got the most amazing flying kick...but I digress again.

When the first bully grabbed him from behind, Tommy fell into a well-practiced technique that involves an elbow to the rear, and a follow-up kick. His attacker fell to the ground, clutching his stomach, wailing in pain. They tell me Tommy turned to the other one, a fierce look in his eye, a "C'mon, give it your best shot" look on his face. The other bully was shocked, and ran off. Victims aren't supposed to fight back, after all. They hadn't expected resistance. They hadn't expected Tommy to fight. They hadn't expected to get hit.

The fight now over, Tommy then went and told a teacher what happened, as he was taught by his karate instructor.

Well, the school suspended the bullies, as you might expect.

The good news is that Tommy's parents are proud and supportive of what he did, his friends are in awe, and now when the bullies see Tommy in the hall, they avoid him.

The bad news is that the school apparently has a "zero tolerance" policy, because they suspended Tommy along with the bullies.

Yep, suspended, for fighting back.

And that's one of the problems with the schools today. This is the lesson that they're pounding into the heads of children. "Don't fight" is a good lesson. But "Don't fight back" results in a generation of victims. And sadly, because there will always be bullies, "Don't fight back" just makes their victims more vulnerable, thinking "I'll get into worse trouble if I resist."

If Tommy hadn't fought back, I suppose he wouldn't have gotten suspended. The bullies would have. But Tommy would have a shaved head, plus any other injuries that they may have inflicted. Who is to say that with the adrenalin flowing, and flush with the victory over a small kid, that they wouldn't have done worse?

Fortunately, we'll never know, because one thing seems sure: they won't try anything like that to Tommy again.

I'm really proud of Tommy for fighting back, for refusing to be a victim.

Tommy's 14. I'm marking my calendar for 2007, when he turns 18. I'm buyin' him a beer.