Standing up to a bully

When I was in middle school, my friends and I were on the football team and raced from class at the other end of the hall to the locker room. We had to get into our football equipment and out onto the field. Our coaches wanted us on time. They didn’t want us to be goofing off in the locker room.

We weren’t allowed in the equipment supply closet. Jerseys and gear had a habit of growing legs and walking out of the closet. An equipment manager, an adult helper, had to get our equipment for us. He would bring it from behind a locked door to the front of the equipment room. Unfortunately, I ran into a bully.

He acted like he was everyone’s friend. However, he kept passing me up. It was like a scene from the Soup Nazi episode on Seinfeld without the laughs. The “Soup Nazi” says “No soup for you!” to customers who don’t follow his strict ordering procedures.

Instead of “no soup today for you,” I got “no equipment for you.”

A power trip

The first couple of days I thought it was just a bad joke. I would show up early and the guy would make me be the last person to get his equipment. I would ask for my equipment politely. Still, he insisted that I wait until he said “yes.”

I figured I must have done something wrong. A week into the bully treatment I tried once to go around him. I attempted to get help from his student helper. That just made him madder.

I’m not sure why he decided to pick on me or what his aim was. I think mainly it was his way of having power over someone weaker. I think he viewed the hazing as a form of toughening me up. Who knows? Each time I was late getting to the field the coaches grumbled about my tardiness. They stressed the importance of showing leadership and arriving on time. The bullying went on until the coaches started meeting in the locker room office. Of course, when they were around, he acted like a saint.

A scary thought

Looking back, I’m glad that was the extent of the bullying. An adult on a power trip. Young kids. Locker room. As an adult, my mind races with horrible images and thoughts of what could have happened. I could be writing about a whole different kind of story. I never heard any rumors or stories about the equipment manager, but it still makes me wonder. The signs were there. You don’t have to stretch your imagination far. I could have easily been a statistic.

Most of us have faced some type of bullying in our lives. Since that time, I’ve celebrated Cinderellas who rise above their bullies. I cheer them on. I know what it feels like. I’m especially drawn to movies that show how we shine when rise up above our bully.

Here’s some of my favorite Bully Getting What He Deserves Movies:

Finding Forrester (2000)

The author of a famous book played by Sean Connery, helps 16-year-old Jamal discover his writing prowess and stand up to his bully English teacher. “There’s one more issue here. Those words that I read today. I didn’t write them. Jamal Wallace did.”

Stand by Me (1986)

The boys get gang leader and bully Ace Merrill, portrayed by Kiefer Sutherland, to stand down.

Hidden Figures (2016)

Katherine Johnson fights her way into a key Pentagon meeting, where she’s asked to do the math to solve complex differential equations for John Glenn’s return to Earth. In doing so, she earns Glenn’s trust and respect and leaves her bullies in the dust.

Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban (2004)

Hermione beats up Draco Malfoy. Yes. One of the best parts of the whole darned series. In the words of Ron Weasley, the legend himself, Herminone’s move was “Not good, brilliant.”

The Karate Kid (1984)

Bully Johnny Lawrence uses brute force and martial arts to torment the new kid, but Daniel LaRusso gets the ultimate revenge.

What’s your favorite overcoming a bully movie?