I was bullied by a group of 3 kids when I was young, early on in elementary school. I told the teachers, they didn’t do anything. The bullies would spend recess harassing me, punching and pushing me to the ground.

Eventually I told my dad. He looked at me calmly and said, “Steven, you may get your ass kicked, but punch the leader as hard as you can square in his nose. They won’t bother you again. “

So, I did it. I got suspended, scolded by staff and my mother. It did work though. The kid was even afraid of me, his group gave me a wide berth whenever they saw me.

It was an invaluable lesson I learned at a young age. It doesn’t mean you always need to resort to violence, but bullies don’t like being embarrassed. Stand up for yourself and others around you.

Side note: My pops was damn proud of me, it made the scolding from my mom much easier to handle. My father was a good man. Rip.