When I was in school, I was a shrimp. Thick horn-rimmed glasses. Nuclear acne. Bad hair. And a serious bookworm.
In sum, a target. A target for those few kids who got their jollies by preying on the small and weak.
I was told by my parents and teachers, "Just talk to the bullies. Try to get them to understand that they're hurting you, and that's not right."
I always replied with, "What planet are you from?"
To be honest, I tried the pacifist route. The result: More scorn, and more severe beatings.
Then I started fighting back. Usually, simply telling the bully to step way the hell back or we'd both go to the hospital was sufficient to stop an impending attack. But not always; bullies aren't generally known for their common sense.
So I sometimes fought. Hard. Not always fairly, either. Lots of kicks to the balls and biting. Sometimes screaming maniacally and making like I was gonna tear their throats out with my teeth.
Amazingly enough, the tactic worked. After a few incidents, word got around. "Don't fsck with The Geek, man. Dude's crazy!" Harassment dropped off to zero by the time I graduated.
Are we seeing parallels here? We are the geeks. The government is the bully. Do we really need to start going for their balls and throats?
It would appear to be so. We tell them to stop, and they beat us harder. We meet attacks with "understanding," and get stomped into the ground.
For what it's worth, I've found the simple expedient of telling them "NO!" loudly and clearly works... sometimes. After I ranted at the FBI about NICS and my name change, they stopped hassling me. (Of course, I'm more than likely on their list for it, but I'll burn that bridge when I come to it.) When cops try to tell me I can't carry a loaded handgun, I tell them to read up on the law, and give them the exact wording of said laws... telling them, politely, to back way the hell off. No negative repercussions.
I don't bother writing to my "elected representatives" anymore. It's gotten me no further than asking the bullies back in school to please stop hitting me. I haven't gotten to the point of hitting back... yet. But if this bullshiite continues, I don't see that I have a choice. It comes down to self-preservation: stand up for yourself, or be stomped.
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How does it become a man to behave toward this American government to-day?
I answer, that he cannot without disgrace be associated with it.
--Thoreau, "Civil Disobedience"
In sum, a target. A target for those few kids who got their jollies by preying on the small and weak.
I was told by my parents and teachers, "Just talk to the bullies. Try to get them to understand that they're hurting you, and that's not right."
I always replied with, "What planet are you from?"
To be honest, I tried the pacifist route. The result: More scorn, and more severe beatings.
Then I started fighting back. Usually, simply telling the bully to step way the hell back or we'd both go to the hospital was sufficient to stop an impending attack. But not always; bullies aren't generally known for their common sense.
So I sometimes fought. Hard. Not always fairly, either. Lots of kicks to the balls and biting. Sometimes screaming maniacally and making like I was gonna tear their throats out with my teeth.
Amazingly enough, the tactic worked. After a few incidents, word got around. "Don't fsck with The Geek, man. Dude's crazy!" Harassment dropped off to zero by the time I graduated.
Are we seeing parallels here? We are the geeks. The government is the bully. Do we really need to start going for their balls and throats?
It would appear to be so. We tell them to stop, and they beat us harder. We meet attacks with "understanding," and get stomped into the ground.
For what it's worth, I've found the simple expedient of telling them "NO!" loudly and clearly works... sometimes. After I ranted at the FBI about NICS and my name change, they stopped hassling me. (Of course, I'm more than likely on their list for it, but I'll burn that bridge when I come to it.) When cops try to tell me I can't carry a loaded handgun, I tell them to read up on the law, and give them the exact wording of said laws... telling them, politely, to back way the hell off. No negative repercussions.
I don't bother writing to my "elected representatives" anymore. It's gotten me no further than asking the bullies back in school to please stop hitting me. I haven't gotten to the point of hitting back... yet. But if this bullshiite continues, I don't see that I have a choice. It comes down to self-preservation: stand up for yourself, or be stomped.
------------------
How does it become a man to behave toward this American government to-day?
I answer, that he cannot without disgrace be associated with it.
--Thoreau, "Civil Disobedience"