Wow - I expected a lot of potential responses to my story, but did not expect an insinuation that the victims were themselves to blame. That’s really pretty mean, don’t you think?
I really find it impossible to believe that people go out of their way to be picked on, tormented, or tortured in High School. In fact, this attitude is exactly that taken by many of the bullies in the “In Crowd” at my school, who joked amonst themselves that “it’s their fault! I mean if he/she wasn’t such a spaz, I wouldn’t pick on them!”
After reading about the pain that I and others felt, you assume that we must not only have not avoided being a target, but in fact went out of our way to make ourselves targets? That’s actually not only mean, but very scary that someone thinks that is a likely scenario.
This not only assumes a lot, but is irrelevant to the issue of outcast kids being tortured by the popular in crowd.
Hey boys and girls, let’s have some fun. Let’s take the above two quotes and put them in a slightly different light, all through the miracle of paraphrasing. It might open a window of explaination as to the thought process involved in these statements:
“To every woman who was sexually harassed or raped. Did any of you do anything to make yourselves less of a target? I swear it seemed like some of the women that were harassed or raped went out of the way to make themselves targets.”
And:
“Somehow I wouldn’t doubt it if you went out of your way to look slutty in an effort to get some sort of attention. Any kind of attention.”
Unfair paraphrasing? Perhaps. But I don’t think it’s such a great leap from one attitude to another, yes?
I’m assuming from these words (not the paraphrased ones) and your other posts that you were not one of the outcast crowd in HS.
Leave me out of this one, sir. I desperately tried to conform. Who wouldn’t, if it offered an alternative to being friendless, outcast, and tormented? I’m not ashamed to say I tried to conform to blend in - but it’s no good once the “in crowd” has passed their judgement on you.
And then we have this statement, in response to pepperlandgirl’s comment about being slapped around a bit by the linebackers:
Wow - so when “copping an attitude”, one can only expect physical abuse as a result? UNPUNISHED physical abuse by popular students on outcast students? Are you saying that you would try something physical with someone who “cops an attitude” with you? If I “copped an attitude” with you, I wonder whatever would happen IRL?
And finally, we have this:
From pepperlandgirl:
**
From yourself:
Wait a minute here. Earlier, you asked if we “did anything to make ourselves less of a target”, and now you say the very act of making yourself less of a target is what makes you a target? So damned if you do, damned if you don’t? And then you just get hit again?
This also conflicts with what you say earlier, when you claimed that pepperlandgirl probably went out of her way to attract attention (thus assuring the “target” status), and yet now you say that when she says she attracted as little attention as possible, now THAT’s what made her a target? The “blood in the water”?
Wow, this sort of criminal jock mentality is either too deep to fathom, or completely fucked up and just plain sick, folks.
And with this final example, I can only conclude that not only do you have no real principles that are consistant on this matter, but you have no credibility whatsoever in your assertion that life was tough for you in school as well. Would it be unfair of me to picture you in a jacket covered with athletic letters?
But then, I don’t want to “cop an attitude” with you. That would likely just get me hit if we met IRL.