Slightly Different

It may sound strange, but sometimes I prefer being as drastically different as I am. Once people meet me, they know I have some serious issues and they are immediately nice to me. They would never tease me or make fun of me. Even the "typical" kids I've known from kindergarten through 4th grade have been nice and have never teased or bullied me. Lots of my "atypical" brethren experience the same treatment, whether they have abby normal brains like mine, or they have visible physical limitations. The more messed up you are, the more likely you won't be teased or bullied. Even the bullies steer clear. Obviously there are still a few cowards who poke fun of handicapped people behind their backs or behind closed doors, but I have yet to see someone do it directly. So while my friends and I are safe from the majority of bullies, I feel deeply for the kids, and adults, out there who are "slightly different". They are "normal" compared to me, but they may be smaller, or act differently, or have something about them that makes them slightly different from the majority of "perfect" people around them. These are the poor souls who are fair game for the bullies. Like the poor boy near Pittsburgh this week who finally snapped in such a severe way from the stress of being slightly different and the effect of the teasing of the perfect kids. He was slightly different and his life has been ruined by the bullies. 

Now, I know many many kids like Big Bro, Big Sis and all of their teenage friends who would never tease someone different in order to make themselves fit in more with the cool kids. I guess that's because they are not insecure and they have the right people in their lives making them feel good about themselves and teaching them to help others to make yourself feel better, rather than demeaning others. My dad says bullies are the product of bad parents and they are to blame. I think he's right for the most part, but I also think that if I saw a schoolmate being bullied, I would help to stop it. So, I wonder why so many kids, teachers and parents don't step in to stop bullying when they see it. It's not really that hard to notice. I don't think we can ever fix the bad parenting. It reminds me of a quote from the movie Parenthood where Tod with one D, states "You know, Mrs. Buckman, you need a license to buy a dog, to drive a car - hell you even need a license to catch a fish. But they'll let any (insert bad adjective followed by bad noun) be a father" Tod is right, bully-makers will continue to do their poor job at parenting, unleashing the jerks of the world upon us, but we don't have to accept that. I beg of every kid, teacher, coach and parent to pay attention and step in when they see a bully or when they see someone teasing. Don't yell at them, but talk to them. Tell them how that makes people feel. Tell them they don't need to belittle someone else to make themselves more secure. Give them what their parents are not, and you might just save their life and the life of someone who is slightly different.