I remember a boy in my sixth-grade class who was a bully. Always acting tough, he bragged about how strong he was. Billy would target a shy or smaller boy, taunting and poking him until he began to cry. Then he would further humiliate the vulnerable boy by shouting “Mama’s boy!” One time I tried to intervene, and he just laughed at me, shouting, “Teacher’s pet!” and other demeaning words.
He scared most kids, but some boys became his sidekicks. I joined some girls who said we should tell our teacher. This would make him very angry if he found out, but we decided to take the risk. One day when Billy was at the gym for basketball practice, we asked for some private time with our teacher and she took us to an empty office. We outlined in detail what he had been doing to a number of boys in our class. She listened carefully, thanked us for the detailed report, and said she would talk to him about this behavior.
Does this bully remind you of anyone we all know? Bullying tactics seem to come very naturally to our President Trump. Using money as his major weapon, he bends the rules to get what he wants with universities, social service agencies, and judges.
We need to use our weapons of money and persuasive power to assure that the November election results in a power base that will stop this bully.
I’m Connie Seraphine and that is my perspective.
