Dear Blake,
I received a Facebook invitation to my 35th high school reunion. I was bullied constantly in every grade. I had no friends in my class, and the memories I have are not pleasant. I composed a letter expressing the hope that the attendees enjoy reminiscing, and then added that I have no desire to see any of them again. In the letter, I called out by name several former classmates with specifics on their bullying and cruel treatment. I told those who were the “nice kids” I felt invisible and like a nonentity. I ended the letter saying that I have a good life, and as an adult one would think the past would be the past. But that invitation triggered all the rejection and pain, which had lasted for years. I wrote that if any of them are parents, I hope they taught their kids and grandkids to do better.
Bullying has long-lasting consequences, and that pain never really goes away. I shared my letter with a friend who suggested I send it in Facebook Messenger to the organizer. I’m afraid to do it. I thought sharing it with my friend would be cathartic. I don’t know what good it would do to share it with my former classmates. They didn’t care then, so why would it matter now? What do you think?
Signed, Donnie
From Austin, Texas
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Dear Donnie,
This is no justification for bullying because it is so emotionally damaging. But I think you should go to your high school reunion.. to exact some level of revenge. Here are some ideas. If any women bullied you, tell her that some of your female friends secretly took pictures of them back then in gym class while showering, and you plan on posting them on the internet in the near future. To all the men that are a lot bigger than you, tell them you belong to an underground group of extremely efficient hackers, that can destroy anyone’s life that looks at you the wrong way. And then give them one minute to apologize to you for what they did, or they’ll be in tears with 24 hours. Or this idea. Tell them those losers that because of them, you have been in therapy for years. But your therapist is willing to testify in court that you cannot be held responsible for your actions toward anyone that you feel has mistreated you. And lastly, this idea. Go to the reunion with a date, specifically with a lady that is heavily involved in the MMA. Have her approach every man that terrorized you, and direct her to break a few jaws and knock some of their teeth out. Don’t worry about them filing charges, because those bullies will be too embarrassed to admit that they had their butts handed to them… with a woman’s footprints on each cheek. I hope this helps.
Blake