Abby Connolly
What some kids fail to realize is that their bullying or torment of another kid during their childhood and teenage years can traumatize that kid.
Some people remember their bully’s face and mean words for their entire lives. Even just one instance of bullying can stick with a person for years.
One man recently upset his girlfriend after telling her she needed to move on and “let go” of her resentment toward her middle school bully after they saw her working as a cashier.
He and his girlfriend are 29 and recently visited her hometown to visit her parents. One day, they stopped at a fast food restaurant, and he was shocked when his girlfriend started making horrible comments about one of the female cashiers.
“My girlfriend started relentlessly mocking the cashier and made a bunch of comments about how aged she looked, how her entire being must reek of deli meat, how she hoped the cashier was stuck living with a bunch of roommates, etc.,” he recalled.
“I was just confused by her sudden vitriol. I asked her what her deal with this particular cashier was, and that’s when she explained to me that this person had bullied her and her best friend in middle school.”
His girlfriend later told him that the cashier was part of a group of kids that would tease her and her friend in gym class. The group of kids were white, but his girlfriend and best friend were not, and unfortunately, the bully’s comments were often racist.
From his perspective, his girlfriend’s story made it sound like the bullies couldn’t get much of a rise from her and her friend, so they eventually moved on to pick on different kids.
While he sympathized with his girlfriend and was against what her bully did to her, he also felt his girlfriend wasn’t bothered by what happened.
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