A (Small) Bit about a Bully, A Prom, and the Black vs. Mexican War.

I can remember getting picked on by a kid once.  I was in the 7th grade, and I lived down the street fro ma kid named Colin.  Colin was much taller than me, and if I remember right, I was probably 5'4 and under 90 lbs.  Soaking wet.  With work boots on.  One day, after riding the bus home, i was walking down my street, and Colin, who lived a street over, started following me and pushing me in me back.  he pushed me the entire way home, but for the life of me, I can't remember what he was saying.  I lean toward it being something racial, because he proudly displayed a confederate flag on his faux letter jacket.  So I ran in the house, and told my step dad what had happened, and 10 minutes later, we walked down to his house, my dad had a conversation with his dad, and from that day this now, I've never had a problem with Colin.  I'm not sure what was said, but it clearly made a strong impression.  Outside of that instance, I can't think of a time I thought I was being bullied.  And from the first time i saw "Carrie"

I knew I'd leave people the fuck alone, cuz i'm not going up in flames.  It just never made sense to me, "picking" on people. But that doesn't make me "superkid" or anything... my mom is still looking for my 8th grade report card (tossed that shit in the trash after hiding it for months, cuz if she found it, i'd accept the punishment).  So I come across this story about the little boy with the "My Little Pony" backpack getting picked on, beaten up, and called out his name, and I feel for him.  I was never victim to, or a party to, the gang mentality of seeing a different kid and attacking him from all angles.  From 7th grade till graduation, I was to high school in San Antonio, TX, and while I can think of instances kids were hounded, it wasn't prevalent to the point that kids left schools, or kids were suspended, or parents came up to the school.  We just weren't wired that way.  You never heard about "jocks picking on nerds" or "popular kids ganging up on losers" because it didn't happen.  There was that whole "Black vs. Mexican" War, but that was niggas being niggas, nigga standing in for "jackass of any ethnicity or gender".

Grayson Bruce decided to rock his MLP backpack, and was harrassed for it being "girly".  Ya know.... My little Pony is girly as hell.  Girly to the point that if I saw a kid right now with a My Little Pony backpack, I'd think "THAT SHIT IS GIRLY!"  If my son wanted the same strap... I don't know if i'd buy it.  But if i did, I'd let him know that kids will have opinions, so he may have to deal with criticism.  But criticism aside, if anyone touches him over his personal taste, he have every right to touch them back.  And if you aren't comfortable with that... Your Dad can have a talk with any other kid's Dad. Fro mthe Looks of it, people are showing their support for the little guy.

Have an opinion on The plight of Grayson Bruce, or bullying in general? we can talk about it here and here.  Thanks.

10 Years after the Moment

Eddie loosened his boot.  HE UNTIED HIS BOOT!  I remember thinking it was sheer genius, a great strategy to counter Kurt Angle's Ankle Lock submission.  Eddie Guerrero, then WWE Champion and in full swing with his "Lie, Cheat, Steal" persona, baited Angle into trying the move one too many times.  You can see the highlights of the match, as well as the finish, here:



He was a joy to watch, always doing things you haven't seen before, being crisp, effective ,and making the TV show wrestling look much more like the sport of wrestling, with some fun thrown in at the appropriate times.  After wrestling for over 20 years, and being praised as one of the very best "pound for pound" performers in the field, he was finally given the opportunity to represent an organization as their champion.
In a career that in many ways paralleled Guerrero's, Chris Benoit was given the same chance one month later.  Like Eddie, he had traveled the world, perfecting his craft.  Like Eddie, he was well respected, even appreciated by his peers, and looked to as a wealth of information and compassion.  And Like Eddie, for all these things, he was deemed too small, and too bland, to ever be given the top prize - the WWE/World Heavyweight Title.  This was typically given to men in the 6'3, 250 lb range, albeit men of great athleticism and charisma - like these guys:

So for guys in the 5'9 range, this was a rare treat, but very few would tell you they weren't deserving.  Chris Benoit has put on great matches in WWE, but hovered around the middle of the card (as opposed to the main event) for the majority of his time there, but was always great, no matter the opponent, or situation.  So a month after Guerrero's Title victory, it was Benoit's turn, as he defeated Shawn Michaels and Triple H (arguably the two biggest stars in the company at that time) for the World Heavyweight Title (WWE had so many top notch wrestlers at this point, they split the roster into two brands, each having it's own champion.  Highlights of his title victory are as follows:

It was a win for the little guy.  It proved that hard work, that dedication, and that a connection with the audience could do what genetics couldn't.  It also provided one of the most amazing visuals ever produced, close friends that had never been given that chance, center stage at the biggest show their profession.

For that moment, it was just perfect.  I was 18.  I didn't know about all the perils of substance abuse, or concussions, or the abnormality of 40 year old men all of a sudden carrying 30 extra lbs of muscle.  What I did know was that two guys that weren't the biggest, at least for a moment in time, were the very best in everyone's eyes.