Overcoming Bullying By: Uthman Guadalupe
I am a Latino Muslim, which is still an anomaly here in the U.S. My peers could not make fun of my religion, because they were also Muslims, so they targeted my background instead. Ever since I was in school, all the kids called me Mexican and asked me if I had my visa, and many other racist comments like that. I used to be called names for other things such as the clothes that I wore and the food I ate because I was Latino. I was always the class target of name-calling.
Eventually, I got tired of it and told them to stop. At that time, they stopped calling me names. However, the next day, they started again. These incidents remind me of the quote: “Why try to do right if people will always look at me and assume wrong?” When I tried to tell them to stop, they made even more fun of me.They even called me a wimp, but in my mind, I knew that I could defeat them if I chose. They even went as far as verbally insulting my family. I firmly told them to stop again. They stopped insulting my parents, but continued insulting me.
One day I wore a sweatshirt from Jiu-Jitsu school. The sweatshirt had a slogan on it: “No egos; stay humble,” which to me meant that we should never be arrogant. Ironically, that became the next object of ridicule. My classmates used to say the slogan with a Japanese accent and make fun of Jiu-Jitsu as a martial art. They said that “No egos; stay humble” had become a meme now that I wore it. Despite that, I still wore the sweatshirt with pride.
I tried to take matters into my own hands,I made a drawing of me beating him up. My friend posted a picture of it on social media. We both got in trouble. From that experience, I learned a valuable lesson: when somebody does something bad to you, do not try to seek vengeance by doing something similar. Like the saying goes, “Two wrongs do not make a right.” Try to solve the problem without a fight. It is also a good idea to have your parents involved.
Eventually, I got tired of it and told them to stop. At that time, they stopped calling me names. However, the next day, they started again. These incidents remind me of the quote: “Why try to do right if people will always look at me and assume wrong?” When I tried to tell them to stop, they made even more fun of me.They even called me a wimp, but in my mind, I knew that I could defeat them if I chose. They even went as far as verbally insulting my family. I firmly told them to stop again. While they stopped insulting my parents, they continued insulting me.
After a while, the bullying ended because the boy who bullied me the most got a very bad haircut. His head was completely shaved. He knew it would be easy for my friends and I to get a comeback by making fun of him. This was divine justice! However, I would not mock him because I never want to stoop to the same level as a bully again. Sometimes when we ridicule people, we end up in a bad situation as a punishment for our bad actions.
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