I am the typical Geek(tm). I live close to where I grew up so I have seen or heard about quite a few of my tormentors from high school.

The tormentor that was the worst was this kid I lived in the same neighboorhood with. So he was my tormentor from k-12. I recently heard he was doing 5 to 15 for dealing drugs.

Another I saw at the mall working at Spencers Gifts. I saw another at a movie in town once.

I typically deal with them by just being myself and not trying to get revenge or anything. I think in some way that is worse for them. Because often they are at a worse place in their life than I am. Not that I am all that.. but I think most of the asshats got what was coming to them.

What is this Graffiti Shirt Day of which you speak? It sounds eerily familiar, yet I can't for the life of me figure out what a Graffiti Shirt is.

unless the bully is way down on his luck and it'd be cruel to kick him when he's down or sick... DEFINITELY cock punch him! The bastard needs to pay for his actions.
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on much more caring note... have a wonderful time seeing Doohan and the rest of the gang tonight for "Scotty's" farewell. I hope someone going can put up a transcript of your speeach, Wil. I know you'll do him justice... and do him proud with your words as a fan and colleague.

take care.

My father and a couple of his friends from a Sacramento Star Trek fan club are going to the farewell convention but not me. I would definately go to your speaking if I were there though. Good luck!

And I would probably just do nothing to the people that tormented me (very few, I tended to stay away from the ones that did, and I had a few big friends which helped). It's just not worth it to stoop to their level.

I know the feeling - wasn't very popular in school on accounts of being a bit on the geeky side and so quite often the brunt of jokes from the older kids.

I teach at university now and one of the best small and trivial but really good moments of my life was two of those brutes ending up in one of my classes one term.

other than that, I enjoy bumping into people that looked down on me in school - the question of "what do you do today" invariably comes up and if they were awful enough to me in school I quite enjoy sneering my way through telling them - so far, there's not much that beats what I am doing, especially adding my part-time job of simultaneous translation on media events. Amazing how little people change - I mean, being impressed by "glamourous, famous people" at 13 is one thing, but at 25? Come on ... :-).

So that's my $0.02, anyway... .

I can't say I was tormented so much as ignored. I never seemed to wear the right thing, but no one ever said anything. Of course, when it was time to go to parties, I never got the invite either. Naturally, my best friends did. I still live in the DC area but haven't seen ANYONE familiar from my past. I guess that's just the transient nature of DC. People just do their time then move on. And if I ever happen to see someone from my childhood, I'm sure I'll still be wearing the wrong thing. I'm almost proud of that.

When in doubt, go with the cock-punch.

"Star Wars Sneakers, and Thriller T-shirt,"
those are the 2 things (along with my 2600) are still tucked away safely at my dads house. Now I am 31 and am a bigger geek than ever. I revel in the days of school, yes I was picked on, but those were the best days of my life! It gives me something to tell my boys about when they are older. Have fun at Jimmy Doohan's Farewell Convention Wil.

We both already know what you'd do... you'd take a deep breath, calm your emotions, and act like the totally normal, cool guy you are. You'd be the bigger man and know that you don't need to do anything to them, because you already win at life. And because you know that *not* doing anything is really the best revenge - because you'll never be as low as they were.

I think the teasing actually focuses things. Many of the people I know have a razor sharp acid wit as a result of this kind of bullying.

Wil-

You have no idea how excited I am to be linked by the "Blogfather." :-)

When I saw the link, I excitedly yelled into my wife in the next room, "Holy SHIT. Wil linked to me!"

I'm not sure she quite knew how to respond. She hesitantly yelled back, "Cool?"

"Unbelievably cool," I assured her.

Thanks for the nice words.

(I wish I could have turned those stupid sneakers of mine inside out.)

I ran into someone I considered a tormentor at my 10 year reunion - he was a jerk in school and turned out to be the coolest surfer dude you could imagine at the reunion. Some people change for the better over time, it's best to find out if the Tormentor has changed prior to the cock-punch.

Wow. Jerry Ann's definitely got the winning t-shirt idea:

Re-scan prior to cock-punch.

No one would ever turn that inside out. Of course, no one would ever wear it, either, but you can't have everything.

wil, i happened across your entry while i was listening to tom smith's dragon's lullaby (www.tomsmithonline.com) and the combination of the song, your comments on geekdom, and the thought of the last appearance of jimmy doohan has brought tears to my eyes.

i have to admit that i'm a lot older than you (i was a senior in college in 1977)... i saw star wars on opening night in mattoon illinois and i was a star trek fan before you were born...

remember that you are part of that magic. i hope your speech goes well.

*hug*

Keep in mind that the bullies are also in their 30s, may be married with kids too. Some may still be jerks, but some probably have matured. I would just ignore them. I wouldn't be friendly since we were never friends. Why pretend otherwise?

when i was a kid the popularity of STAR TREK was nothing like it is now...and none of my close friends wanted anything to do with it...they just rolled their eyes when i would mention something about star trek...now when i get a visit from an old friend when i'm at work at the radio station...sometimes i'm told...here you are...surrounded by switches, buttons, and monitors...just like star trek...and i think yeah...just like star trek!

I used to wonder where all the bullies went - everyone I know was bullied in school (and I have friends from all over the world), yet no-one ever seemed to be the bully.

Until I met my partner, who was a fat kid when very young, and was taught (in more ways than one) by his mother that the best way to retaliate was to beat them up. He became very violent until he realised that this was never going to earn him any friends and he learnt to curb his violent tendancies. He was one of the bullies - but he was just passing on the bullying he got from his parents. Now he's the father of a great sweet fifteen year old son and such a gentle soul.

Kids can be damn cruel (don't I know it!) but thankfully most kids grow up. Eventually.

Enjoy the convention!

I reckona very cool form of revenge would be to name a character in a book or tv show you write after them, and make the character a total loser.

I know how you fel. I ignored the people who picked on me...I had to. In my school Star Trek and Star Wars was uncool to even the geeks. I learned not to care what others say, because I knew that I was a completely wonderful person without their approval. I had my group of friends, and we would laugh at the fact they were wearing purple and pink shirts with yellow on black poka-dots skirts. I am not one for fads, I wear what I like, watch what I like, and usually I would start a tend after a year or two. Yet if I didn't I still had friends that didn't care about that and were (and are) still the best people that I know. Everyone gets picked on, it is how we react that says more about us. Being different for me gave me a chance to talk to many people outside or social group. I liked having friends from all the groups instead of having to stick to one group-dictated circle (with people in it that really didn't like each other). So I was considered a geek, so what. At least I wasn't a dweebo or a spaz, j/k. I think people should be who they are, not a what a cookie-cutter made them.

My first theatre movie was Star Wars, too! I remember being bullied and picked on in school, but only because I was the new kid. I was always the new kid because we moved so much. I almost wish I could have stayed in my original hometown so I could have told them all to fuck off once I grew a backbone. Once I got into high school the bullying stopped. I have no idea where these people are and I don't care. Although I have to admit, if I had sit next to you in class while you wore your Thriller shirt I would have pointed and laughed. But in a nice way...

I've only ran into one so far...
I got bullied for all sorts of reasons, being a liberal fem was the big one.
Trying to dress orignal out of the GAP line my mom bought me was another. ^_^;

While the whole punch em out thing was nearly top option in my head...
I opted for the smile and hug.
It freaks the hell out of them.

Now the lady who bullied my mom...
That c$%t is getting put down but good.

Children being cruel is one thing.
Grown ups with houses and children being complete monsters deserve whatever fate serves em.

Grrrr...

Good luck with the Jimmy Doohan's Farewell Convention! Lots of love for our Scotty!

MKF

I was teased til grade 10 for being small for my age. After grade 10 I grew a foot or more and was then teased for looking like Wil.

No joke.

~

LOL Wil when I was in seventh and eighth grade I got teased for liking the Spice Girls (I know- what was I thinking?). I wore my Spiceworld World Tour '98 shirt proudly (even though I never went to any of their concerts) while everyone listened to Puff Daddy (as he was known back then), Mase, 2Pac, Biggie Smalls, and Jay-Z. My favorite was Sporty Spice, but I could not pull off the Sporty look for the life of me (hard as I tried- it even sparked rumors that I was a lesbian because Sporty was the quote-unquote tomboyish one).

Anyways...

That was ages ago. In ninth grade, I got sick of the Spice Girls (who broke up), started dressing normally again (looking back, why would anyone want to dress like any of them?), and now I don't get teased anymore. And the shirt? It's gone.

Anyways, break a leg tonight!

-Vanessa Nichole

I had the unfortunate experience of being one of most unpopular kids in my school from kindergarten through my senior year. It wasn't until college that I escaped the torment. I might be a little dramatic but kids can be cruel.

I moved away from my hometown and rarely go back to visit, and I avoid the HS reunions like the plague. What I really can't stand is when you see someone from the past and you know that they recognize you but they just ignore you. Sometimes I ignore them back.

I wish it wasn't so easy to hang onto the past. Isn't it in the movie Flatliners where one of the characters goes back in time and confronts people from his childhood? I think the character was played by Keifer Sutherland but the rest of the story escapes me.

Thanks for sharing your story. I'm sorry that the kids teased you about your Thriller t-shirt, but who knows where they are now...you're an accomplished actor and writer of two books and your own blog! :-)

Actually, I found that when I ran into some of the people I never got on with at school I was greeted like an old best friend. It was extremely odd. I was stood there thinking 'Do you remember things different to me? Do you really think we were best buddies?'

Strange, but it does make you wonder how different people perceive the same events.

Man, you 'd be braver than I am if you could get away with seeing them and not punching them. Not sure I ever had the problem of wearing the incorrect clothes, or at least if I was I don't think it mattered much for me since I lived on the wrong side of the tracks to begin with. But the exerpience is all the same.

Just turned 29. I'm feeling old. You see the "kids" hanging out, and you realize you're not a part of them anymore. You're finally growing up. And. I. Hate. It. *gr*

I highly recommend attending school reunions and having a great time, looking happy and healthy and carefree. Pisses off one's enemies to no end, and they're not worth reacting to any other way, anyway. ;-)

Myself, I remember having a hot pink Michael Jackson purse back in the day. And a button. I think I may still have that button somewhere... maybe it's with the Star Wars figures.

I suggest point and laugh...Do the Nelson laugh, the cock-punch and then be mature.

Check out my icon on livejournal, my user is trekkiepirate (Proud to be a geek!)

Cock punch. Definitely.

I don't quite buy the "they were just kids" argument. Depending on the level of viciousness attached, a complete dearth of character as a kid generally means the same lack of character as an adult. Fuck 'em.

No, I don't have issues or anything ...

I remember a good friend of mine was so horribly tormented through high school that he actually snapped and required therapy for a few months out of school. The poor guy didn't do anything to anyone, he was just targeted. The cruelest people tended to be like sharks in a pool of chum.

At the 10th year reunion, he met his tormentor and cold clocked him right there in line. The now 27 year old auto mechanic, fell to the ground and was awe struck by the amount of instant violence that just struck him.

My friend extended his hand, to help him up. The mechanic, rubbed his chin and smiled - "I deserved ten of those, and not one less. Let me buy you a drink."

They sat and they talked about good times and bad. I think that was the best therapy they could have ever gotten.

I haven't talked much to my friend or the mechanic, but I think the world has two less hurting people in it.

young rape http://www.rapestoriespics.com/