Thinking about what makes people bully other people makes me think of the tremendous insecurity of breaking down someone elses choices instead of their own. For instance, why should the jock care that the theater kid is gay. Why would I personally choose to distinguish a jock and a theater kid? Why do these titles matter to me, to you, to anyone?
Throughout our lives we have learned to classify many things. For instance, when you were young and you and your mom pulled up to Johnny's house for a play day and it was huge what did you think. Wow, he has a lot of money. Or maybe you didn't, but that's rare. The thing is a big house, a nice car, anything designates a certain person a certain way.
Back to the jock and the theater kid. I stereotyped. Just as someone stereotypes a large house or nice car. The jock, expected to be manly, strong, sporty, cool, and popular. The theater kid commonly thought of as a geek, a loser, a loner, weird, weak, artsy. The extreme differences, or stereotypical differences, in these should show anyone two different types of people.
Wouldn't you be bored if everyone was a sporty "cool" jock? Wouldn't you be bored if everyone was in theater? Why should anyone care? What I want you to realize is that it is so easy for anyone, including myself when writing this, to stereotype any group of people. There is no reason to do it, who cares who the person chooses to love. Who cares what religion they are?
In five years when a bully never thinks of or sees the person they bullied again will they remember then that they were gay? Will they remember then that they were jewish? Will they remember then that without that person they would've projected their bull shit falsified identity onto would've just been some other kid?
It is very easy to stereotype, too easy. Would it hurt everyone to step back from what they think about another person and just leave it alone? Would the jock never play his sport again if the theater kid weren't in his presence? No, he would still play. Would he be any less of an individual if the theater kid weren't around? Yes, there would be one less opposite to make the world interesting.
I bet that jock goes to the movies, I bet he listens to music. That's what the theater kid creates for him. So why torture him for choices he makes off screen, or when he's not singing?
I'll go ahead and say my guess is that it's because the jock is insecure. Doesn't that make him weak?
Bullies are weak. If you have to break down someone else's choices to make yourself feel better you are wasting the time of that person and your own.
I Dare You:
Embrace someone else for who they are today! Find someone different and learn something about them! I dare you, will it really hurt?
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