It wasn’t long before it became obvious to me that I was going to be subject to harassment from some of guys in my platoon. There always has to be at least one guy to emerge within any group who seems to get some kind of satisfaction from picking on someone who he feels superior to.
Maybe on the second or third day, I got jostled when someone walked past me when there was plenty of room to get by. Then later, I heard some insulting or crude remarks aimed in my direction concerning my size, about me being a sissy, wimp or a queer. I couldn't pinpoint who it was due to the size of our platoon. This was the same bullying behavior I had experienced during my adolescent school years. I ignored it and went about my business, my usual coping mechanism. But eventually the bully wasn’t getting enough of a response from the other guys he was trying to impress and decided to be more open about his aggressive behavior.
One day when we were getting up in the morning and for whatever the reason there was no particular rush. It could have been it was Sunday, when we had some freedom to just hang out and do some personal things like writing letters home. I had become acquainted with a couple of boys who were from West Virginia. We didn’t have much in common other than that we were country boys. When we “fell in” to formation each day, they were always near to me due to the fact we always lined up alphabetically and were in the same place each time. Their names were Rogers and Rose. I don’t recall their first names, I wish I could.
This particular day I had gone over to their side of the barracks to talk with them while I sat on one of their bunks and wrote a letter home. A few bunks down the now familair voice started in on my friends about me being with them. It turned out that the voice was coming from a guy that had traveled with me from home when we were inducted into the Army. He walked over and started to push me off the bunk, telling me to go back to my side of the room, that he didn’t want me near him.
Before I could even respond, Rogers jumped down off from his bunk, giving the guy a shove as he landed on his feet, catlike.
He said to the bully, “Leave him alone. If you pick a fight with him, you pick a fight with me!”
By this time we had the attention of the whole barracks. Most everyone came over to see what was going on, hoping to see a fight. I heard two or three people in the crowd though say, “Yeah, leave him alone.”, “He’s not bothering anyone.”, “Hey, cut it out.”
The bully looked around to see everyone watching him and decided he'd better back off. He turned around, redfaced, and headed back to his bunk without another word.
I was totally astounded. This was the first time anyone had ever stood up for me like that. I felt really stupid that I hadn’t handled it myself but at the same time it was a display of friendship that I have never forgotten. It was a lesson to me that I would be able to have loyal friends and that I wasn't alone.
About Me
- Adon
- New England, United States
- Having been unable to break my silence about being gay or bisexual due to living in a conservative New England community, and being an active Mormon as well as being married to a wonderful woman, I will try to do so here. This is the story of parts my life, beginning when I was a young teenage boy. I have learned that being gay or bisexual can, in ways, be a lonely life. I was not actually alone, but many times it felt like I was. As a boy, I thrilled at the discoveries that I had made about my body and my physical and emotional attractions. I despaired when I realized I couldn't tell anyone. There were times when things didn't end well. There were some sad and traumatic experiences. But, there were also many joyful and wonderful life experiences that I wouldn’t have had if I had given in to discouragement along the way. I believe there is joy in living even with the challenges along the way. Be aware that I have been honest and to some degree explicit in my boyish descriptions of my budding sexual awareness. What I have written is what I felt, thought and experienced at the time. These particular posts are marked with a double star **.
3 comments:
Thanks for sharing this great story. I had a similar experience with a buddy while were were bike riding. This fellow, who is not easily angered and rarely uses profanity, yelled at the top of his lungs at a driver who nearly ran me down. He screamed, "f*** y**, a** h***" and for the first time in my life those profane phrase brought me comfort in knowing that my friend really did care about me, or was just incredibly offended that a driver would do that to any bicyclist. lol
What a nice post this is. Bullying like that seems to be universal and has always existed. Maybe today enough attention is being called to it that things will finally change for the better. It sure was a wonderful thing Rogers did by jumping down and supporting you like he did. And the fact that he did demonstrated to you that you could have loyal friends that would stick up for you when necessary. It was also good that some in the gathering crowd were standing up for you also, showing the bully that his actions weren't universally appreciated. Thanks for sharing this with us.
Such a great story! We hear of the taunting but not often of those who stand up for each other. I guess the question is: What kind of friend are we? Are we going to be those who will step up and stand for no taunting of others in all situations?
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