Seconding the last bit, as a child I was seen as an easy target for bullies, being short, sarcastic, nerdy, and a year younger than everyone else in my class. The School never helped, and generally made it worse. Sadly, hitting someone back harder than they hit me made it better.

I would occasionally have to listen to the Principal go through the "Zero Tolerence" BS, but we liked eachother and understood what the situation was under the verbiage. I'd make apologizing noises, get a little detention, and that was that.

But hey, it turns out if you bloody someone's nose, they'll stop fucking with you. Bloody enough noses that fucked with you, and you'll get a reputation that mitigates violence against you and having to use violence to protect yourself. One fistfight a year or so; win, lose, or draw; buys you a year free of bullies. Damn good deal!

Still it's an interesting place I find myself in philosophically, where quothe Tim Barry, "I think pacifists are weak, and violence is wrong".

[–] TotallynotJessica@lemmy.world 6 points 7 months ago

I used to be against vigilante justice, and while it is dangerous and easy to do wrong, if the law doesn't protect you, you'll have to do it yourself. I'm not encouraging people to seek revenge; far from it. The only justice that can exist is preventative justice. We can't undo harm or force people to repent for past crimes, but we can make things better in the future through actions in the present.

[–] Passerby6497@lemmy.world 4 points 7 months ago

100%. I was bullied as a kid for being the fat nerdy kid who was always reading books. But, as it turns out, breaking a nose in class or beating the everliving snot out of someone in the middle of the cafeteria line (to the point it takes multiple teachers to pull you off of the bully) tends to make life easier for a few years wrt being bullied.

Hated doing it, but it solved a problem.