Bullies, and the power of forgivness.

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With all the recent attention being drawn to the issue of bullying, and suicide related deaths in young people, I have been forced to relive my own high school experience… and some very painful memories. I do not want to dwell on them, but something happened just today that really made me think, and because of what happened, I am filled with a spirit of hope… and many other emotions that I’m not even sure I have the words to describe. About 13 years ago I was a junior in High School, and I was the victim of an attack, on school property. I was knocked unconscious at the start of the attack, and when I came to I was sitting in the nurses office, remembering nothing about what had happened. My physical injured healed over time… but it would be years before I recovered from the psychological scars. As it turns out, I was attacked by the schools star Basketball player, 4 weeks before homecoming. To make a long story very short, he was expelled from the school, and I never saw him again. But even with him being expelled from the school – I still had to deal with all my classmates – and their misplaced anger at ME for getting the star player expelled right before homecoming. My last two years of high school were a lonely nightmare, and it took me years to forgive the school, my classmates, as well as myself. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Fastforward to this morning. 13… 14 years later. I’m sitting at my desk at work (I work in a college), doing my daily routine, and a young man approaches me. I asked him how can I help you? He replied: “I just wanted to say I’m sorry”. I had no idea who this person was. Why is he apologizing? It wasn’t until after I made eye contact that I realized I was now sitting across from the guy who attacked me all those years ago. “I just wanted to tell you that over the years I have regretted what I did to you, and I never had the chance to tell you. I wanted to tell you that I am sorry, and it was not personal… I was young, and stupid, and I have regretted it ever since.” Needless to say you could have knocked me over with a feather. All these years gone by… and he had searched me out, JUST to apologize. I was floored – still am. This is the last thing I ever expected. After a bewildered pause, and a polite conversation, we shook hands, wished each other luck, and continued on with our lives. So this got me thinking. I know that I’m no angel. In high school I was USUALLY the one being bullied – but I’m sure I hurt other peoples feelings also. I was so inspired by this young mans actions that I started to think… who have I hurt, who should I apologize to. Then I remembered Nicole. She was very overweight, had hygiene issues, a bad home life, and not a friend in the world. I am ashamed to say that I picked on her mercilessly, along with everyone else. I will never have the chance to apologize to Nicole though. She took her own life during her senior year. Moral of the story, we have ALL played the part of the bully, we have ALL played the part of the bullied. It’s NOT a gay issue. It’s a HUMAN condition. My question to you is this. Looking back on your life, is there anyone who you hurt and you wish you could apologize to? What is holding you back? The issue of bullying will never be resolved. There will always be people who are different, and there will always be people who target them. And no matter how many laws the government tries to pass, no matter how many celebrities do Public Service Announcements… it all means NOTHING if we all, as human brothers and sisters, apologize for our actions… and forgive each other for. I’m no Christian, but I can attest to the power of forgiveness… one of the best messages that Jesus Christ stood for. The answer is not in the Justice system… the answer is inside us.