Illustration by: Jeannie Tyrrell

Sometimes I get a little wrapped up in what I’m doing. I can try to blame it on some strange sort of conditioning after years of working in retail, but that gets me nowhere.

Maybe I can blame it on being raised in a cave?

I’m not sure why it happens, but throughout my years of writing I’ve often described myself suddenly being “woken up,” after becoming wrapped up in and submersed in some- thing I’m doing.

Those moments have been described as experiencing a sudden “blow to the head,” which has happened to me both literally and figuratively throughout my time here on Earth.

A lot of those “wake up” moments had to do with experiencing, or more like enduring, something called bullying.

To be frank, I’ve experienced and endured being bullied, picked on, mocked and laughed at my entire life, all for reasons I will no longer unpack.

The concept of being bullied by other people is something that I thought I became immune to too, up until it reared its ugly head at random again.

Society is just so darn good at getting away with it. It sneaks in just when you least expect it.

I believe it’s even marketed now as well, through TV shows, comedic films and all of that “entertainment” sort of stuff.

I know I’m not alone with this, but it also seems the experience has followed me throughout all my travels.

So much so, I eventually developed a defensive term to power through every circumstance and help myself cope.

I used to claim I could “eat bullies for breakfast,” but now I look back at the statement and I wonder if a truth to it ever actually applied.

Today I see “bullies,” or a situation where either I or what I’m doing becomes the butt of the joke, with a bit more compassion and clarity.

The people involved can only be seen as individuals going through life with a “we’re making fun today, to have fun today” approach.

They’re simply receiving a kick of dopamine at another’s expense. Those involved also seem very basic to me now as well, like they’re all stuck around some playground that they’ve never really left.

Science can get involved in the scenario now too, with something called reasoning, which can actually be applied to the situation.

This “behavior” can also be explained using big words, like conditioned response, stimuli, the subordination of others that are only viewed as being less than, neurological reward circuitry and social aggression.

So, do I still hold onto the notion of eating bullies for breakfast in the year 2023? No. Today, it’s more like let’s give them all a big warm hug.

Note: This editorial was originally published in “The Mariposa Gazette” on 03-09-2023.