Bullying Isn't New To Kalisha

It seems there is a new article about bullying in the paper each day or on the news every evening. Bullying comes in many different forms and it isn't anything new. If you watch old movies, there is always the kid who is getting beat up for his lunch money or is forced to complete someone else's homework. Bullying isn't always actions; it can be words, also.
When Kalisha was in school, she was bullied mercilessly. Once kids learned that she could be easily coersed into doing inappropriate things, they never stopped. I can't tell you how many times, in high school, she was told to pinch some boy's behind. They always told her that he would like her then and want to be her boyfriend. Since she wanted friends so badly and wanted to be part of the 'in-group', she would do it. That never had a good outcome.
One time, in a photography class, several boys locked her in the dark room and told her they didn't want a f.....in' retard in their class. There was one particular girl who was not only in her high school classes, she also rode the same bus. She would push Kalisha out of line while they waited to board the bus and scream obscenities at her every morning. We tried to get a restraining order against her, but could not. The principal's solution was to have them travel different paths to get to their classes so they would avoid each other in the hallways. Guess which one had to go totally out of the way to get to class.
Junior high wasn't a piece of cake, either. She was kicked and had her glasses knocked off in the gym locker room by a girl who just didn't like her.
 I don't want you to think that Kalisha's days were all miserable. They weren't. She did have friends and if you ask her now, she will say that she loved school. I am only relating these events to let you know that bullying goes on in every school in every city in every state. It doesn't usually make the news unless something awful happens, but children suffer insults and hurts every day that go unnoticed. My other children always had at least one 'mean girl' in each of their classes, but they were strong enough to ignore them. Kalisha is physically very strong and could probably have wiped up the floor with some of the kids who hurt her, but that isn't her nature. She would always come home and say she needed to pray for them. I was never that generous.
She is still bullied sometimes. There is one particular girl who rides the city bus who screams (literally) at Kalisha if she even casts a glance in her direction.
 I read a news release recently that stated that children with special needs were bullied more than typical children. Duh! They had to do a study to come to that conclusion?