Moments when a piece of entertainment completely lost you.

TOZ · Post by **TOZ** » Thu Aug 19, 2010 2:32 am

The best part of Charlie Brown was the Robot Chicken skit where he kicked that bitch into the pumpkin patch.

Count Arioch the 28th · Thu Aug 19, 2010 4:49 am

People kept calling me Charlie Brown when I was a kid because I was quiet and took bad things in stride. It infuriated me because I only took them in stride because if I had the slightest emotional reaction the adults would say that I deserved it because I got upset. (Anyone that says you only get upset because you choose to needs to be tied to a tree and have their teeth filed until they realize that everyone has their breaking point emotionally. God I fucking hate 1980's child psychology).

It stopped when I started thumping heads senior year in high school. You only have to throw one desk with a kid sitting in it before people stop fucking with you. I only regret not doing so earlier.

Crissa · Post by **Crissa** » Thu Aug 19, 2010 4:53 am

That's really more like 1880s child psychology than 1980.

-Crissa

Count Arioch the 28th · Thu Aug 19, 2010 5:08 am

Crissa wrote:That's really more like 1880s child psychology than 1980.

-Crissa

Naw, in the 1880's is when they stabbed women in the stomach if they acted in ways that were "inproper".

My experience in the 1980's (and believe me, the schools didn't even want me wiping my ass without consulting a school psychologist) was that they tried to tell me that I was "unique" and "special" and that I shouldn't be ashamed of myself (when what I wanted was to be taught how to act like a normal kid and not get picked on constantly), and that I had complete control over my emotions which I actively chose not to exercise (like the time 4 kids were holding me down when I was 9 and had a kindergarten kid kick me in the face and stomp me on the crotch. The school shrink and the recess teacher told me they wouldn't have done that if I didn't cry when they did). They refused to stop any sort of bullying towards me because they said if I ignored them they wouldn't bully me (which usually ended up getting pelted with rocks or beat savagely until I reacted and the teachers could tell me that they wouldn't do that if I never reacted).

I had a south park moment when the school psychologist tried to tell me I'd have more friends and wouldn't get picked on if I had better self esteem, and I insisted that I'd have better self esteem if the teachers would punish the bullies and not punish me for having an emotional reaction to the constant abuse.

High school was a hellish experience, because if I spoke in front of the class, I'd get random shouts of "QUEER!" and "[EDITED] BAIT!" which the teachers would do nothing to silence. Again, if I reacted I'd get written up. My dad had to threaten to kill the assistant principal if he saw him, while my mom actually was going to be on Oprah (had the invite and everything) if it didn't stop.

So yeah, if it seems I only have a tenuous grasp on my emotions these days, there's tons of good reasons. (And I haven't even shared a tiny fraction of them, there are things which I wouldn't share on the internet with anyone).

Crissa · Post by **Crissa** » Thu Aug 19, 2010 7:14 pm

See, it's that second sentence 'that you have complete control' which is totally not supposed to be matched with 'you are unique'. Basically, you were dealing with people who would mouth some of what was learned, but then in practice deviate from the standards of care accepted at the time.

So saying it had anything to do with the 80s is incorrect - because you'll still find troglodytes like that around and in positions of power.

-Crissa

Prak · Post by **Prak** » Thu Aug 19, 2010 8:58 pm

yeah, I had to deal with it as a kid in the nineties, but... I guess I got off lucky as the kids around me didn't want to kill me, just make me feel like shit.

Meikle641 · Post by **Meikle641** » Thu Aug 19, 2010 10:55 pm

Count reminds me of my time in elementary in the early 90s. Same bullshit. Once I started cracking heads I stopped getting abused, rather than being a victim like they told me to do.

I hated elementary.

Prak · Post by **Prak** » Thu Aug 19, 2010 11:03 pm

yeah, to this day I regret that I didn't start cracking heads. It left me with a lot of grief during school (all of it, up until college*, though, again, no where near what Count dealt with), and a chip on my shoulder the size of the red spot on Jupiter, just itching for justification to beat someone's head in.

I'm glad I play rpgs, I think they help me manage that.

*probably because the griefers are the types that either don't go to college, or got sports scholarships to places far away from Portland art schools and Sacramento community colleges.

Kaelik · Post by **Kaelik** » Thu Aug 19, 2010 11:47 pm

To add to the Universal Childhood Stupidity Challenge.

Always got picked on for being a nerd. Didn't fight back, got blamed for getting upset.

Actually got upset, pushed kid over balcony down bleachers and broke his arm, he refused to say who did it to couch, was never picked on again.

CatharzGodfoot · Post by **CatharzGodfoot** » Fri Aug 20, 2010 4:05 am

The moral of the story: children should be taught to stand up to abuse with extreme physical violence as soon as possible.

Prak · Post by **Prak** » Fri Aug 20, 2010 4:19 am

And apparently the den is composed of nerds who got a lot of grief in school with possible anger issues.

This explains a lot, really.

Kaelik · Post by **Kaelik** » Fri Aug 20, 2010 4:32 am

CatharzGodfoot wrote:The moral of the story: children should be taught to stand up to abuse with extreme physical violence as soon as possible.

Yeah, that's the lesson I've learned from my experience. So see it mirrored is pretty fucking hilarious.

Prak_Anima wrote:And apparently the den is composed of nerds who got a lot of grief in school with possible anger issues.

This explains a lot, really.

Yeah... If you didn't already know this. Well...

Ganbare Gincun · Post by **Ganbare Gincun** » Fri Aug 20, 2010 5:11 am

CatharzGodfoot wrote:The moral of the story: children should be taught to stand up to abuse with extreme physical violence as soon as possible.

Yeah, pretty much. If I had kids, that's what I'd do.

virgil · Post by **virgil** » Fri Aug 20, 2010 6:24 am

I have nothing but neutral feelings about my time in school. Just another time in my life. I was/am very much a nerd, but I was a wall-flower and never really got bothered. I almost feel like I'm missing out on something, having known so dang many of my friends who hate high school because of all the teasing they got for being nerds.

There was this one person who started to try and give me grief, but I used so much sarcasm they literally broke into tears and I never got bothered by them again.

Lago PARANOIA · Post by **Lago PARANOIA** » Fri Aug 20, 2010 6:28 am

I had a lot more friends in high school and I got laid more often. I seriously have gotten some only like a couple of times while I was in the service and none at all since leaving it. I mean, I still game fairly often and I go to church more often than I ever did, but I don't feel like I have FRIEND friends. I have people that I will organize a game for but not invite into my house.

I sometimes wish I had done what my brother did and went to college while also working part-time rather than saving up the money ahead of time. That way I wouldn't have lost all of my social networks.

Jilocasin · Post by **Jilocasin** » Fri Aug 20, 2010 6:44 am

CatharzGodfoot wrote:The moral of the story: children should be taught to stand up to abuse with extreme physical violence as soon as possible.

I was! Except that people left me alone for some reason. I was more or less completely oblivious to the problems of other children but I do know that fights happened fairly frequently. It was a school that was about a fourth made up of the advanced placement program for the city, which they always decided to put at one of the more ghetto schools. It was a bad recipe, you had the "smart" kids (white and asian) and the "dumb" kids (mostly black). I remember the teacher, and I use the term teacher loosely, for the computer lab bemoaning his fate at having to teach computers to kids who just won't get it. And actually I found out recently that one of my friends had told my dad that he was at least partially friends with me because it meant that other kids would leave him alone. I was kind of shocked because I seriously don't remember fighting anyone.

Maj · Post by **Maj** » Fri Aug 20, 2010 7:49 am

I remember one girl trying to call me out after class in high school. She was all puffed up like she was going to do something and started calling me a bitch. But when I responded with, "So?" she had no idea how to deal with it and just walked off.

That probably characterizes my school experience the best - if people mocked me, I really didn't care. It's not like the asshats really pinged on my radar.

Wesley Street · Post by **Wesley Street** » Fri Aug 20, 2010 3:34 pm

After being hit by so many bullying-related lawsuits, schools are starting to become much more pro-active about it. I don't know if it will actually help anything but there is some movement around the issue. My wife is a teacher in a small school and bully awareness is being introduced into the curriculum. I'm sure it varies from school to school.

Universal Truth: Unless you're pretty and popular, primary education years are horrible (or simply tolerable). But they're survivable.

My tips for the young and nerdy:

1. Eat right or at least do stuff that's physical. Fat kids are picked on more than any other group. Play a sport or exercise on your own on a daily basis. If you play a sport, you can make friends with people outside of your D&D group... or at least get the jocks who would be kicking your teeth in on your side. I played community soccer for years and I shudder to think what would have happened had I not.

2. Most schools have a zero-tolerance policy on fighting so if you're being bullied or physically abused tell your parents or guardians about it. Inform them that you're going to take matters into your own hands so that they can be ready when they get a call from the school about your suspension.

I hate advocating violence but it's also the only thing a bully understands. Put him down fast and hard and preferably in a place where no teacher is watching. A kick to the groin, a punch to the throat (even a weak one), or (what worked for me) slamming a face into a locker usually gets the point across. If it gets worse, the bully is a psycho and the police need to be involved.

3. Be polite. Nerds may be smart but they can also be socially awkward which translates into horribly rude. Hold the doors for ladies (if you're a guy), help people when they need it, and try to be a good person. If casual conversation with pretty people isn't your strong suit, stay quiet and listen. Only converse about topics of which everyone would be familiar with. Typically, the awesomeness of the draco-lich or English dubbing of anime doesn't qualify.

4. Unless you're a basket case, college is the best thing in the world for a gamer: you will find a lot of people with the same interests who you can game with (especially at a large public university). You will also meet nerdy girls and even art majors who are into sexual experimentation. They will let you touch them if you're a nice person. If you're a nerd-girl, you will have your pick of the penises. At least one will be attached to a decent-looking guy.

</soapbox>

Kaelik · Post by **Kaelik** » Fri Aug 20, 2010 3:50 pm

Wesley Street wrote:Hold the doors for ladies (if you're a guy),

This is stupid, and you should feel stupid for saying it.

How about instead, everyone (guy or girl) just holds doors for everyone (guy or girl) who is right behind you, and not for anyone else, unless you want to have sex with them.

Count Arioch the 28th · Fri Aug 20, 2010 4:29 pm

I'm siding with Kaelik, I typically hold the door open if I'm aware anyone's right behind me regardless of gender or whether I want to bone them, it's just common courtesy.

And nerd-girls always have their pick of the penises. It's a side effect of human courtship rituals, there's no such thing as a woman that no one will have sex with, while it takes a lot of effort for a man to become sexable. If you're gay, multiply that by about a thousand (or so my gay friends have told me).

Then again, my straight female friends have told me that most guys don't even put forth the effort to be sexable. They can have it any time they want, but it's only rarely offered by someone that they would want it from. Odd how that works. (How's the saying go? The odds are good, but the goods are odd?)

College was less good for me, but I was a non-traditional student and over a decade older than my classmates. And kids these days piss me off (Although it's hilarious to argue with a 19 year old bagger who gets mad and wants to fight for demolishing his arguments. Even funnier when he wants to fight the econ teacher for telling him that his political movement makes no economic sense.)

Maxus · Post by **Maxus** » Fri Aug 20, 2010 4:44 pm

Count Arioch the 28th wrote:I'm siding with Kaelik, I typically hold the door open if I'm aware anyone's right behind me regardless of gender or whether I want to bone them, it's just common courtesy.

Same here.

The Vigilante · Post by **The Vigilante** » Fri Aug 20, 2010 5:21 pm

Up until 5th grade, I lived and went to school in an inner-city neighbourhood, where a few fights inevitably broke up every day. That summer, my father received a promotion and we moved out in a well-off suburban area where I was picked on constantly for not fitting in, me not being a spoiled brat and all. I wasn't bullied though, just constantly rejected and insulted, things like that. I finally reacted during the school year and broke a kid's nose during class, right in front of the teacher. Apparently it was the first "fight" (yea right) that had broke out in years, and I almost got expelled for it. Apparently psychological violence is A-OK, but physical violence is a big no-no. Priorities, priorities.

Kaelik · Post by **Kaelik** » Fri Aug 20, 2010 5:30 pm

Most of the shit they did to me involved, sure lots of taunting and shit, but I ignored that. The real problem was they would steal my things, pens, books, ect, and I trash them. I pulled more of my books out of trash cans in elementary school than any human should have to.

So in 9th grade gym, while I was reading and the coach was in another room, this one punk took my book, and held it behind his back. So I pushed him over the bleacher balcony, then walked down and picked up my book and went back to reading.

RobbyPants · Post by **RobbyPants** » Fri Aug 20, 2010 6:18 pm

How high up was it?

Kaelik · Post by **Kaelik** » Fri Aug 20, 2010 6:22 pm

RobbyPants wrote:How high up was it?

Not that high, the top of the balcony where I pushed him was maybe 10 feet up or so? Been a long time, he broke his arm, but nothing else.