One of the latest Internet memes is the video of a kid body-slamming a bully.
It's causing the anti-bullying cause to swell up again after its celebrity heyday with the Star Wars Girl.
But my opinion on the body slam is mixed. I certainly don't think the ends justify the means, but if physical retaliation ended the bullying without escalating the violence then it seems like self-defense pure and simple.
The real issues as I see it are 1) had the bully suffered serious injury, the victim would have become the perpetrator, and 2) bullies often retaliate...with a group of friends in tow.
We like to imagine that wholloping the bully leads to a happy ending, probably from the fantasy wish-fulfillment provided when Ralphie finally takes down Farkus in A Christmas Story.
I'm sure that fictional account works sometimes...but not always. Sometimes the bullies are like Tusken Raiders--easily frightened, but they soon return in greater numbers.
I was actually thinking the other day about what I'll tell my kids if they are bullied.
As someone whose childhood was pretty much defined by the phenomenon, it worries me. I don't want my kid thinking he's a wimp or a coward for not retaliating, but, as I learned from experience, retaliation usually backfires unless you are bigger, faster, and stronger than the other guy. And they don't always respect you for trying to defend yourself, either.
The kid in this video is twice the size of the bully. There's no question who would win in a fair fight, and the bully only gets away with bullying on the patience of the victim.
I can see the justification for defending himself. And at least he did it without bringing guns to school.
Still, our Master calls us to turn the other cheek.
It would have been preferable had the victim been able to endure his suffering peacefully...but I don't think that makes it inherently sinful for a kid to resist abuse.
We are also called to correct sinners...and the bully acted as if this was the only correction he would comprehend.
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