|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
March 31, 2003 Dear Gabby,There’s been so much discussion in the church and in the media and on ninetyandnine.com about the current war. Some people think America is taking the right step and other people think we’re doing the wrong thing. Even preachers have different opinions. I personally don’t know what to believe about it, since I’m too young to remember other wars. What do you think? Mr. Young Alabama American
Dear Alabama,Mr. Seymour Smallwood was one of the best teachers we ever had during my primary school years. There was no one who did as good a job as he did when it came to teaching reading, writing, and arithmetic. I learned to conjugate verbs in his class, I learned long division and multiplication from him, and I learned geography and even scriptures with him as my teacher. (This was way back in the day when it was still lawful to use the Good Book in America’s classrooms.) He did just about every part of teaching very, very well. Except for one thing. When the boys in our classroom grew to be taller than he was (which wasn’t hard since he was only a little over five feet tall himself), we noticed that he felt uncomfortable telling them what to do. Most boys in my generation, however, had been taught by their parents to respect authority, so even though they could have physically picked him up and set him on top of the schoolhouse, they still treated Mr. Smallwood right. Roland Nickson, however, wasn’t respectful. If anyone had a smart mouth, it was Roland. He was constantly bothering the younger students, stealing their lunches, and leaving frogs, snakes, or cow-patties on the girls’ seats. When Mr. Smallwood would ask the class about the infraction, Roland’s smirk always told the story. We waited and waited in vain for Mr. Smallwood to confront Roland or to go to visit the Nickson home to get the cooperation of his parents or to even mention the difficulty to the school board. Mr. Smallwood did nothing. He tried to ignore the bad behavior, continuing to teach the history and the mathematics and the reading. Once he did begin to reprimand Roland in front of the class, but he never got any farther than, “Roland Nickson…” Roland’s smirk stopped him in his tracks. During lunch break, things got more and more difficult for the rest of the students. Roland talked about the mean pranks he was going to pull next. He threatened the little girls and boys. He grew more and more bold in stealing kids’ lunches. Little Gloria Baker started to bring herself two lunches and didn’t take the second one out until Roland had stolen the first one. Even then, once he figured out her plan, he snatched the second lunch away, tossing it into the branches of the nearby tree, leaving her crying by the steps of the school where Mr. Smallwood sat, watching the whole event and looking very uncomfortable. Roland Nickson was making school unbearable, and Mr. Smallwood’s inability to take control was causing even more discomfort. That’s when the good boys in our class decided that enough was enough. They worked together to come up with a plan. Each one offered to take a turn standing guard over the younger students and the girls during lunch break. They’d stand there, arms crossed, and if Roland came near, the young guard would step in front of the kids, prepared to act if necessary. Things got better for a couple of weeks. But Roland was unhappy about the loss of his entertainment and he began to do things that were more mean than before, like throwing pebbles at the small kids and tripping the big kids and leaving more smelly cow patties in the class-even on the seat of the teacher! He also began threatening the kids who walked home alone, saying that he was going to hurt them and beat them up. Now, I wasn’t there when the whole situation came to a head, but goodness gracious, did we talk about it for the next few months. The good boys decided, after a few weeks of guard duty with no change in Roland’s behavior, that definitive action was the only language that Roland Nickson, the bully, would understand. Although no one ever spoke aloud about the incident, we heard that several of the good boys waylaid Roland on the way home from school (after a particularly difficult day of pranks), and when we saw him next, limping meekly to his seat in the back of the class, he was boasting two black eyes, a swollen nose, and an arm in a sling. None of the good boys ever talked about what was said or done that day, and neither did Roland, but in the next two years (until his family moved away) we never had another incident of lunch stealing, cow patties on chairs, or even smirking disrespect of the teacher’s authority. I’m not telling Roland Nickson’s story to say that I think violence is the final answer to bullying. But, sometimes, in some situations, when nothing else seems to be making a difference, it might be the way to go. My own Papa and Mama were not afraid to take out the paddle and give us a couple of whacks on our posterior when our defiant nature reared its ugly head. Even God, many times throughout the scriptures, used the good people to fight evil. All I know is that, in Roland Nickson’s case, the innocent little students were, once again, able to go about their school day without fear. And, if by this war, America and its allies can make a positive difference to the innocent people who’ve lived in fear during all the years of this current regime, and to their children who are still unborn, then I think war-with all its horror-is worth it. Sincerely Sincere, Gabby ninetyandnine.com © 2003, ninetyandnine.com --------- Gabrigail VanBurden has been offering advice for longer than most of you have been alive. Email your practical Apostolic life questions to Gabby@ninetyandnine.com and be prepared for some straight answers! |
|
|
