One day when I was in elementary school a bully beat me up because I was fat. I went home crying, and my dad asked me what was wrong. I told him about the bully and about getting beat up and he asked me if I knew how to throw a punch. I was probably 10 years old and I had never been in a real fight before. So my dad took me into my room, took the mattress off of my bed, put it upright against the wall and taught me how to fight. He taught me how to take a punch like a boxer and move with it. He taught me how to throw a punch like a soldier. My dad was a Navy Veteran with a Motorcycle, a union carpenter with a strong back like Paul Bunyan and a laugh to match. After my boxing lesson, my dad told me to go outside and pick a fight with that kid the next time I see him, and he told me that if I didn't do it and go stand up to that kid I was grounded.
The next time I saw that kid I stood up to him. He took a swing at me and missed and I socked him right in the mouth. That was the last time that kid ever bullied me again.
On Monday I wrote An open letter to the people who hate Obama more than they love America In that post, I called the bullies out for who they are. I stand by every word I wrote.
The response I got back was overwhelmingly supportive. By Wednesday afternoon that post has racked up over 2,200 tweets, over 15,000 likes on Facebook. 56,000+ shares on social media networks. 99% of the people who responded to my open letter were vocally supportive of standing up to the bullies. It was the other 1% of responders who were offended that really made me understand finally after all these years have passed since my dad taught me how to stand up to bullies exactly what it is that bullies stand for . . .
And it makes me think of that scene from The Big Lebowski, where the Nihilists burn down the Dude's car and demand a ransom but then whine when Walter stands up to them. I guess what I am trying to say is that these men are nihilists. These men are cowards, there's nothing to fear. These men are cowards. Cowards who can only pick on the weak, but when you show strength and stand up to them they can't take it. They can dish it but they can't take it.
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Now, first of all, I really would like to apologize to those people who misconstrued my first message and thought that I was saying that all criticism of President Obama is bound up in hate, bigotry and racism. Far from it. I'm not saying anything that isn't true, but that is why the liars and prejudiced get so angry when I say it. I am simply saying that some people hate Obama more than they love their country, which should be fair game considering the fact that Conservatives are constantly questioning my patriotism. They can dish it but they just can't take it, but that does NOT mean that both sides do it, that's false equivalence, there is a difference between a bully making fun of a gay kid and another kid calling the bully a bigot. There is a difference between the guy who calls the first black President a Secret Kenyan or a racist who hates white people and white culture and the guy who calls bullshit on that kind of race-baiting slime. There is such a thing as "The Southern Strategy", one party has been using it for over 30 years all the way back since Ronald Reagan gave a speech in Philadelphia, Mississippi where men were lynched. That speech was about the beauty of states rights, a safe codeword for slavery and Jim Crow. Both sides DON'T DO IT. One side does. The other doesn't. There is a difference, a big obvious difference, but I digress . . .
If only the people who were outraged that I called the haters bigots were as outraged over the noxious, racist smears their side has cast at this President by the likes of Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh on a daily basis over the last 4 years.
If only the people who were so outraged that I called homophobes the bigots that they are were as outraged when that senile old throwback to Jim Crow's heyday Virginia Foxx said that Matthew Sheppard wasn't the victim of a homophobic hate crime.
If only the people who constantly bully minorities were as offended over being called haters as I am offended by their hate.
Like I said, no one ever accused the haters of being over-committed to ideological consistency.
So the bullies gotta bully, but it doesn't work on me. I'm a big, redneck looking tough guy who learned how to shoot a gun when I was 12 (Thanks, Dad) and who learned how to clean fish when I was nine, you betcha, dontcha know "wink, wink". Bullying me doesn't work. I fight back. You can call me a pinhead all you want right after I get done writing "8 Simple Rules for Dating Bill O'Reilly's Wife". Hell, if I was a mouth breathing wanna-be plumber carrying water for Koch Industries I'd probably have my own book tour by now, they'd be celebrating me as a self made man and proof that you really can pull yourself up by your own bootstraps, but again, I digress. I'd rather be called a dirty fucking hippy for reading books then to stand on the side that throws books in the garbage . . .
The funny thing about the first bully I punched out years ago was that he went and told the teacher on me.
And this is what bullies do. They are cowards. Cowards who only pick on people who they think can't or won't fight back. What are they fighting for? They are ideological nihilists who believe in nothing and can flip-flop on a moments notice because they only thing they believe in is reinforcing the inequality that impoverishes the many so that a few may feast. They want to keep us distracted and fighting amongst ourselves so the banksters and the special interests can rob us all blind. They know they can't sell a lower standard of living to working class Americans when they are trying to sell them more tax cuts for the rich at the same time, so they'd rather bash gay people or complain about black people on welfare, but when I call them out on it then they are suddenly oh so very sensitive, yes indeed, oh so hurt and fragile, how could I be so mean?
Oh you poor, sensitive little flowers.
They can dish it but they sure can't take it, so I fully intend to keep on dishing it.
Remember, the only thing a bully respects is a punch in the lip.
It's a good thing for these guys that I fully believe in non-violent civil disobedience.
So I'm going to keep fighting for working class people against these banksters and the special interests. I'm going to keep standing up for the little guy that the bullies want to pick on, because that is what my dad taught me. I'm going to keep telling the truth about these haters, these liars, these tools of the banksters, and I won't stop telling the truth about them until they stop telling lies about everything else.
And to the haters, go cry me a river. You can dish it but you can't take it.
Remember, I don't hate you. I forgive you. Besides, you probably hate yourself, that's why you behave the way you do.
Peace and love to all. Love takes courage.
You can follow me on twitter @JesseLaGreca