Doonesbury by Garry Trudeau for May 23, 2012

Heck, for my 16th birthday, I burned a cross on my neighbors front lawn.

I do remember punching a bully in the nose and breaking it. Not all bookworms are easy marks.

There’s still a bully out there I wouldn’t mind bumping into.

Let’s not drag this out or anything…

Even Roland knows how to call this one.

Doesn’t the teenage hair-cutting prank – if it really happened – pale in comparison to the adult frat hazing that is an entrenched institution at major universities? How many elected officials and Federal appointees are fraternity members?

As Hamlet says ‘If we were all used as we deserved, there’s none would ‘scape whipping’.

“…If everybody’s pranks and shenanigans of youth were laid bare, none of us could pass muster”No, I’m not perfect but by the time I was in High School, I had developed a moral compass that would have prevented me from leading a gang to attach a single individual just because he was different in a way I did not approve. This event speaks volumes about Romney if it wasn’t already clear what he uses for a compass.

Romney is keeping this alive himself by refusing to admit that it happened. If he had said, “Yes, I did it. But, it was wrong and I am sorry,” the whole thing would have blown over. His inability to admit what he did is at the centre of these strips.

Gosh, that Barry was receiving foreign student aid when he was 18 pales against Mitt’s gay bashing….

I’ll say something in defense of Mitt: they didn’t have the term “hate crimes” back then. Having said that, the way he speaks of that particular act today is one of the most troubling aspects of it.

The best person for the job of President is not necessarily the nicest. Granted Romney is more domineering than Obama, more alpha male, but that is not always a bad thing. My issue with Obama is not that he is not nice enough, it’s that he has been ineffective in overcoming the paralysis in government.

I was bullied in high school for being the wrong religion and also for looking affeminate. One day in gym I had had it and punched the guy bullying me. It was the goalie on the school hockey team. He said he would see me that afternoon. I almost S*** in my pants but I was there. We fought but he threw light punches, probably afraid he would kill me. No problems the rest of the time in school. That was long ago, but I remember it and also found respect for myself. So did others. I dodn’t know if it is the same today in schools, about fair fights.

many of those high school bullies are having a tough time in the real world.

Facebook does have security settings for that; not perfect, but reasonably good.

Anyway, isn’t this comments thing sort of a ‘social network’?

I still remember when a bunch of us neighborhood kids turned our backs and wouldn’t talk to the strange-looking girl who lived by the railroad tracks. If I could find her, I’d apologize – and I was around 7 or 8 when we did it. I’m 52 now. You can’t forget hateful things

Children, like all young animals, have a genetic predisposition to bully. It’s that old survival of the fittest instinct to be on top of the pecking order or be protected by whoever is. Sadly, teenagers, in developing social skills without the advantages of a mature conscience, can be vicious. I am sure we all bare scars from this period of our lives.What disturbs me is Romney’s convenient amnesia, not only concerning this but on other things as well. The inability to admit a possible wrong, no matter how slight, is alarming.

Yeah… I’m having a similar argument with a commenter who insists that Tyler Clemente’s suicide wasn’t caused by the ‘youthful prank’ his roommate pulled in outing him to the world. We all have our little indescretions, I’m sure.

Got something you want to get off your chest?

I like the way Gary can buzz up his liberal worshipers. Facts don’t seem to deter him. Only conservatives can be bad guys in his well known agenda.

The issue is not that Romney was a bully back in high school. The issue is that he is responding to the reports in a way that suggests he is still thinking with the mind and values of a high school bully rather than an adult seeking the most powerful job on the planet. Had he said (as most adults would), “Yeah, I did that (sigh), it was stupid, it was wrong, I’m sorry I did it,” the whole thing would have been over in a few hours. Instead, he first denies it happened, then claims he can’t remember, now tries to claim it was just a little prank, and will probably next try to portray himself as a victim because the Big Bad Media won’t let go of the story. This strongly suggests he lacks a basic adult skill: the ability to acknowledge a mistake and correct it.

hey, I wasn’t approaching you to hit you. I was approaching you to hit ON you. sheez! you didn’t have to break my watch. you big bully!

Wait, I think I must have pulled some girl’s pigtails in the first grade. Holy evil person!!

love the way conservatives ALWAYS look for excuses for “bad” behavior. just like a bully.

but that’s nothing new. since St. Ronnie, conservatives are the new Bully in America party. as they say, you reap what you sow.

stopping bullying is part of growing up and becoming an adult, unlike most conservatives we see on this comment page. standing up to bullies is the only way.

bullying is wrong, like conservatism, and must be stopped before more innocents suffer.

youthful ignorance and stupid and hatefilled bullying are two different things. once again, the “everybody does it” excuse is employed.

i wonder if these “people” actually believe in payback, or does God give them a “get out of Jail” card, once they are “saved.”

such hatred and outright fear.

It wasn’t one incident, he also walked a blind teacher in a glass door & “giggled hysterically.” His adult actions show a lack of empathy, too.

I wanted to experiment with nuclear fission in my back yard at 12. I had the bailing wire and steel drum already to go too.The government stepped in and told me that i couldn’t do that. It would have worked too.

……………………………..?

I’m with Buzz Wuzza, though my revenge would be to know my high school bully got fat. lol!

To paraphase the question in the strip:“Mr. President. Doesn’t it defy credulity that you weren’t influenced by listening to the hate filled sermons of Rev. Wright for over 10 years?”

The problem with bullying in our schools is the zero tolerance policy. If we would allow the grade school kids to duke it out, they soon learn that no one wins in a fight. Constant pulling them apart causes a frustration that might cause someone a little off to pick up an equalizer for a childish reason.

Everyone wants to criminalize Romney for this – Clinton “tried it, didn’t like it, and didn’t inhale”. He got elected – this is another non-issue. I think that ALL boys(and most girls) get into scraps. Ask most any boy who first beat him up and most of the time it was a girl. Get over it – how is he going to fix the economy? I am sure that his plan will work as well as anyone else’s plan.

Romney’s economic plan won’t work. It was tried and failed. The super rich will do well. The rest of us will be screwed. Just like what happened under Reagan. Just like what happened to the workers at GST steel. Bush was a severe alcoholic who was elected twice too.

“The problem with bullying in our schools is the zero tolerance policy. If we would allow the grade school kids to duke it out, they soon learn that no one wins in a fight.”

It’s only a “fight” when both participants are able (or willing) to fight. When a 150-lb 12 year-old (maybe with friends) is beating on a 70-lb 10 year-old, maybe nobody “wins” but somebody definitely loses. It’s “bullying” when it’s not a fair fight.

SGT, are you saying you believe more GM jobs would have been saved had Obama not acted? Under what credible scenario?

I remember only too well when Neil and the Keating 5 almost destroyed the small banks and savings & loans. I was living in Arizona at the time and saw the effects there but vividly recall having to go tho Colorado Springs on business and being shocked. It was like a ghost town. Deja vu here in Florida, thanks to Junior & Friends.History repeats itself and Republicans repeat each other.

The victim didn’t come out till much later.So saying Romney was attacking a gay is a slander and Trudeau is a jerk for trying to make him look like he committed a hate crime But facts never got in the way of his slander.

Then maybe NONE of us should run for office. taking someone prisoner and forcefully cutting his hair is not a “prank” or a “shenanigan.” It’s assault and battery, and even worse if it meant so little to him it doesn’t now make a blip on the radar.

“…killing time is perhaps the essence of comedy, just as the essence of tragedy is killing eternity.”Miguel de Unamuno

Thank you DoctorDan, I narrowly escaped a similar hair cutting incident in high school. There were also lesser incidents in my youth in which I was “bully” of which I am ashamed to this day. I’ve never forgotten either.

I am surprised that Roland’s employer (FOX TV) allowed him to ask such a question. Wonder if there will be some type of reprimand from FOX to him?

Mr. trudoo must be really worried about the wee man in the white house to stoop to this crap. Reaching for the bottom but not there yet.

Entitled does as entitled wants.

Romney has claimed he doesn’t remember this “particular incident” of bullying on his part. Remembering a “singular incident” when you have a PATTERN OF BAD BEHAVIOR, is indeed “difficult” for some. Romney’s brutal treatment of folks later in life was the “keep his hands clean” type, where corporate structure gave him those “nine degrees of separation” from his actions, that devastated thousands of lives.

Given the opportunity to “run” the United States, I see him as of the same, spineless bully type, as “W”, and it doesn’t bode well.

While I faced “bullies” as a kid, I’d learned techniques for “dealing with them”. As an adult, those techniques improved, and I, as an individual through “aggressive persuasion”, or in law enforcement, “modified the behaviors” of a number of bullies.

VOTERS need to realize that AS INDIVIDUALS it is important to take THEIR step to eliminate bullying, and bullies, like Mitt, and his “supporters”. EVERY individual with any moral judgement, will vote against the Bully machine behind Romney (or any neocon candidate for Congress as well!!).

Remember it is only a “hate crime” if you are a conservative. If you are liberal ( and especially of the media) it is called “social justice.”

That’s what Trudeau does – social justice. In this case interpreting a case that he knows nothing about by standards that were unimagined in the 1960’s. Nobody even used the word “gay” and long hair was a sign of rebellion, but not of being transgendered.

Get off it, Gary. You are a drag and a tool.

As if we needed reminding, we continue to see that Republicans lack any moral compass whatsoever. Set your course by the dollar sign.

If he can’t stand up to the right wing of his own party, how will he ever stand up to Putin or Achmadinajad?

I’ve been away for awhile. I missed you guys a lot. It’s good to be back.

Does the GOP really want to bring up religion again? Really? You guys do have a Mormon this time. The religion which historically, until 1978, did say that blacks could not get into heaven. Also, they were polygamists. Again, we don’t know what Romney’s preacher has to say now or at any other time since we can’t get into the Mormon temple. Mormonism has many facets which do not seem part of mainstream America, it is most unusual to say the least.

I’m divided on this issue: on one hand I don’t believe in holding something from a person’s youth over them forever. On the other, I think it takes a certain type of person to attack another human being the way Mitt did: the type that enjoys dominating others or the type that is easily led by others. I don’t want either type of person for my president. If Mitt had bit the bullet on this, I would have gotten over it no problem, but his response is very troubling indeed.

and all I experimented with was using a 50:50 bleach/water mix to put “As% H@73” on the local curmudgeon’s lawn(it didn’t grow back for nearly 2 years). He used to yell and scream at kids for playing in the street – even when there was no traffic on our little looped street that went nowhere.

Apparently, troo-dough never experienced “growing up”, he went straight from toddling to harvard-hood!!!(or whatever)

Most WASPs forget the word is PROTESTant. I’m a recovering Catholic myself. I found out what caused it and got it fixed.

Notice that focus is more on the lack of credibility of Romney’s I-don’t-recall response. So its less about the actions of a long-ago 18-year old jerk and more about the blatant current dishonesty of this Presidential candidate

“What makes a bully attack is an unfair advantage.”

I don’t disagree, of course.

When schoolyard fighters are equally matched, and when both are willing combatants, I can understand letting them work it out between themselves, so long as it doesn’t get out of hand. And of course it’s satisfying to see a bully get the tables turned on him when he’s misjudged his target. But to say “The way to deal with bullies is to stand up to them” is just another way of putting the onus back on the victim, who all too often can’t or won’t fight back.

It’s a non-starter. Maybe (and ONLY maybe) one strip would have been OK—much closer to the time when the subject was still fresh. Now it’s a just a yawner. G.T. has lost his touch for creating strips that are funny to people on both sides of the issue. Too bad—he was absolutely great but now he’s just bitter, and seldom laugh-out-loud funny.