Baryonic Musings

My observations here are of early childhood bullying among boys, roughly ages 4 to 10, and may apply less for older kids/teens, among girls, etc. My observations also don’t apply to budding psychopaths or those with severe personality disorders, who may have some genetic predisposition to violence and bullying, or in any case are extreme outliers.  Veils of Silence “Oh, that’s right. You get to go through all that now.” –An elderly neighbor, when I mentioned our son was being bullied. When my wife became pregnant with our first child, she learned that there was a veil of silence surrounding many of the day-to-day aspects of being pregnant and giving birth, and this veil was only lifted for you once you became pregnant and were in the presence of other women who’d been through it. Then, the stories and cautions and warnings about the whole experience began. This wasn’t a coordinated effort on the part of every mother she knew, but a silent cultural expectation she didn’t know ...

 The following is a companion to the more general document titled “On Bullying among Young Boys,” and provides a description of the behaviors of my son’s primary bully and his sidekick. This is the best summary of what’s happened between Michael, Robert, and Daniel that I can assemble. Given what my wife, Lisa, and I have witnessed, confirmation of some events from a few others, and the physical and emotional toll it’s taken on Daniel, I suspect I’m quite close to the truth. My goal, as always, is to figure out the truth. These are all just kids involved here, and they need help changing their behaviors for the better.   Cast: There’s a lot of people, so I’ll try to write “Michael’s father” etc. as often as possible. All names are changed. Daniel. Our son. His parents are Lisa and I. His little sister is Erin. Michael Thompson. A cunning bully. His parents are Samantha and John. Robert Henderson. Michael’s sidekick. His parents are William and Caroline. His little ...