Islamobullies

Every one of us has come in contact with a bully at least a few times in our life. Generally this happens early on say in kindergarten or first grade. You know the routine, the kid who threatens to pound you lest you give him your Twinkie , lunch money or whatever else you might have that he/she wanted. There was no nuance no negotiating with these guys, either do what they want or pay the price.

It's the first experience we have with fear through intimidation. We realized even at that young age there were but three options available to us when we encounter a bully. First being, acquiesce to his demands and give him what he wants. This intially mollifies the antagonist however it is at the expense of whatever item(s) we gave up not to mention our dignity. This rarely succeeds in the long run as the demands by the bully generally intensify with time. The second option is to try and "make friends" with the bully. You know be the devoted minion, shower him with praise and act the toady. This option also carries with it a high price tag. You may not get beat up but you've swapped your values for his as well as you're freedom and liberty. You have essentially become a slave without a mind of your own. Lastly one can stand up to the bully. One of two things will happen, you will get pounded a few times untill the bully realizes the costs are too high and moves to easier pickings or he will simply back down for the same reason. The final scenario is the only long term solution that allows you to retain what's being extorted as well as your liberty, dignity and way of life.

We who opted for the third solution find out in short order that the devastating fear we had was unfounded. The pain involved was minimal, nothing compared to the pain we would have endured acquiecsing to the bully daily for who knows how long. We also encountered side benefits of the third option.....a new found respect and admiration of our fellow classmates. We were respected, a model for which many could aspire.

So it was and is. We found as time went on that bullies were ever present in our world and the only diference is the older we got the higher became the stakes. The same three options that were available to us then are there now. Unfortunately many who never chose the third option still believe the first two viable, even preferable.

For them the bully won and he is still winning.