Standing Up and Standing Bullies Down



One thing that gets me going is a bully of any kind. I feel so strongly about people who victimize others, particularly those who hurt women and children, that I joined World Pulse just to tell this story.



I’ve lived in Los Angeles since 1974. L.A. is a town where you are largely naked without a car. In 1983, mine was in the shop, so I had to ride the bus for a couple of weeks. Once at a bus stop in west Hollywood I encountered a young inebriated man screaming at a crying woman who appeared to be his girlfriend. I told him to leave her alone and he turned his ire on me and spit in my face. In more of a reaction than a thought-out move, I slapped him to the ground. He got up crying, ran off, and didn't come back.



Days later, I was riding a bus and the driver was loudly berating an elderly woman in the mirror about something she'd said before I got onboard. No one spoke up; the woman was very upset. I listened about a minute and then told him she had a right to speak, and "we" had heard enough. He yelled at me, so I walked to the front, got his driver number, and advised him to be quiet. He shut up but glared angrily at me until almost everyone had left the bus. One stop before the end of the line, a passenger advised me to get off because the driver was angry. I told him I'd be fine.



Sure enough, at the last stop the driver locked the doors, wouldn't let me off, stood and began yelling and pushing a finger in my face. I asked him to calm down. Then his finger jammed into my nose and my right fist instantaneously flashed. In slow motion "zone" style my fist hit his cheek, split it open, and he fell to the ground unconscious. I went to the middle of the bus, used an emergency door release, and walked away. I was worried I'd done something wrong, but all my friends who heard the story applauded.



More men should stand up for women who are bullied by out-of-control men. After those two incidents, I have never hesitated about confronting such beasts. For some reason now, they always walk away, rather than push it any further.

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