The Bully Simulator

I saw a post recently on Facebook that really infuriated me. A mom who has a child with disabilities similar to Owen talked about how her teenage daughter had been made fun of by some kids. She talked about how mad her younger daughter became when she saw her older sister being tormented, and about how proud she was of her for knowing what was happening to her sister was wrong. First of all, bravo little sis for having your big sister’s back. Second, bravo to the bully(ies) for picking on someone who can’t fight back. Your parents must be so proud!

I have never bullied anyone myself, at least I’m not aware of ever having done so; but I have witnessed others being bullied and I have been bullied. I remember a girl I went to grade school with who was extremely socially awkward and whose parents didn’t do a good job with keeping up with her hygiene. I witnessed kids being cruel to her and I’m sad to say, I didn’t do anything to stop it. I was a bit awkward myself as a kid and I feared if I spoke up, they would turn to me and start bullying me. I regret not having been a stronger person at that time and sticking up for her. I was picked on from time to time because I was chubby as a kid. It really hurt my feelings and made me feel like crap.

After reading this post and thinking of my past experiences, I thought to myself wouldn’t it be cool if there was a way a bully could get a taste of his or her own medicine. Wouldn’t it be cool if there was something like a bully simulator. The Bully Simulator would be a little compartment, maybe something like an old school phonebooth, or like a bathroom stall. They would be readily available so that if one witnessed a bullying, one could make a citizen’s arrest, if you will, and place – or better yet, shove – the offender inside the Bully Simulator.

The simulator would be completely dark inside at first; then, it would fill with light as the simulation began. Think of being in a movie theater the instant before and just after the movie begins. During the simulation, the bully would get to experience exactly how it felt to be the person they were bullying. They would get to feel what it’s like to live in the body of the person they were tormenting. In this case, they would get feel what it was like to be non verbal child whose body was weak by being wracked by constant seizures. They would get to feel what it was like to have someone taunt you and call you names and not be able to fight back or even run away. They would get to experience firsthand, and in living color, exactly how they made that person feel.

Now the Bully Simulator would not work in all situations. Bullying has become much more sophisticated than when I was a kid, with the advent of social media. Now one can be bullied 24/7 and the bully can conduct his or her heinous activity in the privacy of their own home without ever having to face their victim; something that I’m sure has made bullies more bold. Perhaps that is where the Bully Simulator 2.0 would come into play. If you were caught bullying someone via social media, the Bully Simulator 2.0 would maybe emit a shock causing the offender to drop their phone or cause them to take their fingers off of their keyboard. Maybe the Bully Simulator 2.0 would be a hand coming out of the device and smacking the offender on the hands, face, etc. Maybe it would be the voice of Samuel L. Jackson cursing at you for your bad behavior. The possibilities are endless!

Either way, whether a bully got a taste of his or her own medicine via the original Bully Simulator or the Bully Simulator 2.0, my hope would be that after the bully’s experience with the Bully Simulator, they would have an epiphany. They would understand that their behavior was wrong, how bad they made someone feel, and they would change their ways as a result. They would never think of bullying another human being ever again.