"Just Kidding" and "Ganging Up" Response

The excerpt “Just Kidding” and “Ganging up” was story I read in the ASTI packet. This story by Rachel Simmons is about the feelings of girls and guys when someone makes fun of them. Simmons mentions that when a girl is made fun of with even a joke, they lose self esteem and it can even apply to guys too. I recall a time in my elementary school years when I had just started wearing glasses and I was made fun of because of them. They said they were joking around but it still really hurt. I didn’t like wearing glasses and with the opportunity of making fun of me because of them really lowered my self esteem and I was down for a couple of days. When I finally talked to my friends, they told me to forget about it and helped me stand back up. (They also helped me get them back) From the story I learned that people bully or make fun of others because they were probably made fun of before and wanted to take it out on someone else. In Simmons story, a girl called Lauren said, “you don’t do it on purpose, it’s your natural instinct,” and by natural instinct Lauren is talking about authority and power. With the instinct of gaining authority and power that could be another reason why people bully others. Another idea Simmons pointed out was “it makes me feel powerful.” Isn’t it our natural instinct to take control? Even if “ganging up” isn’t a good thing to do I think that his is a trait that we humans need to survive. In the future my goal is to never have to take my anger out on someone or bully anyone even if it is just a joke.