HUMOR - Oh if only!

CULTURE/SOCIETY: Two Sikh Men, Two Lifetimes Of Looking Different

The tragic shooting at a Sikh house of worship in Wisconsin this month has turned the spotlight on the Sikh faith and the nation's Sikh community.

Earlier this year, Surinder Singh and his son Rupinder visited a StoryCorps booth in San Francisco, where they reflected on their own experiences standing out among their peers and neighbors.

http://m.npr.org/story/4516989?url=/series/4516989/storycorps

CULTURE/SOCIETY: Young Girl Bullied For Liking Star Wars

http://starwarsblog.starwars.com/index.php/2010/11/18/young-girl-bullied-for-liking-star-wars/

MY LIFE (and ENTERTAINMENT): My Daughter And “Her Nerds”

Since time immemorial, as far back as anyone can remember, from the dawn of the cave dwellers, a particular group has been picked on and mistreated by the mighty and the popular.

This group has been known by many names - “geeks”, “dorks”, “spazzes”, “losers”... and most notably “nerds”.

But in ONE school, this arrangement is changing! In one school, ONE girl is standing up and saying “No more!”

This is THE story of that girl!


Okay, my daughter isn't heroic as all that... although his friends might disagree. But has seemed to change the way that at least her friends at school are treated.

And what got me started thinking so much about my daughter and “her nerds” was the song below...



I, myself, could relate to this song quite well. I'd been on both sides of the equation, picked on and ignored, as well as ignoring others who were picked on. I'm not proud of that, but I'd be a liar if I told you otherwise.

But my daughter... now there's a completely different story. Although she picked up my compassion, she fortunately also picked up her mother's feistiness and confidence.

And one time when I was listening to this song, I imagined what it would be like if my daughter was the main character of this tale.


Things would be different from the start, I can tell you that!

That first day after the bicycle race, which my daughter would do her damnedest to win, she would go up to that James and say, “Hi, I'm J---. You're going to be my new best friend. What's your name?” It seems like she does this to almost every new nerd that joins her school. Like she's the school's nerd-welcoming committee.

And if the guy wondered what was going on and who the heck she was, she'd just say, “I told you! I'm J---, and you're going to be my new best friend.”

And if the guy should protest and say he doesn't need a new friend or something, she would inform him that's “Too bad!”


Come lunch the first day, James would find himself suddenly surrounded by my daughter and her friends, who she refers to as “my nerds”. My daughter would play master of ceremonies introducing the new nerd to the rest of the group.

Do they know that she calls them “my nerds”? Apparently so. Have they complained about being called that? My daughter told me they did. Her response? “Too bad!”


If James and my daughter went for a walk like they did in the song, she would probably talk with him about being from a divorced home.

But if he tried to tell her that her music was junk, she would most definitely put him in his place.

And soon as he brought up The Sex Pistols... oh boy!

She'd rip into him about how he listens to that old awful crap her dad does! And probably ask him with a sneer if he listens to Violent Femmes and Devo too. And then she'd tell him about how there is new music out there! And that teenagers should be listening to their own music, not their parents'!

Have to admit my daughter has a point on teenagers who listen to their parents' music and nothing from their generation. That's just wrong and kind of sad!


Now, if three guys started picking on James, this would definitely turn out differently!

As my daughter explained: “One guy would find himself himself pushed to the ground. Another would find his face slammed into a locker. And the third would find himself with his arm twisted very far behind him.” Then after a pause, and with a bit pride, “All things I have done to people who have picked on my nerds!”

I should say here that my daughter is not a big girl. She gets some of her stature from her petite, five foot tall mother. But then her mother doesn't take crap from anyone either!

My daughter is apparently known as “the psycho girl who hangs out with the nerds”. And most bullies, it seems, have learned not to mess with her friends.


I will freely admit that I am quite proud of my daughter, The Great Protector Of Nerds. She has the confidence and looks to be part of the popular crowd, but is unwilling to make the compromises. “They're boring! All they talk about are boys, clothes and their hair! Ugh!” Instead she hangs out with the group that willingly accepts all her quirks and eccentricities. And they get a good return investment for letting her in there! Not that she'd give them a choice!