15 January 2008: Breaking Point

[Baree]

Going by the principal's track record in these matters, Millie will be very lucky if all she gets is detention and/or a visit to Dr. Wahnsinnig. Jeremy has a 99.9999% chance of getting off scot-free, aside from whatever mark Millie made on that foot-thick skull of his.

Except that none of this happened on the school playground, at least not as far as I can see, so the principal has no say in the matter. Seems to me they're in a park or something.

[Kazapsky]

It'll find its way onto the schoolgrounds sooner or later. Authority figures have an infinite number of excuses available to justify meddling in what may or may not be their business.

[Bocaj Claw]

There was such a huge gulf between the joking around of yesterday's comic ('Your main concern is that we're not being bullied wittily enough?') and the tears in today's that I thought there had to be another strip between the two.

Such a surprising twist.

[VolkswagenFox]

Go Millie! And Ozy's expression is awesome in the last panel. Seeing Millie crying made me sad. It's probably because I can relate to how she feels.

This strip reminds me of when I got pushed into the mud by a bully back in grade 4. I kicked him in the junk afterwards.

[Hanging Tree]

it doesn't take an administrator as deluded as Mr. Vine to ignore whatever provoked the punch; all they care about is the punch itself.

Unless the bully got physical with you, you have no real justification to resorting to violence.

[VolkswagenFox]

There was such a huge gulf between the joking around of yesterday's comic ('Your main concern is that we're not being bullied wittily enough?') and the tears in today's that I thought there had to be another strip between the two.

Such a surprising twist.

X2! I had to check if there was a strip that came before this one.

[Sage]

I'd consider pushing someone into the mud repeatedly, especially after telling him to stop, to be physical.

Also, does anyone remember "A Christmas Story" where Ralphy finally snaps and starts beating the crap out of that bully?

[Tom Flapwell]

We did see Millie shed tears before, but it wasn't due to physical pain or humiliation: The breakup of Ms. Mudd and Captain Locke.

It's a pretty rare amount of violence for this comic, but I wasn't too surprised. Millie did fight Felicia, who didn't even throw or threaten the first punch.

I did think of A Christmas Story. It could be that Jeremy gets pretty wimpy once faced with someone actually standing up to him.

ostracized(sp?)

Correct.

[BladeRaptor]

To all those who protest that "violence is not the answer": you've obviously never been on the receiving end of anything resembling what Ozy and Millie have gone through, or you'd know that a pop on the jaw is the only thing that's likely to even slow a Jeremy down. Sometimes the only way to protect yourself is to fight back.

Absolutely. And that is especially true here. As I said before; self-defense. Millie was put in a situation where she was so frustrated she, the strong-willed Millie, was actually in tears. All she wanted was to get out of the puddle, and Jeremy sought to deny her even that. She just wanted the torture to end. And so, she switched to "survival mode". Her life was probably not in danger, but she was pushed to such a degree that her subconsious was utterly convinced that it was. She had to get out somehow, and her body went on auto-pilot to do that by whatever means necessary.

Standing up for herself with words proved ineffective in the second panel. Walking away couldn't work, because Jeremy would just use his superior physical strength to push her back in.

They say ignoring them is a solution, but it seems authorites take their own advice on this one. To "ignore" the bully basically means "let them continue to bully you". Ignoring a problem, by definition, does nothing to solve it. Because while you are doing that, you are still at their mercy. Besides, what was she supposed to to, just wallow in the mud like a pathetic beast until Jeremy was satisfied? He would still get what he came for; to see Millie humiliated. That left her with only one option to free herself; speaking to Jeremy in his native language of Pain.

Some might say she should not have hit him. My response to that is, the situation should never have gotten to the point where she had to. Jeremy's bullying was never acceptable, but he really crossed the line here, and he deserves far worse than just a punch in the face.

[Hanging Tree]

I'd consider pushing someone into the mud repeatedly, especially after telling him to stop, to be physical

Oh yeah, pushing is definitly physical. Its just that Kazapsky was reffering to bullying in general and getting punished for punching the bully.

[Sage]

Absolutely. And that is especially true here. As I said before; self-defense. Millie was put in a situation where she was so frustrated she, the strong-willed Millie, was actually in tears. All she wanted was to get out of the puddle, and Jeremy sought to deny her even that. She just wanted the torture to end. And so, she switched to "survival mode". Her life was probably not in danger, but she was pushed to such a degree that her subconsious was utterly convinced that it was. She had to get out somehow, and her body went on auto-pilot to do that by whatever means necessary.

Standing up for herself with words proved ineffective in the second panel. Walking away couldn't work, because Jeremy would just use his superior physical strength to push her back in.

That seems reasonable. She did say "I blacked out, why does my paw hurt?"

[KJ Fellie]

My prediction: Jeremy
Anyhow, I had a similar experience. One bulky sophomore picked the wrong very irritable, very hungry senior to pick on. He never picked on me, my family, or my friends again. I don't think he picked on anyone again. (Not only was he surprised how strong skinny guys could be, I got him in big trouble.)

[Sage]

Ack, why didn't I post this before?

It seems that... lots of people on this forum have been bullied... I wonder how a bully would react to this strip?

Also it seems that most of you managed to solve your problems. Unfortunately I had to take the Ozy way out and do nothing about it. of course it got worse... and now I'm stuck in this retard school with no hope whatsoever. It's amazing how bullying can mess someone's life up.

If I had been brave, grew a backbone, and stood up for myself, maybe I wouldn't have these problems I have now. The only problem is that I'm weak, and if I did manage to hit the bullies then they would probably hit back harder, and I would probably get in trouble, too... and moreover I probably would have been laughed at and mocked more. It was probably a lose/lose situation.

However, if that's not what would have happened, I would like to go back and try it, just to see...

Back on topic: Jeremy could react in so many ways... what will happen? What will Ozy do? And Millie? What if the other bullies/jocks/whatever found out he had been beaten by a girl and shun him? Would he become their friends?

[Hanging Tree]

What "retard" school are you in? Are you in an alternative school, cause in my experience its more of the people who cause problems that end up in those. I'm just kind of curious about what you are reffering too.

[Sage]

... school for retards. Social failures mostly. kids who can't speak like normal people (I.E. social failure), kids who are 17 year-olds in diapers. Kids who basically aren't going anywhere.

You know the type. We have plenty of flavors if you want to hear about them.