First grade. There were two boys whose names I don’t remember; I don’t even remember their faces. What I do remember is the way they bullied me and my classmates. There were many incidents where they relished in antagonizing all of us in as many different ways as they could. I got the brunt of it because I stood up to them.

One of those moments was during a recess when they grabbed me and made me stand on an anthill until the ants attacked my feet and lower legs. Yeah, they were two shitty little kids.

Junior high. There was one incident when three guys who were giving me grief on the bus actually came to my house and wanted to fight me in the driveway. One of them held the front door, and the biggest kid, again, I don’t remember his name or his face, taunted me to come out and settle things. Luckily, nothing came of it.

Time and time again, I talked my way out of getting beaten up.

My adulthood. I had a boss some years back who was one of the worst humans I had ever known. He was a news director at a station where I was a host. He threatened me, my coworkers, and treated women horribly, and never got in trouble for any of it, no matter how many times we went to HR.

Bullies are a part of life, I guess.

Pondering that idea for a while, I thought back to one of my favorite movies as a child, one that gave me a sense of satisfaction as I fantasized about dishing out revenge on all of my bullies.

My Bodyguard.

It was a 20th Century Fox movie that came out in 1980. It starred Chris Makepeace, Adam Baldwin, and Matt Dillon. This remains one of the most important movies of my life.

I hadn’t seen this movie in decades. If you haven’t seen it in a while, go back and at least appreciate the great hairdos and fashions of the early 80s. If you haven’t seen it, especially if you’re part of the younger generations, I think you’d appreciate it.  

The story follows Clifford Peache. He’s a new student at Fleer High School in Chicago. He’s not only the new kid, he’s the rich kid. He arrives at school every day in a limo. No matter the era, that is never a good thing for a kid.

Clifford becomes the target of our film villain, high school bully Melvin Moody (what a name!), played brilliantly by one of the best ’80s stars, Matt Dillon. Moody is pulling the typical extortion racket, collecting money from kids in return for protection. In this case, they are promising protection from Rickey Linderman, who has a reputation that isn’t completely without justification. Linderman is the quiet, mysterious type. There are rumors that he killed his younger brother (We find out later exactly what happened.)

I wonder if bullies in the 70s and 80s are any different from bullies today. I ask that because bullying back then was up close and personal, while today so much of it is on social media. Like this moment in the movie when Moody and his goons approach Clifford in the boys’ bathroom.

During that scene, Moody keeps using everyone’s fear of Ricky Linderman to extort other students. Well, one day, Clifford takes the chance to meet Linderman, a stoic teen played beautifully by Adam Baldwin. The two eventually become friends, sort of, while working on a motorcycle. Eventually, Clifford confronts Moody with Linderman as his bodyguard. It’s one of those moments in the movie that is so satisfying.

But the story doesn’t end there. Moody goes and gets his own bodyguard. And he wants revenge. Go to the 13th minute of this video when the bully brings out his own bodyguard.

Linderman runs away. This is a great moment in storytelling because the villain gets to laugh loudly, and it feels like there’s no hope. I won’t tell you anymore, but the two bodyguards must confront each other, and Clifford must face his bully, Moody. This is a great movie and was actually listed as one of the 50 greatest high school movies ever.

I can remember so many of the bullies I’ve faced and run from throughout my life. Sadly, bullying doesn’t end in childhood. There are a lot of bullies in adulthood, too. Sometimes, they are a bit more frightening later in life.

Forgiving them has been difficult, but it is something that I have wanted to do and continue to try.

What did you think of the movie? If you haven’t seen it, please put this on your list. It’s magnificent. How did you face your bullies in life? Have you forgiven them? Maybe you were the bully. Have you shown remorse for those actions? Have you sought forgiveness?