Faggot
by Thomas Pluck
Posted January 4th, 2012 • 24 comments • permalink

In study hall Brandon sat like a little faggot so I said “Hey faggot.”

“That’s right, faggot. Don’t look at me. I don’t like faggots looking at me. I don’t want their faggot eyes on me, faggot.”

Bell rang and he walked like a faggot and held his books like a faggot so I knocked them out of his gay little hands.

I bumped past him as he bent to pick them up. “Fag.”

Last bell. Walked home, played X-Box.

Dad kicked my feet off the coffee table.

“Keep your damn shoes off my furniture, faggot.”

 

 

About Thomas Pluck

Thomas Pluck writes unflinching fiction with heart. His story "Black-Eyed Susan" won the 1st place Bullet Award in September 2011. His stories appear in Pulp Modern, Crimespree Magazine, Beat to a Pulp, McSweeney's Internet Tendency, The Utne Reader and elsewhere. His work will appear soon in Needle: A Magazine of Noir and Crimefactory. He is working on his first novel, and he is co-editor of Lost Children: A Charity Anthology. His home on the web is www.pluckyoutoo.com

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  • http://www.pluckyoutoo.com Thomas Pluck

    You can donate to gay teen suicide prevention and anti-bullying programs here: 
    https://secure.itgetsbetterproject.com/page/contribute?source=actioncenter
    I’ll donate $5 for every comment with your thoughts and experience on bullying, left by the end of the week (Sunday)

  • mti

    This made me cry. 

  • Pingback: From little big man to big little man and the lessons learned « Going Ballistic

  • Paul von Stoetzel

    Great story, man. Yeah, being a kid sucks. Every day I consider my job as a dad to help my kid in minimizing how much suckage there is. Thanks for writing this.

  • AJ Hayes

    The cycles here are all too true. Physical assault knocks the bully’s feet off the table and he is given the “proper” terminology by dear old Dad. Still dosen’t excuse the behavior. And don’t think it stops after high school. One of the four major influences in my life was a guy named Max. He taught me what class is all about. My wife loved the man. He commited suicide after someone outed him at work and, in the Sixties, the closet was the only safe place for gays. Lost his job, couldn’t get another. grew morose, killed himself. The Sixties were all about peace, love and togetherness — for some. But the bullies werre there all the same. Pisses me off they are allowed to live, but Max wasn’t.

  • http://www.pluckyoutoo.com Thomas Pluck

    In no way do I excuse the narrator’s behavior. If anything, I meant to indict the parents for teaching and reinforcing bullying behavior. It is something I see a lot in bullying incidents. They want to be ashamed of their kid, but they are still sort of proud that their kid came out on top. Part of how we worship success, but absolve how one gets there.

    • AJ Hayes

      I’m in complete agreement with you, Thomas. I got the parental indictmenr clearly. Sorry I wasn’t clear about that agreement in my comment. 

  • Katherine Tomlinson

    Heart-breaking. I have a couple of friends who endured bullying from parents and decades after leaving home, they’re still dealing with the wreckage. It has shaped and warped their lives in ways that have made it hard for them to achieve their full potential. 

  • Frank Larnerd

    Powerful.
    Well done, Mr. Pluck.

  • Mike Miner

    Is it still like this, I wonder?  This could have happened in any of my schools from elementary to high school.  I can picture this all too easily as a result.  First person is an interesting, and effective, choice too.

  • Les Edgerton

    Brilliant!

  • Paul D Brazill

    A smashing kick back!

  • Holly West

    Short and powerful, Thomas. Thanks for all you do to help others.

  • Chris Rhatigan

    This is so well done. Makes me wonder about the bullies I know growing up. One of them definitely had a jackass for a father. 

  • Pingback: Faggot « How many short stories can you read in one year? Can you read a story a day for one year?

  • Chris Black

    Wow. You nailed that one very precisely. Powerful writing.

  • Kieran

    Slap.

  • Anonymous

    yes, that is how it happens… good job.

    Bill Baber

  • http://twitter.com/RenWarom Ren Warom

    I was bullied a great deal at school and not once did any teacher who saw attempt to intervene. The truth is too ugly, so people tend to gloss over it. 

    Great story, it goes deeps. Says a lot. But remember also that there are those who bully for the sheer pleasure of seeing another human being break. 

  • http://www.pluckyoutoo.com Thomas Pluck

    Thank you all for your comments. I donated $115 to the It Gets Better Project in 3 installments, so 3 school libraries will receive their book: Nutley high school in NJ (mine), St. Thomas More in Baton Rouge (my friend Andre du Broc’s) and North Garland, Texas high for a woman who wrote a confessional story apologizing for bullying on Twitter… but I can’t find her name. 

  • David Barber

    How did I miss this?  Great, hard hitting piece, Thomas.  It all starts at home and comes for the parents.  In a lot of the cases, it’s not the child who needs educating but the parent.

    Nice touch with the donation, Thomas.  I’ll check out the link!!

  • silent valentina

    here is another organization geared to the awareness of the ramifications of bullying: 

    http://www.kindnessabovemalice.org/

  • Ingrid Hardy

    Wow. It doesn’t get any clearer than that. Well done, Thomas…

  • Bob Hayhurst

    …Nice story Thomas; glad I clicked over from MFile; it’s hard to make a living as a writer but you can make a difference…

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