The appalling bullying incident in Upper Darby put me in mind of something that happened to a kid I knew in high school that I hadn't thought about in 35 years.
The kid was the son of the school's Athletic Director. He played football even though he wasn't very good at it. He was nice, friendly kid, slightly overweight, who did no harm to anybody.
I don't remember if the incident happened during football season or not. But the kid, who was 17 or so, was in the boys locker room changing his clothes when a small mob of other young men grabbed a hold of him and dragged him out of boys locker room, stark naked, and pushed him into the girl's gym while a class was going on. The door was held so the boy could not get out.
I don't believe I actually saw any of this happen. As I recall a friend told me about it. But I can still picture what I saw in my mind's eye: a young man, naked, humiliated, curled up by a door, while girls his age - some giggling, some horrified - gawked at him. I still cringe thinking about it.
I am quite sure the boys involved this prank at my school were not arrested. I don't believe they got more than a slap on the wrist as far as punishment is concerned. This was way before cell phone cameras that allowed such meanness to be videoed and disseminated to a gaping public.
The outrage exhibited over this more recent incident by Upper Darby Police super Mike Chitwood and Cap. George Rhoades is more than justified. The arrest and charging of these punks is a good thing. At the very least it could serve as a lesson to others that such behavior is not only criminal but intolerable.
If I am not mistaken, the kid from my high school transferred to a private school. He shouldn't have been the one forced to leave.
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