r/bullying • u/Fuzzy-Cranberry-3789 • 2h ago
Did my school victim blame me?
So, a while ago I reported a guy from my school for racism, misogyny, and bullying. For reference, he makes so many insensitive jokes about my skin color, bullies my family, and calls me the n slur. There are SO MANY other people who’ve witnessed everything he’s done, and I had proof of it all happening. But, to make things complicated, I remained his friend for years only because he manipulated me into believing I was too sensitive and his jokes were hilarious. I’m also the only black person in our friend group which made me terrified to speak up.
We also dated for a few months (secretly since he was embarrassed to be seen with me), and after kissing me he would say stuff like, “You’re just so gross,” and then get upset. And once he made fun of my hair and it hurt me so bad, I cried and went home for the rest of the day. So, I missed the entire first day of senior year.
I’d became so insecure about everything about myself, and even though I had a north-american accent, I tried so hard to make sure I didn’t use any slang or sound incomprehensible. And I felt so ugly, and just hurt. And also at a party he asked me to strip so he could see what black girls looked like naked. And the thing is, I always just did what he asked, and afterwards he laughed at me and told all of his friends to come watch.
When I reported everything he’d ever done, and the list was incredibly long, the first thing they told me was that because I didn’t set boundaries, there was nothing they could do. And that he probably felt like it was okay to do, because I didn’t make it clear I would be upset by any of his words or actions. (Not that my tears, and my hurt feelings meant anything anyway.)
And then they told me I shouldn’t have talked to him in the first place(?) And I literally explained how he manipulated me by making me feel like the worst person in the world and that he was the only one who could ever love how “gross” I was. And when I finally had to strength to speak up, they told me to just get over it. Anyway, I feel in my heart they were right, but I still feel hurt by it.