Hi ktcl, This is a great question. I got ridiculed for wearing orthopedic shoes with white sox in 7th grade a million years ago. I was so blown away..... I had been in such pain I could barely walk before I got them, I could not imagine where this upper classman girl was coming from..... geezuz, who the f--- cares??? I managed to get off a snappy comeback (YAY) but I cried when I got home.

Once, riding the public transit bus in rural Northern CA, I listened to one man belittle another for being short. The short guy didn't respond. I was mortified and didn't know what to do. When I got up to disembark, I turned around to see sho the guys were. The a--hole was a scuzzy white 20 something. The litle guy was a 20 something Mexican, neatly dressed and groomed. All I could think to do was give the a--hole the evil eye.

Another time, same route, I caught the afternoon bus that hauled kids from a Christian School back home. All the way up the hill kids were razzing on a developmentally challenged boy. We're talking mid-teens here. Well, at the first stop coming into town, the boy got off and ran to cross the street in front of the bus, not seeing a car that was going at speed about to pass the parked and unloading bus. I had a perfect view as the car hit the kid and flew him into the middle of the road where he proceeded to have a seizure........ the kids on the bus who had been razzing him were beside themselves with guilt. (The boy turned out to be ok, didn't even break anything. Took the impact on his thigh..)

So, what have we got here?: Insecurity?, low self-esteem?, mis-directed anger?, fear of _____,?, ? Pretty crappy way to feel big and powerful if you ask me.......