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<p>Who among us hasn&#39;t daydreamed of getting revenge on a bully or cruel person from our past? There are countless movies that leverage the trope of a once bullied child growing up and giving their former tormenters a piece of their mind. And while the concept of wailing on a former bully (or roasting them within an inch of their life) is deeply satisfying, that&#39;s not always how it goes down.</p><p>In reality, a lot of bullies either grow up to be invincible monsters (like many of the politicians in office), or they mature and regret their bullying days. While the latter is preferable for the state of the world at large, it often comes as a complete surprise.</p><h2>In <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/socialskills/comments/e9flmw/so_i_messaged_my_8th_grade_bully_on_fb/" target="_blank">a recent Reddit post</a>, a man shared how he happened upon the Facebook page of a former bully, and decided to call him out for past behavior.</h2><p> </p><blockquote> <p>So, I messaged my 8th grade bully on FB...</p> <p>I&rsquo;ve been socially awkward my whole life, and so, I had my fair share of bullies in school. And this guy was a <em>real</em> a*shole.</p> </blockquote><div className="ad-splitter"></div><blockquote> <p>I haven&rsquo;t spoken to him in 15 years. I&lsquo;ve lurked on his FB a few times, daydreaming about how I might message him one day, but knowing deep down that I probably never would...</p> </blockquote><h2>OP admitted that he&#39;s lurked on his former bully&#39;s page a few times in the past couple years, and never reached out.</h2><blockquote> <p>Well, maybe you do become more confident with age, because early this morning I happened upon his profile, and I don&rsquo;t know if it was the coffee or what, but I actually messaged him. I instantly regretted it, but damn it, I did it!</p> </blockquote><h2>But a strong cup of coffee and a new sense of resolve inspired him to cut to the chase and send a message.</h2><blockquote> <p>Surprisingly, he was really understanding, and sincerely apologetic about the whole thing. It was very cathartic.</p> <p>Here are <a href="https://imgur.com/gallery/sCuA5AN" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">the messages</a></p> </blockquote><h2>OP&#39;s message to his former bully was short and to the point, he called out the bad behavior and the fact that he didn&#39;t deserve it.</h2><figure class="image"><div class="image-container"><img alt="" data-attribution="Reddit" data-attribution-url="https://imgur.com/gallery/sCuA5AN" height="456" src="//cdn.someecards.com/posts/screen-shot-2019-12-16-at-113701-am-rGI4ei.png" width="301" /></div> <figcaption></figcaption> <div class="image-attribution"><a href="https://imgur.com/gallery/sCuA5AN">Reddit</a></div></figure><div className="ad-splitter"></div><p>OP&#39;s message read:</p><blockquote> <p>&quot;Hey man, how&#39;s it going? I just wanted to say that you were a dickhead to me in school and I really didn&#39;t deserve that. That&#39;s about it.&quot;</p> </blockquote><h2>Much to his surprise, OP&#39;s former bully wrote back fairly quickly, with a genuine apology about his past actions.</h2><figure class="image"><div class="image-container"><img alt="" data-attribution="Reddit" data-attribution-url="https://imgur.com/gallery/sCuA5AN" height="650" src="//cdn.someecards.com/posts/screen-shot-2019-12-16-at-113728-am-h655Nl.png" width="751" /></div> <figcaption></figcaption> <div class="image-attribution"><a href="https://imgur.com/gallery/sCuA5AN">Reddit</a></div></figure><div className="ad-splitter"></div><h2> </h2><h2>The former bully admitted that OP never deserved to be treated that way, and admitted that he secretly thought OP was cool all along.</h2><figure class="image"><div class="image-container"><img alt="" data-attribution="Reddit" data-attribution-url="https://imgur.com/gallery/sCuA5AN" height="669" src="//cdn.someecards.com/posts/screen-shot-2019-12-16-at-113736-am-l3T7M7.png" width="757" /></div> <figcaption></figcaption> <div class="image-attribution"><a href="https://imgur.com/gallery/sCuA5AN">Reddit</a></div></figure><div className="ad-splitter"></div><h2>He closed out the message by wishing OP well in his current life.</h2><figure class="image"><div class="image-container"><img alt="" data-attribution="Reddit" data-attribution-url="https://imgur.com/gallery/sCuA5AN" height="244" src="//cdn.someecards.com/posts/screen-shot-2019-12-16-at-113741-am-jKt2lm.png" width="748" /></div> <figcaption></figcaption> <div class="image-attribution"><a href="https://imgur.com/gallery/sCuA5AN">Reddit</a></div></figure><div className="ad-splitter"></div><p>The response read:</p><blockquote> <p>&quot;Hey Marcus. I&#39;m sorry that my immaturity had such a negative effect on you. You are absolutely right. I was a dickhead to you in school for no reason really other than I kind of thought it was cool to be an a*shole.&quot;</p> </blockquote><blockquote> <p>&quot;You were always a nice enough guy to me and to be honest I always liked you and I certainly had no reason to bully you the way I did. I&#39;d like to make an excuse but I think that putting you down made me feel better about my own insecurities.&quot;</p> <p>&quot;I really hope you are well and happy and I apologize for anything I did to hurt you.&quot;</p> </blockquote><p>The exchange was a refreshing slice of wholesome for Redditers used to witnessing the dredges of humanity.</p><div className="ad-splitter"></div><h2><a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/rndm0990/">rndm0990</a> thinks the interaction is a net win for both of them.</h2><blockquote> <p>It&#39;s cool that you guys got to smooth things over. I am not sure if I personally would have called him out. I would have just let it go, but that&#39;s just me. People grow up. I was both bullied and the bully in school, and I would NEVER do anything like that to anyone now. If anyone approached me the way you did I would appreciate the chance to apologize.</p> </blockquote><h2><a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/d-o-w-n-v-o-t-e-d/">d-o-w-n-v-o-t-e-d</a> admires OP&#39;s courage.</h2><blockquote> <p>I really am proud of you. It must have taken a lot of courage to type that message</p> </blockquote><p>It&#39;s nice to remember that people can own up to past toxic behavior and change for the better, that&#39;s one less person perpetuating the cycle of abuse.</p><div className="ad-splitter"></div>

Man shares apology from 8th grade bully he hasn't seen in 15 years.

Who among us hasn&#39;t daydreamed of getting revenge on a bully or cruel person from our past? There are countless movies that leverage the trope of a once bullied child growing up and giving their former tormenters a piece of their mind. And while the concept of wailing on a former bully (or roasting them within an inch of their life) is deeply satisfying, that&#39;s not always how it goes down.In reality, a lot of bullies either grow up to be invincible monsters (like many of the politicians in office), or they mature and regret their bullying days. While the latter is preferable for the state of the world at large, it often comes as a complete surprise.In a recent Reddit post, a man shared how he happened upon the Facebook page of a former bully, and decided to call him out for past behavior.  So, I messaged my 8th grade bully on FB... I&rsquo;ve been socially awkward my whole life, and so, I had my fair share of bullies in school. And this guy was a real a*shole.  I haven&rsquo;t spoken to him in 15 years. I&lsquo;ve lurked on his FB a few times, daydreaming about how I might message him one day, but knowing deep down that I probably never would... OP admitted that he&#39;s lurked on his former bully&#39;s page a few times in the past couple years, and never reached out. Well, maybe you do become more confident with age, because early this morning I happened upon his profile, and I don&rsquo;t know if it was the coffee or what, but I actually messaged him. I instantly regretted it, but damn it, I did it! But a strong cup of coffee and a new sense of resolve inspired him to cut to the chase and send a message. Surprisingly, he was really understanding, and sincerely apologetic about the whole thing. It was very cathartic. Here are the messages OP&#39;s message to his former bully was short and to the point, he called out the bad behavior and the fact that he didn&#39;t deserve it.  RedditOP&#39;s message read: &quot;Hey man, how&#39;s it going? I just wanted to say that you were a dickhead to me in school and I really didn&#39;t deserve that. That&#39;s about it.&quot; Much to his surprise, OP&#39;s former bully wrote back fairly quickly, with a genuine apology about his past actions.  Reddit The former bully admitted that OP never deserved to be treated that way, and admitted that he secretly thought OP was cool all along.  RedditHe closed out the message by wishing OP well in his current life.  RedditThe response read: &quot;Hey Marcus. I&#39;m sorry that my immaturity had such a negative effect on you. You are absolutely right. I was a dickhead to you in school for no reason really other than I kind of thought it was cool to be an a*shole.&quot;  &quot;You were always a nice enough guy to me and to be honest I always liked you and I certainly had no reason to bully you the way I did. I&#39;d like to make an excuse but I think that putting you down made me feel better about my own insecurities.&quot; &quot;I really hope you are well and happy and I apologize for anything I did to hurt you.&quot; The exchange was a refreshing slice of wholesome for Redditers used to witnessing the dredges of humanity.rndm0990 thinks the interaction is a net win for both of them. It&#39;s cool that you guys got to smooth things over. I am not sure if I personally would have called him out. I would have just let it go, but that&#39;s just me. People grow up. I was both bullied and the bully in school, and I would NEVER do anything like that to anyone now. If anyone approached me the way you did I would appreciate the chance to apologize. d-o-w-n-v-o-t-e-d admires OP&#39;s courage. I really am proud of you. It must have taken a lot of courage to type that message It&#39;s nice to remember that people can own up to past toxic behavior and change for the better, that&#39;s one less person perpetuating the cycle of abuse.