In sixth grade, I had this friend who was six foot two. He was twelve years old, with wrists the size of my torso. Imagine that: my own personal giant.
He became my voice.
His name was Tripp. I was bullied a lot in sixth grade, but when Tripp was around, nobody tried to clown me. One time, Tripp wrapped his hand around a kid’s head like it was an apple, and no kidding, just like a crane out of heaven, he gently placed the kid on the other side of the hall from me. For weeks, that apple-headed kid had been telling me to go back to China. After the crane incident, Apple-Head never bothered me again.
The thing is, nobody should need a guy like Tripp. We should all get an equal distribution of voice. But that isn’t how it is right now. People get squashed. Silenced. Stuffed in a locker. Told to get on a boat.
Really, I wish everybody had a guy like Tripp who spoke up for them. I wish that nobody needed a guy like Tripp, either. Until then, I’m grateful for the people in the hallway who speak up. Not just online, but in dorms and cafes and churches and check-out lines, when it’s not easy or popular, when it costs something, when no one is looking and when everyone is. I hope to be that guy, too. A crane out of heaven.
J.S. Park: Hospital Chaplain, Skeptical Christian 
Great post! When I was on Facebook and other social media places and old connections started happening I felt weird because people remembered me as one who not only was bullied but also was well known for protecting those who were weaker than I was. It brought back a lot of shame and a lot of hurt BUT it also brought a lot of comfort in that while I was a target because I was always the new kid on the block (my dad was military during Vietnam so it was brutal) and also overweight and have a deep voice (seriously base for female) and my mom always gave me Butch haircuts…. but when I watched as others Rose and spoke up t
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Well wasn’t done but anyway I am glad that I was also known as a protector and no one ever should need but I am glad that I can say I was a protector and to this day will take steps to do this
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