SALON

Wednesday, Sep 28, 2011 12:01 AM UTC

Readers: Interview your own bully

Remember the person who terrorized you as a kid? Give him or her a call -- and tell us about it

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Topics: Interview With My Bully,

We’ve just kicked off a new personal essay series called “Interview With My Bully.” In the first installment, Steve Almond calls up the guy who, in eighth grade, launched a calculated campaign of humiliation against him — and ends up getting a heartbreaking explanation for his former bully’s behavior.

Interested in closure — or at least a conversation — with your childhood tormentor?

Why not track him or her down, record your interview, and send it to us for possible publication on Salon?

Even years later, a discussion can lay adolescent angst to rest and perhaps even lead to understanding — and less bullying for future generations.

Send your submissions to bullyinterview@salon.com. You can also blog your Q&As on Open Salon and tag them “Interview with My Bully.”

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Some adolescent scars linger well into adulthood. Interview With My Bully, our new essay series, hopes to provide some closure, and maybe even build some understanding and common ground between the picked-on and their young tormentors. Ever wonder what happened to the person who pushed you around in junior high?

Why not track him or her down -- and post your essay on Open Salon.

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