CARIMAC Times 2016: The JREAM Edition Journalists Reviving Awareness of what Matters | Page 22

Johnson said the experiences in high school
took him back to moments in primary school
when even his childish interests were used
against him.
“I usually loved [to play] dandy shandy… Every
break time [recess] and lunchtime I always
played that game. I was the only boy playing
so the bullies made light of that. They used to
call me ‘Ak-stoosh’. ”
After a brief struggle, Johnson recalled another
tag students attached to him. He told CARIMAC
Times that students also referred to him as
“shim” — a portmanteau word of the third
person female subject pronoun ‘she’ and the
male object pronoun ‘him’ used to connote both
maleness and femaleness. It is a title he thought
was uncommon, but that did not prevent the
infliction of a great deal of hurt.
As a fourth form student, the time to sit the
Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate
(CSEC) examinations drew near. It was also
a time when feelings of what Johnson viewed
as depression and anxiety began to consume
his days.
“It [experience with bullying] was probably why
I did so badly in my exams. The criticising and
the name-calling did affect me in the last part
of my school life.”
Despite the negative impact on his academic
achievement, Johnson still managed to matriculate
to a tertiary level institution, but the transition
was not smooth.
Due to his parents’ fear for him attending
school in a distant location, such as Kingston,

he enrolled at an established institution in his
home parish, Portland.
The childish ways of primary and secondary
level students would haunt him on his pursuit
of higher education. Bullying in the form of
name calling and ostracism greeted Johnson
even before he could lay his eyes on the topic
outlines for his prospective courses.
“Man nuh fi [must not] walk like girl. Man nuh
fi talk like girl. Weh yuh deep vaice deh [where
is your manly voice]?”
Like dandy shandy, only girls are expected to
participate in cheerleading. However, Johnson
had an affinity for the sport, which became
another source of contention in his school life.
“I was at a football match and they threw one
bucket of water on me while I sat. Because it is
something regular for them; they always want to
catch you in that kind of way. I didn’t normally
go to those events; and the one evening I went,
that happened.”
Johnson said those behind him would have
seen those responsible for him being soaked,
but no one offered information. He reported
it nonetheless, but nothing came of it.
Violent recourse
Unlike Johnson’s case, the boys who bullied
Lee had a preference for missiles of various
material.
Following his forced retreat into the guidance
counsellor’s office, Lee’s experiences with bullying
became more frequent and calculated.

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