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Friday, September 25, 2020

Bullying Tactic


 September 8, 1958, Appleton Post-Crescent
I've redacted the name of the young man who was the victim of this activity, something the newspaper didn't do 62 years ago.  Surely today, it would go by the name of "bullying."  I understand it was a different era for newspapers, but I cannot imagine the unwanted attention coming to this poor kid after the disclosure of his identity provided enough embarrassment to last his entire senior year.  I mean, really?  Publishing his name, his parent's names AND his address?  Likely his parents got grief too over this.   Or maybe it wasn't that way, maybe it was a slice of whimsy for the guy the rest of his life, the source of many anecdotes at high school reunions, perhaps.  But still, you have to wonder the necessity of revealing his identity.  

Postscript:  I looked him up in more old newspapers and found that he lived a very productive life, staying in the area, raising a family, maintaining a successful career, etc. before passing away five years ago. He definitely wasn't defined by this one incident.

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