Shane Van Boening on Bullying

[Sloppy Pockets]

I can see why Shane got bullied as a child; he was different; that's a bad place to be in as a child. I'm glad he channeled it into something productive. I don't agree with his aiming system, but hey, what do I know? I don't call him names because I don't see how it works (and I tried it for a while, not just decided it didn't work for me), I just stay quiet and assume it works for him.

We're all different. Kids will seek out another fairly normal kid and find something they can pick on them about. I was given a nice black leather briefcase by a doctor friend of my parents because he knew I wanted to be a doctor like him when I grew up. I was so proud of it, but the first day I carried it to school, one of the pretty popular girls announced that it look like a beetle bug, and just like that, "Beetle" (or "Bug" for short) was my nickname there until I got kicked out in 7th grade.

The kids even came up with a song to haunt me, based upon a childhood song about Ben Franklin. I still remember it:

"Beetle Bug Fera inventer was he,
Tried to make lightning come out of a key,
Stuck in the plug and he got a big shock,
Then he pulled out with the Beetle Bug rock."

Cute little ditty, but it wasn't meant to be cute, it was meant to hurt. And so, it did.

Now, this was a few years before the Beatles hit the scene, so there was nothing cool about being called a "beetle". The entire class made fun of me just because I was so "different" with my book bag. Several years later, I was doing a guitar gig at a local coffeehouse and a guy from grade school saw my name and showed up to hear me sing and play. He walked in and saw me sitting at the mic and yelled out, "Hey, Bug, it's me, Paul."

I was not amused.

As far as Shane's aiming system, would you be quiet if he made over 1000 posts in the last two months claiming that every pro was using it even if they didn't know it? That's 17 times a day the message gets drummed into our heads here. Frankly, I'm sick to death of it, whether it works or not.

 

[pdiddy]

Thanks for the video. Shane is very brave to talk about bullying. I played Shane at the Turning Stone. He kicked my butt. He also said good hit when I made a hit or good shot when I made a good shot. He's always been a gentleman with me and seems like a pretty nice person. We need more people like him in pool. It's good for the game.

Paul D.

 

[CJ Wiley]

they must co exist to exist in this world age. It's very simple really

The Thaiger is the only one I haven't either seen play or seen the results of their "expert" knowledge. I'm not interested in his ability or insight as his personality is just too abrasive for me.

CJ, understand, I'm not a detractor. I think you have a lot to offer and I appreciate you being on here for everyone. I won't agree with everything you say, but when I don't I'm not going to make a multi-page thread out of it. I even use outside draw to cinch the CB off the rail sometimes.

I don't get why people feel an anonymous name on a forum gives them the right to say bad things about Emily, Jennifer, Borana, Keith, and others. I can see why Shane got bullied as a child; he was different; that's a bad place to be in as a child. I'm glad he channeled it into something productive. I don't agree with his aiming system, but hey, what do I know? I don't call him names because I don't see how it works (and I tried it for a while, not just decided it didn't work for me), I just stay quiet and assume it works for him.

It's the "Ying/Yang of human behavior, the two forces at work of positivity and negativity, Light and darkness - they must co exist to exist in this world age. It's very simple really. They ARE not "good or bad," they just "ARE" - 'The Game is the Teacher'

 

[Hungarian]

it's a Ying Yang Thang

here's an oldie but a goodie .. well 1977 is considered old..

It says it all..


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GOhdqD6Zxtw

It's the "Ying/Yang of human behavior, the two forces at work of positivity and negativity, Light and darkness - they must co exist to exist in this world age. It's very simple really. They ARE not "good or bad," they just "ARE" - 'The Game is the Teacher'

 

[jay helfert]

When I was ten years old, I sometimes still wet the bed. :frown:
At home it was no big deal but when I went to camp and it happened, this is how I got serenaded to sleep at night; "Bop E Dop, Wop E Top Top E Rop!" I would hear this over and over in a chorus of three or four voices, all laughing uproariously at me. Pretty tough for a ten year kid to hear every night and have to look at all of them the next day. I channeled my anger into excellence in sports, being one of the best in camp at everything!

I won the camp badminton title beating a kid a half a head taller than me, and made it to the finals in ping pong, losing to a kid who was much older (12 or 13). That was how I got some respect from the other kids. Oh, and I got in one fight and plastered one of them who was taunting me in the day time. The rest of them left me alone after that. :thumbup2:

 

[Jimmy M.]

Well, Jay. You'll know you've come full circle when you start wetting the bed again. :wink:

When I was ten years old, I sometimes still wet the bed. :frown:
At home it was no big deal but when I went to camp and it happened, this is how I got serenaded to sleep at night; "Bop E Dop, Wop E Top Top E Rop!" I would hear this over and over in a chorus of three or four voices, all laughing uproariously at me. Pretty tough for a ten year kid to hear every night and have to look at all of them the next day. I channeled my anger into excellence in sports, being one of the best in camp at everything!

I won the camp badminton title beating a kid a half a head taller than me, and made it to the finals in ping pong, losing to a kid who was much older (12 or 13). That was how I got some respect from the other kids. Oh, and I got in one fight and plastered one of them who was taunting me in the day time. The rest of them left me alone after that. :thumbup2:

 

[jay helfert]

Well, Jay. You'll know you've come full circle when you start wetting the bed again. :wink:

Ha Ha, I'm on my way there. Funny what we remember about our childhood. There was one kid (let's call him Norman) who was the leader of a crew that lived in a different neighborhood from me. He didn't like me mainly because I had stuff, like a motor scooter and later a souped-up Corvair. He went out of his way to harass me, always with several of his buddies around. I had to put up with it or fear getting beat up by the whole pack.

Fast forward thirty years later and who do I run into at our high school reunion than Norman. He's with his wife now and somewhat obese. I'm in pretty good shape and have twenty five years experience in pool rooms and similar places. I'm very self confident now and I know he can see it. I no longer cower at the sight of him. In fact the opposite may be true. I could tell he was uncomfortable seeing me and was unsure what to say or how to act. Inside I felt good at making him squirm as I walked over to him. He reached out his hand to give me a weak handshake, and looked down as he said hello. Norman did all he could to be on his best behavior, asking me very polite questions and being as nice as he could possibly be.

I never said a word to him about the past, I didn't have to. Now we both knew who the boss was and it wasn't him anymore!

 

[maxeberle]

The guy working the car wash = Biff in Back to the Future

Yeah Shane is cool man...

 

[Ghosst]

It's terrible this many people have been bullied, but it was a part of growing up. Today we shelter children and they don't seem to handle anything as well as we did because they don't get these experiences. I beat the living Hell out of two bullies once I'd had enough of them. I didn't feel like a tough guy afterward, I wasn't proud. I was ashamed I sank to their level.

In the poolhall, there's plenty of them to this day. Last night the morbidly obese bartender told me it was my own fault I have arthritis because of my diet while she shoved a chocolate bar into her gullet. I was tempted to retort it was her own fault she's fat. But knowing words bite I just let it slide without any acknowledgement I even heard her. People take it as a queue they can say whatever they want because I don't say anything back. In truth, I could do far more harm than they can. But in the same vein as a childhood retaliation; why sink to their level?

As far as Shane's aiming system, would you be quiet if he made over 1000 posts in the last two months claiming that every pro was using it even if they didn't know it? That's 17 times a day the message gets drummed into our heads here. Frankly, I'm sick to death of it, whether it works or not.

After all those messages being drummed into me, the only thing I've said about TOI is it looks like it works well, I'll buy the DVD, and I don't like the catch-phrase (which CJ altered for a few posts for me ) all within this thread.

I doubt Shane has the patience to deal with some of the posters on here and in all honesty I don't blame him. He's more than proven himself. So has CJ, Max, Emily, Jennifer, and many more. Randy and Scott drill "SPF" into our heads. I've seen Randy play in person and that boy can shoot. So I don't say anything even if I don't like a conscious pause in my stroke. Maybe I will incorporate one. Who knows...

I do understand what you're saying, especially in a public setting it would wear on me quickly. But in the 100s of materials out there to help your game, I choose different things from each (the ones that keep cropping up over and over) and practice those because everyone agrees on them. If I have to wade through 17 posts a day to find that information, it's worth it.