I’ve been in the same spot as this kid. Got tired of getting pushed around by the school yard bully in elementary school and fought back. I had tried “following the rules” by going to the teacher twice and she basically told me to go away. So, I punched back and got creamed and in trouble.
In the end, it was still worth it, though. I didn’t win the fight by any means, but I popped the creep a good one in the mouth and he never bothered me again.
The school is not going to protect you, and really what you did was better for you and your bully. Same with this kid. Only thing whose than a bully is a tattletale.
Years ago, in the days before caller ID, there was a bully in my kids school. I called the bullies’ father and told him that if his kid bullied my child I would settle the score with him (the father) at a time and place of my choosing. He didn’t know who called him so he must have told his kid to knock it off since the bullying stopped.
I spent far too much of my childhood running away from bullies.
My parents were Christians who were devout pacifists. They told me to always turn the other cheek and tell the teachers.
All that did was make me a tattletale who was still bullied and ostracized for being a tattletale. After many years of bullying, in 7th grade, I finally turned around after being hit in the head with a rock and landed a lucky punch square on the jaw of one of the instigators. He dropped like a sack of potatoes and no one ever bothered me again.
IMHO, it’s worth a suspension to get these punks to stop.
If I’d stood up to the bullies when I was 10, my life would be much better. Being a punching bag really screws you up.