Red haired boys get picked on a lot because we're different. All the other boys had brown, black, or blonde hair, or some variation in between.
I had to learn to fight at a pretty young age and learned quickly if I didn't fight back with all I had, the ass kickings would continue. So, I fought back with all I had. One boy that constantly picked on me went to the hospital after I bashed his head against the cement repeatedly and he required stitches. He stopped after that. There were others after him and typically they stopped after one fight.
Won some, lost some, all knew they were in a hell of a fight afterwards and left me alone after their first fight with me. Later on in high school I'd be on the football team my freshman, sophomore and junior years as a safety because I was fast and hit hard. It was about my sophomore year in high school that I stopped getting picked on.
I'm from Altoona, Iowa btw. It was a very small town outside of Des Moines, home of Adventureland. Went to Polk County High School, and I knew many of the Orton family. if that name sounds familiar, its because of Kyle Orton, former Pro Football QB for the Chicago Bears, Denver Bronco's and one or two other teams. I went to high school with many of his family. Great family.
My husband was from a very small town outside Iowa City. In his early 20s he was town marshall. This town had 3 bars where the college students came to buy set-ups for the liquor bottle they kept at the bar. I asked him what a marshall did in a little town like that. He said, “Basically I was the town bouncer.”
As a result of being picked on so much he became a very competent fighter. One time 4 or 5 “friends” tried to hang him, but he fought them off. Years later one of them said, “Hey, Red, remember when we tried to hang you?” “Yes, you MF.” And then he punched the guy and put his lights out. He had previously fought each of the others, but had missed this guy, Job finished!