“We won’t forgive him, not even in death.”
That’s the chilling response from several bullying victims after finding out their school bully is now paralysed and struggling.
Forgiveness may be noble, but for them, it’s off the table.
“I got beaten up during Ramadan, my lips were bleeding”
It all started with a personal reflection shared on Threads. The man recalled a harrowing memory from his school days, when a senior assaulted him during Ramadan, leaving him injured and emotionally drained.
“I didn’t want to think about it back then, and now that I’m older, I’ve forgiven him but I can’t forget,” he wrote.
Despite having found some form of closure, the man noted that his friends who were also victims had a much harder time letting go.
“Some of them said they will never forgive him, not even in death.”
But what made this post truly strike a nerve was what happened to the bully later in life.
Karma catches up
According to the man, the senior who once terrorised students eventually suffered a stroke.
His quality of life declined drastically, and many of his former victims saw it as a form of divine justice or kifarah.
The timing and irony of the situation weren’t lost on those who had endured his abuse. The once-feared bully now lived in hardship, stripped of the power he once wielded so carelessly.
“He challenged me to spar and got beaten instead”
But that wasn’t the only story the man had to share.
He went on to describe how bullying took on new forms in later years. In 1991, when martial arts like Silat Cekak were introduced in schools, seniors started using “sparring” as a way to justify violence.
One night, a senior challenged me. He thought his Silat Cekak skills would scare me. But I ended up beating him.”
However, the embarrassment didn’t sit well with the senior. Instead of honouring the one-on-one “rule,” he called in his friends to gang up on the junior, another instance of how bullies often hide behind numbers when their egos are bruised.
‘There’s no forgiveness. They can live with it’
The story quickly gained traction online, with countless netizens jumping in to share their own thoughts and unresolved pain.
For some, the notion of forgiveness felt impossible, especially when no apology was ever offered.
“If the person never apologised, why should we forgive? That’s not how it works.”
Others shared similar tales of bullies who met unfortunate fates later in life from accidents and jail time to severe illnesses and admitted that while they didn’t wish for it, they also didn’t feel sorry.
“There was a kid in my boarding school who prayed for his bullies. Three different prayers, all came true.”
At the same time, a few lamented that some bullies seemed to get off scot-free.
“The guy who bullied me? Married, kids, looks happy. It just feels unfair.”
Still, many found validation in the idea that the universe has a way of settling scores.
“One’s limping, another’s in jail, and another is lost in life. There’s no forgiveness. They can live with it.”
“Even the Ustaz who bullied us, I heard he got a stroke. I forgave, but I can’t forget. God sees.”
