Total Commitment to the Insult

Let me preface this story by reminding everyone how powerful an insult it is for young boys to call into question each others sexual orientation. The most common insult in my elementary school was to call someone a homosexual. In Korea it is no different. I have heard a few insults to this effec,t and I observed one recently that you all may think is funny.

The students at my school had to write Christmas cards this week. One had to be to their parents, and another to a friend. The ones to parents were all the same. The ones to friends were juicy.

There is a student named John in one of my classes. He is a loud-mouth who won't shut his mouth, but I love having him in class. He is so funny and his humor makes me laugh. He was writing a card to another student in class named Sam. Sam is quiet and doesn't like to talk to me. John decided words were not enough in his card, so he drew a picture of Sam. In John's picture, Sam had a huge pile of poop on his head and he was saying, "I'm a coward." I laughed (on the inside) because I knew this drawing was going to upset Sam. Sam saw the picture and he took it very well. He simply stood up, got a dictionary, and returned to his seat.

A few classes later, my boss came up to me with a very worried look on her face. She asked me if I helped Sam write his letter. I said I hadn't. She showed me the letter and this is what it said:
Dear John,
I hate you. You are a chicken and a coward. I will fight you.
You are my bed friend.
Bye-bye,
Sam

I have never seen such a commitment to an insult. Sam was so devoted to calling John gay that he sacrificed himself.

I know Sam meant to write "bad friend" and the rest of the letter is the disturbing part. My boss didn't see it this way. She was very concerned about the "bed friend" and wanted it removed. Sam had to remove that part and the rest of the letter was mailed to John unchanged.